What lifereef skimmer do you have? I’m thinking about getting the svs2-24. My only hesitation is I’ve heard it can be really noisy compared to other skimmers. What has your experience been?
I’m still torn on the whole pump choice.
Mine is the SVS3-24. I am actually planning to extend it to 36 or 48 maybe, I am going with the Triton method so I want to maximize skimmer efficiency. And for my return pump I need to hit 10x+, so I am up around 1400GPH actual, so I will probably get the largest pump and dial it down or run other things.
Heh, your opening post says the SVS3-30, and I was thinking "dang, this dude is not screwing around on a 70 gal tank".... that is crazy big. Then later above you say 24, must be typo. The only reason to get a 24 is if you want to fit it under a stand. I am going to put mine behind my tank on the floor, and go taller.
I can't attest to how loud it is, because I do not have water in my tank yet, but I would not have bought it if I thought noise would be a problem as mine will also be in the living room. I have not seen any complaints about that, this skimmer has it's own forum section on a few forums. There are multiple YouTube videos with it, and I did not notice them being particularly loud, or even really making any noise at all. The main reason I wanted this skimmer is because I think it will be the lowest maintenance of any of the skimmers I have read up on.
The pump I have is the BlueLine 40HDX, the one recommended for the larger models. Good pump, mine is still brand new. I have not decided if I will keep it, or sell it. I am only really interested in the new Sicce because it should produce less heat, less noise, and use less power. I will also get one slightly larger so that I could run other reactors maybe as well, such as the 2500GPH model.
Looking at your pump selections, you may want to go a size larger. The pumps are rated starting at 0' head, so literally if you had no pipe on it how much would it pump. There are various calculators around to estimate head pressure based on piping and fittings you have. But if you want a rule of thumb, say you want 600GPH I would probably go with a pump rated at least 900GPH. This is assuming you are just going from a sump below the tank in your stand (not the basement or something).
If you go with a DC pump, you may have to go even higher than that, because you won't get as much pressure as you will with an AC pump. But they might be a good fit if it is only a return pump and nothing else (no back pressure). I am staying away from the DC pumps, I am reading about far too many problems with them. They probably need a little more track time before they are ready. Unless you want to drop allot of cash on an Abyzz, nice pump though.
I think going with a Sicce AC pump, for what you say you want, is a good choice even just going with the existing models. I would say Sicce, Eheim, Danner, and Iwaki (not in any order) are the best.... basically all the companies that have been making them for decades.
I too am getting an Apex, it is actually in route as I write this from black Friday ;-) I personally don't care about controlling the main pump, although I will monitor it's power usage, and I got the flow meters to measure it's flow rate. For control I am going with some Tunze powerheads in the tank.
-JCL
