Reeflo/Sequence Skimmer Club

[Lunchbucket]

Do you have any products in the tank that would make the skimmer foam crazy? Gel binders, amquel, slime coats, etc?

Lunchbucket

[jmckdvm]

The vertical drain pipe is not submerged. I just re-plumbed it today, enlarging the 1.5" horizontal pipe coming from the T to 2" pipe. Then, I used a T fitting to drop the water down into the pipe. So there is a vent to let out excess air and let the water drop more quickly.

Now, I'm getting 120 gal/hr (double what I had before)....but this is still only one quarter to one fifth of what I should get. And, this is with the air valve only half open! I'm dying to crank it open but the foam would shoot up into the cup (unless I reduce the flow to a "trickle").

I'm now convinced that the T needs to be lower as I mentioned in my previous posts. I'll have to call Reeflo on Monday to request new parts in order to do this, unless someone can direct me to a place to get the "grey" PVC fittings.

I'm a little disappointed with the Reeflo customer service. I sent 3 emails and left one phone message over a 3 day period (to have some questions answered) and received no reply!

[Cristina_j]

where did you purchase the product from? Have you tried getting support from the etailer/retailer you purchased from?

Premium Aquatics has great support - they guys over there always strived to assist their customers with products purchased
Reef Specialty does a great job at supporting their customers & products purchased from them as well. Mike has even helped me with in the past with products & questions not related to items purchased from him.

[spongebobby]

Just checking to make sure you have the wedge pipe wide open? I would not run the pump's air restricted. By doing this the pump is pulling more water the more you restrict it in turn increasing the water exiting. I feed my reeflo 200 with a mag3 and with the gold turned off the water level is about an inch below the transition.Then i close the wedge pipe to get the water level where the cup and the body meet. Then I fire up gold and it seems to work great from there. How much water are you feeding it. Sounds like it's to much. Where is the level at with just your supply running? The top of my TEE is flush with the beginning of the transition. Also how long have you been running the skimmer?


Reeflo is very hard to get in contact with and I would recommend calling Mike@reefspecialty.com. He is the "GRAND PUBAH" when it comes to these skimmers.

[jmckdvm]

Lunchbucket--I did revamp my sump system, so probably stirred up some stuff...but the foaming really isn't the problem. If I turn down the air so it doesn't foam, I still can't get much more than 120 gal/hr flowing thru it without it overflowing.

Cristina--I bought it from Salty Critter because I have a wholesale account there. The unit came without instructions so I called Reeflo to get them. They were emailed the next day. Then I had more questions, so I tried to get back in touch with the person I spoke to about not getting the instructions but could not get a response. Before I new it, the weekend was here when I had planned to set up the skimmer. (I wanted to buy from Mike but he doesn't sell wholesale, so I don't feel right about asking him for help. Maybe I should have spent the extra couple hundred dollars and purchased it retail from him!)

Spongebobby--the outflow is turned all the way open. The top of my T is about level with the midpoint of the beveled section. I just set it up last night.

Thank you all for helping me. I suspect that everyone is using the large cup, and I'm convinced that when I get mine, that will solve my problem. (I'm on a waiting list with Mike to get one). In the meantime, I think the only solution is to lower the level of the T....but this will be an inconvenience since a lot of water will drain out when the unit is shut off. But I think this is what I will need to do until I get the large cup. Without the large cup, it is my opinion that this skimmer is worthless for the size tanks it was intended for (if it can only handle 120 gal/hr with the T in the position where it should be).

Mike...if you are listening.....is there any way you can get me a large cup sooner? I'm now afraid my 500 gal tank will suffer if I can only run this skimmer at 120 gal/hr for a long period of time. I would be most appreciative if you can! Thank you!

At this point, the best help from anyone, outside of helping me get a larger cup, might be to direct me to a place to get replacement grey pvc fittings since I need to cut and lower the vertical pipe.

Another thought is for me to find someone who works with acrylic and have them make the larger cup. If anyone knows who I can contact for custom acrylic, that might be helpful also.

Thank you.
Jim

[Lunchbucket]

jmckdvm - If there is a lot of stuff to pull out the skimmer will go crazy and you will have to turn the air down or let the stuff get pulled out. Have use used any aquastick? Anything that would make it go nutz?

Lunchbucket

[spongebobby]

What pump are you feeding with? It sounds to me that there is something in your tank water making it overflow. If you are feeding it roughly 300-600 gph and the air is wide open as well as the wedge pipe then I would be leaning towards something in the water. I'm not running Mike's cup at the moment. It will take a few weeks to get this skimmer to break-in.

What have you added in your water? Even before you installed the skimmer. DId you run the skimmer in a vinegar/ro bath?

[JRaquatics]

jmckdvm the top of the tee should lined up with the top of the top of the reeflo lettering. I would also not suggest cutting down the air flow as you are burrying the impeller into the back of the volute. I would contact salty critter for further assistance. It sounds like your plumbing is wrong some where. How are you messuring the flow?

[JRaquatics]

Originally posted by spongebobby
Just wondering if you were still running the NW on your 200 ? I just took it off the AO motor and placed it on the gold. Air draw stayed the same but the watts dropped about 5 watts. Probably gonna take awhile to break-in though. I just can't get over how it makes the lid feel like it's hovering on top of the cup.

Later

I am running the stock NW at the moment till the new ReefSpecialty NW prototype arrives. I just got finished re-installing my skimmer to make way for the Upgrade cup.

[JRaquatics]

Well here it is. The Reef Specialty Reeflo 200 upgrade cup.



Well constructed and stellar acrylic work on this one. 8 inches taller than the original. Side by side shot.


Any one have skimmer envy?

[jmckdvm]

LunchBucket--The problem isn't the foam. Even when the bubbles are low, the water rises too high.

JRAquatics--My T is lined up pretty much like the one in your photo...at the level of the bevel (mid-way).

I'm quite sure I know the problem now as indicated in my previous post' problem is related to the level of the T in relation to the low neck in the standard collection cup), so I'll say we can drop this topic for now. I thank everyone for their input and trying to help me. Your time and efforts are much appreciated.

Also, Mike was kind enough to contact me and has offered to help me solve this problem (tomorrow).

[wizsmaster]

I find it very hard to believe that a properly installed skimmer would only flow 120 Gal/Hr ... With plumbing this size ... it should flow MUCH more than that.

Originally posted by wizsmaster
post up a picture of how you have this thing put together please.

Again, can you please post a picture of how you installed the plumbing to give us a visual if you'd like us to give this a shot.


And yes, I personally believe it may have been proper & beneficial for you to buying it retail, especially since you are stating you're a "Veterinarian" - not a Aquatics reseller/store.

[jmckdvm]

wizsmaster-- I don't have real easy access to photos....especially after working 27 hours this weekend re-vamping my filter room, and, as I stated in my last post, I believe I figured out the problem.

So, again, thank you, and everyone, for your help.

BTW: I have a 100% avian veterinary hospital and a pet shop from where I sell bird and aquarium livestock and supplies (for 20 years)....so there should be no issue with me purchasing wholesale. (Why should I buy retail when I'm entitled to purchase wholesale?; this is really irrelevant and shouldn't even have to be discussed, but I don't want to be rude and ignore your comments when you have been kind enough to try to help me). Thanks again.

[JRaquatics]

Actually the pic shown is a little mis leading. I have the top of my tee lined up with the top of the lettering. If you go to the 200 thread you see how it was pu together. Obviously something is wrong with the way you put the skimmer together or did the output plumbing. There is no reason you should have to use the upgrade cup to use the skimmer. I have installed a good number of 250 skimmers for friends, and half of them still use the stock cup and push 4-500gph into the skimmer and have nothing but good results. I was pushing 3-400 into my Reeflo 200 with the stock cup. If you install and plumb the Reeflo 250 skimmer correctly you should easily handle 4-500 gallons per hour, so something is wrong with the way you set it up. I would advise what Wizsmaster stated, take some pics of the setup. Mike at Reef Specialty is going to tell you the same exact thing. Nothing can be said or done without seeing what is not right with your setup.

[jmckdvm]

I'll see what Mike says tomorrow. If I still have a problem, I'll work on getting some photos. I believe my T is too high. I did not cut back the pipe that came with it. The middle of the T is level with the middle of the beveled piece.

[wizsmaster]

I GIVE UP.

BTW .. i don't think mike is available tomorrow?! I think he said he was out till tuesday - he had to replace 3 of the 12 Mega-Micro Flux Capacitors at the North Dakota Reef Restoration project's home distribution manifold.

[RokleM]

Originally posted by jmckdvm
I'll see what Mike says tomorrow. If I still have a problem, I'll work on getting some photos. I believe my T is too high. I did not cut back the pipe that came with it. The middle of the T is level with the middle of the beveled piece.

You shouldn't have to cut anything unless they sent you the wrong parts or it's not assembled properly.

Below is a picture of it assembled, look at see how yours is different. I was pumping about 300 GPH through it.

When you're doing this testing, getting 60 GPH through it, and stating it's overflowing... Do you just let it run for a minute or two or just immediately shut it off? With my pipe probably 3/4 closed (the good running place for me), it would overflow the first 30 seconds of restart on the dart IF the feed pump had been running the whole time. Reason being, if air isn't injected and the feed pump is running, the water level rises. When you start the dart, it fills the chamber with a ton of air, and for that 30 seconds or so you have an excess of water/air until enough can drain out of the system to self-correct the height. This however is temporary, and if you're quick turning the unit off before it has a chance to self-correct...

If it's not the assembly or quick overreaction to the initial normal overflow, it almost has to be a problem with something blocking the inside of the pipes. I for one just can't understand how you're getting 60 GPH out of pipe capable of doing 1200 GPH+. That's about 95% blocking somewhere. It's like the output is sent through the silencer instead

[jmckdvm]

RokleM

Thank you for your reply. Your photo confirms my suspicion: my T is too high. (Middle of my T is at level of middle of beveled section.

My problem now is finding where I can get new parts because I glued the fittings. I'll try calling Reeflo later today. Does anyone know what this grey pipe is called (Schedule ?? or what?). Perhaps a plumbing store might have parts.

Thanks again!
Jim

[wizsmaster]

Unless they changed it from the ReefFlo 250, it should be metric Sch80

[RokleM]

It sounds like you used part of the horizontal output pipes instead of the correct vertical piece. The pipe is metric and has one piece that is filed down to fit standard U.S. SCH40/80. I've seen a site listed here on RC that sold metric. I would try Reeflo first personally to see if they have spare parts.

[FishTruck]

Originally posted by JRaquatics
Ryan there should be no need to clean the skimmer out. The only thing that should be cleaned regularly is the venturi and the cup. Everytime you clean your skimmer you are removing beneficial bacteria that helps the skimmer form a head of foam. Initially every time you clean it you are removing the slime coat and producing a slight break in until the bacteria builds back up.

O.K. To clarify... I take the neck off, rinse it out in the sink and wipe it down with paper towels and hot water. Is this too much? Should I try to leave the neck slimed a little bit?

I may have also wiped out the very top of the skimmer body last time which I won't do again.

The skimmer seems to be working well this week.

Ryan.

[JRaquatics]

You dont have to clean the cup that extreme. I actually find that if your just take a toothbrush in a scooping motion with rinses in a cup of water and clean the cup while running on the skimmer, there is no down time. If you didn't want to go that route I would suggest just using a tooth brush to clean the neck, as I think your removing too much of the slime coat and don't have large enough of a bioload for the coat to recover quickly.

How's the new fish doing?

[wizsmaster]

I usually take my cup outside to the hose bib, and just run water full stream down the inside of the neck - blasting the buildup away .... i don't ever use cloth, or towels, or my fingers inside the neck unless there is some really hard caked on stuff. It usually falls/slides right off then i start the water. My skimmer is back in action within 5 minutes, and after 10 I'm starting to see "effluent" or waste in the cup

The few times that the cup is cleaned with a towel, like this weekend when mother came to visit & thought she'd be nice & help me clean up .... it usually only takes about 30-45 minutes for skimmate to form in the cup, and takes roughly 8-12 hours for all to be back to normal

[tgreene]

Reeflo has refused to warranty their products!

I need to start by stating that I have an Orca-250 and an Orca-200 for a client, and was getting ready to buy another Orca-200 for a new client...

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, I contacted Chris at Reeflo in regards to the air-silencers which have quite literally disintegrated due to the use of Ozone (I had been told the acrylic was O3 friendly) connected as per the method that Mike used and posted here about.



After hearing absolutely nothing back from Chris since our initial conversation, I called again this past Friday and he returned my call later in the day, stating that it was not his problem, since Reeflo isn't actually the manufacturer, and that I needed to speak w/ the company that actually built the skimmers. WTH???

I have a call into this other company, but have yet to get any type of response back from them. Also, I thought that it was quite odd that Chris stated that he had already talked to the other company, and that he was told that the other person had stated that we had already "gone round and round" on this issue and had "agreed to disagree"... Again, I say WTH??? because I have not once spoken w/ this other person in regards to this issue, NOT ONCE! I also have nothing but high regards for the other person, so if what Chris is saying actually has some element of merit to it, then I absolutely believe that I am somehow being confused with somebody else!

The bottom line is this: The box that the products came in are very clearly labeled REEFLO, as is all of the paperwork included with the skimmers. Absolutely nowhere is their any indication that another US company should be responsible for warranty issue, and in fact the paperwork (I keep everything in 3-ring binders) very clearly states that all warranty issues are handled directly by Reeflo, and not dealers or distributors.

Chris was also very quick to point out that since I had purchased these through a distributor, that he didn't really make any money off of them, so again it's not his problem... Again, WTH???

If you are afraid of making less money, then you need to discontinue the use of dealers and distributors, and opt to handle everything internally. Of coarse, as we all know, that too comes at a price, because it is your dealers and distributors that have the marketing, distribution and STAFF in place to be able to handle these things so YOU don't have to.

All that I have asked for is a pair of replacement Air-Silencers (one for each skimmer), because everything else is running flawlessly.. I did get told by a girl at Reeflo that their pumps are not capable of handling O3, and that it's an extremely expensive upgrade to put new seals in, to which Chris actually correctly stated the exact opposite, stating that the seals are very inexpensive and quite simple to install (which we all know to be true).

Anyway, I'm quite infuriated with the responses and actions of a company whose products I use on a very regular basis for both my own and my clients' systems.

I'll also state that this is NOT the first issue w/ Chris. Back in January I was installing a very large system for the client that has the Orca-200, and the Hammerhead pump sounded like it was going to explode due to "grinding" and even occasionally seizing up. I called Chris and he assured me that a new replacement pump would be sent right out, but also that these sometimes do that due to grit in the grease or something to that effect (I've never had any other pumps do that!). I assured my very concerned clients that a new pump was on the way, but after a week of receiving nothing, I began to get a bit concerned so I called Chris back. He told me that he said the problem should resolve itself after it ran for a bit, which it eventually did after several days, and so since he never heard anything back, he decided not to ship out a new pump. He didn't hear anything, because I was WAITING for a new pump to arrive, which he had very clearly said he was going to ship, and even took down my clients' address to ship it directly to them.


All that said, I have a VERY large system (just under $20k) that I will begin ordering the necessary parts for over the next couple of weeks, and unless something quickly changes on their end, I will be forced to re-write the proposal to a different set of pumps and skimmers from a more honorable and reputable manufacturer.

-Tim

[FishTruck]

Originally posted by JRaquatics
You dont have to clean the cup that extreme. I actually find that if your just take a toothbrush in a scooping motion with rinses in a cup of water and clean the cup while running on the skimmer, there is no down time. If you didn't want to go that route I would suggest just using a tooth brush to clean the neck, as I think your removing too much of the slime coat and don't have large enough of a bioload for the coat to recover quickly.

How's the new fish doing?

OK. Will change my routine and see how it works. My little spotted cheek is doing well. Eating etc... but still pretty shy. Will have him in QT for a couple weeks and then will add him, with four or five other fish simultaneosly into the big tank.