Reeflo/Sequence Skimmer Club

[JRaquatics]

I have to hand it to you guys. I wouldn't be able to wait. I can't wait to hear your thought on the NW and it's performance. I hope I have time tonight to undo the modification I made to the venturi.

[benf]

Originally posted by RokleM
I have you beat by a day wiz.

My NW just arrived today, my new larger airmeter tomorrow I'm thinking the same though. I'm not going to replace the stock NW until I get a good solid reading.

Got mine today as well, but going to a concert tonight so no time to work on it

[JRaquatics]

Better be one hell of a concert. How will you be able to enjoy it when you know the NW is sitting at home?

[wizsmaster]

urg. Mike .. i need you to send me another NW ... the GF confiscated it ... she said it looks like a 'knitting' thing ... ROFL!

[benf]

Originally posted by JRaquatics
Better be one hell of a concert. How will you be able to enjoy it when you know the NW is sitting at home?

wasnt easy! Especially when afterward my buddy forgot where the car was...30mins to find it...ufb

[reefmaster30]

i have a quick question where is everyone keeping the water level on the orca 250 at when air is closed and and just the pump running

[mariocaz]

starting the neck of the skimmer

[wizsmaster]

Originally posted by reefmaster30
i have a quick question where is everyone keeping the water level on the orca 250 at when air is closed and and just the pump running

1. This really warms up your pump ... shouldn't do that.
2. is it a standard, or PRO ?

If standard, on my old standard, I kept the water lever about 1/4 above the black color for the neck joint.

[reefmaster30]

its just the standard orca 250 with the gold motor

[JRaquatics]

Please don't run the skimmer pump with the air off. I learned the hard way, that when doing so you heat up the motor (extra stress) and bury the impeller into the back of the volute.

FWIW I wouldn't mod the venturi valve. I just got a nylon hose barb that threads in nicely into the venturi and doesn't restrict the air at all.

[reefmaster30]

where do they sell the air flow meters and about how many how much air should the 250 pull?

[mariocaz]

Oh very important information, thank you guys.

[JRaquatics]

Reefmaster30 your PM box was full.

How long has it been running?You shouldn't have a problem with the skimmer overflowing with the air wide open and being fed by a mag 7. The venturi is the black bushing looking piece that has the air valve attached to it. Take the valve off and inspect it for calcium deposits. From the sounds of things I am led to believe there might be something wrong with how the skimmer was set up. Can you post any pics of how it is plumbed?

[wizsmaster]

... got it on ...

[benf]

Got mine on Too! Guess i am the only one still running the old AO pump. Next step for me is openning up the valve and venturi!

Thanks Mike!!

[JRaquatics]

I am still running the AO Smith motor. So what do you guys think of the NW? Wiz you couldn't wait for the air meter could you?

[RokleM]

Mine is on Details to follow in a little while. Playing with the air valve now.

[wizsmaster]

I had a few hours of not much to do .. air meter should be here tomorrow. Will check then. I lowered the water level for the night, about to go out for the night with the fam & some friends.

[RokleM]

Since a lot of the Reeflo owners may have not torn apart a Sequence pump before, I figured I'd document the process quick as I was upgrading mine. It isn't as easy as a smaller pump, but it's not overly difficult either.

Two images of the needlewheels (original left, Reef Specialty on the right).





Step 1: Obviously drain the skimmer and remove the pump.

Step 2: Remove the six nuts



Step 3: The end will come off



Step 4: Get a large flathead screwdriver. The shaft of the pump extends from inside the stock needlewheel all the way out the back side of the pump. Insert a screwdriver into the slot (which will hold the shaft in place), and unscrew the old needlewheel.



Step 5: If your new unit doesn't have the middle seal, move it to the new unit. This is one of the sealing mechanisms that allows the shaft to extend from the wet section here, through the air gap, and into the main pump. It is very important to be careful on removal (don't chip, exert excessive force, etc), as you can damage it. It comes out relatively easy with a larger pair of pliers and/or wrench. Wiggle it back and forth to remove it.



Step 6: Again use the screwdriver on the back of the pump, and screw on the new needlewheel. Get it tight, but not too tight. It should still spin a dozen or so rotations easy if you spin the unit by hand.

Step 7: Reassemble

[RokleM]

Initial thoughts on the new needlewheel: Clearly it's built very well. There aren't any burrs or scrap I had to shave. It's nice and smooth and obviously took some time to produce. Spinning my stock needlewheel on the shaft, I see it was not only drilled crooked, it was drilled at an angle. When it spins, the wheel itself would move forward and backwards, and physically shifted from left to right due to not being properly balanced. The new needlwheel appears to be perfect in that regard. When I spin it, the hole appears to be drilled perfectly with no left/right forwards/backwards movement.


Testing results as it stands now after running 4-5 hours:

NOTE: I have one of the very very very original units sold. A number of changes have occurred since the first batch, so what I've done to mine may not be necessary and/or not even applicable to newer owners.

Old setup:
Dart gold and the upgraded cup from ReefSpecialty
Stock needlewheel
147-148w (I run it skimming wet)
55-60 SCFM

New setup first stage:
Same pump/cup
ReefSpecialty needlewheel
162w
90 SCFM

So immediately I had a 30 SCFM jump, this is HUGE, but speaking to Mike at ReefSpecialty, obviously my watts were high. Again, I have an original unit. Mine has a completely sealed and solid silencer. The tubes in the silencer are pretty narrow. Upon unplugging the main tube from the silencer:

152w
100 SCFM

So another 10 SCFM bump. I'm now ALMOST double stock. I went to take a look at the air valve as I've seen some mention it here. As I'm unscrewing it, I hear air sucking through the threads. After it's out, it immediately drops to:

137w
125-130 SCFM

That's now past double the stock configuration. I can hear it gulping air however, which means it needs a little more tweaking. As well, obviously we can't run in this condition, as it would blast water out of the hole if the pump ever turned off creating a huge flood. Looking at the air valve, it was extremely narrow, about 3/16th to be exact. I cut one level off the end of the air valve and bored the inside out to 1/4". I then reinstalled and added the air tube back again.

143w
105-110 SCFM

Looks good to me for now I'm still skimming wet, the wattage dropped, nearly double stock SCFM, about 30 minutes of work and tweaking, and one new part. Yeah, I'd call that a success!

[wizsmaster]

Nice. My skimmer is working, and has a nice head, and 1/4 of the cup is filled with foam. I won't mess with it tonight. Tomorrow i will play.

[JRaquatics]

Very nice write up Eric. I would add that when tightening the impeller down DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN IT. You just want it so that the spring based washer is slightly compressed. On start up the wheel will tighten to its correct tension.

I messed with my volute last night mod, after mod, after mod. I have went from 105w pulling 60scfh to 89w pulling 50-55scfh to 128w pulling 75-80scfh. The problem I am finding is that I cant seem to get a happy medium of great air pull with less water. I will continue to test things out till I can find a stock venturi for these Reeflos.

[reefmaster30]

i am looking for an average of about how much air should the gold pull without any mods and at what watts? just and average!!!

[JRaquatics]

From what I have heard the reeflo 250 is about 60scfh / 1,714LPH air pull stock.

[reefmaster30]

thanks JR what is the avg watts it should pull??