Xtreme 250 skimmer - Page 4

badazztealcobra · #76 01/03/2008, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sjm817
Looks very good so far. I'm interested to see the 250.

Makes two of us..... unfortunately I am only setting up my tank, so I may have to run to someones house to try this thing out in their sump...

sjm817 · #77 01/03/2008, 11:50 PM

Send it to me! I can test it for you and break it in. I'd like to see how it compares to my BM250.

USC-fan · #78 01/03/2008, 11:56 PM

Looks awesome.

Still wish they had a recirc version! Maybe it will come out later.

Can't wait to see some action pics of the 250. That thing should be a beast.

badazztealcobra · #79 01/04/2008, 12:56 AM

I passed on a BM200 for Xmas for this skimmer, so I'm hoping it's all it should be myself...

I thought I couldnt pass on this 250 for less than a BM200... Let's hope I was right.

JCTewks · #80 01/06/2008, 12:55 AM

I managed to sneak over to Marine Solutions this afternoon to peek at the Xtreme skimmers

you guys that ordered them are in for a treat

They had a 200 set up in one of the frag tanks and it was looking great after only 2 days in there. The Sicce was pulling 50SCFH at 21 watts. These are really built well too...definitely don;t look like "chinese junk"

I took some pics on the phone, but none of them managed to get saved

well, someone ought to be posting pictures of their new skimmer soon!

luke33 · #81 01/06/2008, 01:02 AM

Excellent news JCT. Someone posted earlier there 160 was only pulling 20scfh.......Awesome and thanks for the post.

badazztealcobra · #82 01/06/2008, 01:23 AM

I cant wait for someone to get some readings on their MSX250... I should have mine on Monday but dont have a tank setup yet... I almost want to go and take it to a local DIY'er that has the air meter....

JCTewks · #83 01/06/2008, 01:43 AM

where was it posted the 20scfh reading? maybe it was a typo and was supposed to be 20 lpm. I forgot my air meter at home, but Joe said that it was pulling 50scfh and I saw the kill-a-watt at 21 watts.

Oddly enough, the exact same pump is going on all 3 skimmers...same mesh size and everything. there is nothing restrictive on the 160 that would cause it to draw less air other than a little extra head pressure from the pump being mounted on the bottom of the skimmer instead of the side.

JCTewks · #84 01/06/2008, 01:48 AM

NM, just found the thread luke

luke33 · #85 01/06/2008, 01:50 AM

On the 160 thread a guy had it hooked up to his air meter and it was pulling 20scfh, not lpm. His pump didn't look like it had the 1/2" restriction inside the male thread on the volute cover. I didn't think the 160 would be able to handle the air so i'm guessing thats why. It looks like the 200 and 250 have the 1/2" restrictors on them to get the 50scfh.

JCTewks · #86 01/06/2008, 01:54 AM

they are all three running the exact same pump with the exact same mods. I saw with my own eyes that they were grabbing the same pumps and putting them in different boxes

I think that the 160 guy had the airfitting in wrong

MrSquid · #87 01/06/2008, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by luke33
On the 160 thread a guy had it hooked up to his air meter and it was pulling 20scfh, not lpm. His pump didn't look like it had the 1/2" restriction inside the male thread on the volute cover. I didn't think the 160 would be able to handle the air so i'm guessing thats why. It looks like the 200 and 250 have the 1/2" restrictors on them to get the 50scfh.

What does that 1/2" restrictor do? The instructions only showed how to assemble the main unit - it didn't show anything about the smaller pieces.

And there's a tube that feeds the venturi that's cut at a 45° angle - does it matter how that angle is oriented in relation to the pump inlet?

JCTewks · #88 01/07/2008, 12:16 AM

that restrictor is the whole reason the venturi works...venturi's function from Bernouli's Principle...do a wiki search and you'll see what i mean

DamnPepShrimp · #89 01/07/2008, 12:14 PM

Sounds great, glad to hear they are performing as expected! I don't think I am getting my 360g setup anytime soon, so I am going to wait on the MSX 250. Besides the sump in my 110g is only 12" wide. I don't know if I want to drop the money on the MSX 200, when I could save $175 and get an Octo 200. I know it won't be as good, but still good enough for a 110g. What do you guys think? Save the $175 and get the Octo, and when the 360 goes up, fork over $500 for the MSX 250?

eastbay176 · #90 01/07/2008, 12:43 PM

I"m a little confused about the Sicce pumps...are they being mesh modded by MarineSolutions? If so, does the 1 year warranty still apply to the pump? Or are the pumps already modded by the manufacturer?

luke33 · #91 01/07/2008, 01:03 PM

Eastbay, not sure about them being warranted, you'd have to contact MS but yes they are being meshmodded and venturi drilled by MS.

Pepshrimp, the octo200 will be fine for your 110g especially with it modded a bit.

jokerjp · #92 01/07/2008, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by luke33
On the 160 thread a guy had it hooked up to his air meter and it was pulling 20scfh, not lpm. His pump didn't look like it had the 1/2" restriction inside the male thread on the volute cover. I didn't think the 160 would be able to handle the air so i'm guessing thats why. It looks like the 200 and 250 have the 1/2" restrictors on them to get the 50scfh.

I'm that guy ^^.

After the pump properly broke in and I replaced the mesh I can now consistently get 30 SCFH when the pump is hooked to the skimmer. I've tried about a dozen different tweaks and that's the max I'm getting.

Now....if I unhook the pump from the body of the skimmer and just let it run in the tub I get 45-50 SCFH....but what does the prove.

I think the limiting factor is the back pressure from the water in the skimmer body. Bottom line is I don't think the 160 needs more than 30 SCFH anyway, but I keep hearing about 40-50 SCFH and I'd like to see it.

Can someone who is getting > 30 SCFH WITH the pump hooked to the body please post a pic or a video of the readings? I'd like to know what if anything I'm doing wrong.

dgill · #93 01/07/2008, 03:46 PM

jokerjp - 30 SCFH sounds about right... I believe that would be 850 LPH? My guess is your current draw is at 23-25 watts? Did you re-work the mesh mod at all (make it bigger)?

Regardless, excellent performance. The Aquabee needlewheel pumps used by Deltec and H&S pull 450 LPH at 20 watts, and I believe the Eheim 1260 needlewheels do 900 LPH at 50 watts?

jokerjp · #94 01/07/2008, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dgill
jokerjp - 30 SCFH sounds about right... I believe that would be 850 LPH? My guess is your current draw is at 23-25 watts? Did you re-work the mesh mod at all (make it bigger)?

Regardless, excellent performance. The Aquabee needlewheel pumps used by Deltec and H&S pull 450 LPH at 20 watts, and I believe the Eheim 1260 needlewheels do 900 LPH at 50 watts?

Yes I did rework the mesh making it much bigger. I've been getting various watt readings without much difference in air...I think that is due to the break in time needed for each new meshwheel and I expect the 35 watts below to drop back down 25 or so once it's run overnight.

Here's a pic of my best current results.

I want to add that I'm very pleased with these performance numbers. I don't think the 160 body could handle much more air and watching the turbulence I might try to shoot for 25 SCFH or so once I get more experience with this thing.