EuroReef Club

[numpty]

Im just curious , what is the detrimental effect of having the skimmer in too deep water - my RS 180 is sitting in about 11" - I know its too deep but what are the potential issues - overflow or poor skimate production?

[melev]

11" is fine. If the water level is too deep, and the outlet is not above water, you lose the ability to dial in the proper height within the skimmer.

[tbone28]

Originally posted by melev
I'll have to take some pictures.

Thanks! But what are you keeping "silent" with the cap?

[melev]

Originally posted by tbone28
Thanks! But what are you keeping "silent" with the cap?

The gurgle.

[chrismhaase]

Marc,

I know this is off topic, but is this the fertilzer you use for making your phyto?



Thanks, Chris

[melev]

This one. http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/food/miracle_grow.jpg

Fertilizer 12 - 4 - 8

[chrismhaase]

I almost got that one. O well back to the HD

[numpty]

Thanks Melev - I didnt really see that it was causing me any problems. The levels are staying fairly constant , no overflow , not producing a lot of gunk but its fairly lightly stocked and not long set up.

[melev]

Once you add a bunch of livestock and food, you'll see a difference I'm sure.

[tbone28]

Originally posted by screamincamaro
Well I got the new Eheim today and I'm not exactly thrilled. While it is quiet it doesn't seem to have anywhere near the flow of the other one.

OK, I also have the RS250, and the loud Gen-X pump. I received my Eheim replacement today, hooked it up, and observed:

1) pump is VERY quiet - good, as my tank is in the family room
2) Bubbles seem to be OK?
3) I can't comment on skimmate because my tank is newly setup, and there is nothing to pull out

Pics: I had the riser tube set almost to the "closed" marking, and I had the air tube turned down about half way (not running wide open as the manual suggests)

How does it look? Should I change my adjustments any?



Skimmer Neck:

[melev]

The water level is a tad high. It wouldn't take much to make the collection cup start overflowing, and that happens whenever.

Here are two pictures of my cap.


You can see the salt starting to build up in the hole.

[tbone28]

Thanks for taking those pics, Marc. I noticed that with the riser tube set so close the the "closed" mark, that I no longer have the gurgling noise with the drain pipe submerged below the water line.

But, should I need to adjust the riser tube in the future, and need to silence the gurgle, can you tell me where you bought that cap and rubber?

I'll lower the water level as per your recommendation. How far up the neck should the water level be?

Any comments on my bubbles (size and quantity)? I ask because ER is giving me the option of returning the Eheim pump if I'm unhappy with the performance, as they admit it's a bit undersized for the RS250. Should I return it, they will send me a newly designed impellar for the stock Gen-X pump, which should cut down on the noise.

[melev]

I'd suggest keeping the bubbling water about even with the bottom of the cup for now. And watch it closely. If you use Cyano Acrylate or two-part putty to mount frags, it may start overflowing. You can always adjust it more up or more down based on how the skimmer behaves.

Bubble size and quantity really can't be considered in a newly set up skimmer. Break in time can take a couple of weeks minimum.

If noise is an issue, and you can swap pumps or impellars, why not?

The cap is from Home Depot. It is used to screw into a PVC fitting to act as a plug. The rubber was part of a huge sheet I bought off of Ebay a long time ago. I just needed something soft that would stop the noise of the cap vibrating on the pipe.

[johns]

Should I return it, they will send me a newly designed impellar for the stock Gen-X pump, which should cut down on the noise.

Do you have any info about this new impeller design - how it cuts down on noise, how it performs and cost. I'm very interested.

[screamincamaro]

The feedback I got is they are having replacement impellers created that are better balanced for the original pumps therefore less noise and vibration. It should be an improvement over the old ones that originally came in the pumps but it still won't be as quiet as the Eheim. I am assuming it would be covered under warranty.

[tbone28]

Originally posted by johns
Should I return it, they will send me a newly designed impellar for the stock Gen-X pump, which should cut down on the noise.

Do you have any info about this new impeller design - how it cuts down on noise, how it performs and cost. I'm very interested.

I don't have much info. This is what ER told me today during our conversation:

The Gen-X pumps are very loud. ER is designing their own impellars, which should be available in about 4 weeks. If you have a Gen-X pump, they'll send you a new impellar at no cost.

When asked about the noise level, this is what they told me:

1) Gen-X w/ new impellar will still be louder than the Eheim
2) Gen-X w/ new impellar will have about the same noise level as the Sedra pumps
3) I did not ask how the new impellar will cut down on noise

I did not ask them how it performs. I assume the new design is coming out more for the noise issue than performance issue, so my guess is performance will be the same.

Hope that helps

[tbone28]

Originally posted by melev
I'd suggest keeping the bubbling water about even with the bottom of the cup for now. And watch it closely. If you use Cyano Acrylate or two-part putty to mount frags, it may start overflowing. You can always adjust it more up or more down based on how the skimmer behaves.

Bubble size and quantity really can't be considered in a newly set up skimmer. Break in time can take a couple of weeks minimum.

If noise is an issue, and you can swap pumps or impellars, why not?

The cap is from Home Depot. It is used to screw into a PVC fitting to act as a plug. The rubber was part of a huge sheet I bought off of Ebay a long time ago. I just needed something soft that would stop the noise of the cap vibrating on the pipe.

The pics I posted are with the new pump which I bought from ER. It's the Eheim 1262 they use on the RC250. The Eheim is rated at 900 lph, whereas the original Gen-X pump is rated at 1200 lph.

So my question for you guys:

Should I stick with the Eheim (pictured) - lower air intake, but quiet? Or return the Eheim, and get the new impellar for the Gen-X?

The new impellar won't be available for about a month, so should I see how the skimmer is performing in a couple of weeks before I make a decision?

The bubbles with the Eheim look "good" to my novice eye. Am I mistaken?

Thanks

[melev]

I think it looks good, but waiting two weeks to decide should be fine. It would be nice to know how much electricity each pumps consumes so you have an idea of what it will cost you in the long run.

[tbone28]

Originally posted by melev
I think it looks good, but waiting two weeks to decide should be fine. It would be nice to know how much electricity each pumps consumes so you have an idea of what it will cost you in the long run.

Thanks for your opinion. I'll monitor the skimmer over the next few weeks. I'll be looking for some live rock this weekend, so the skimmer should hopefully start pulling out stuff once I place the rock into the tank.

I happened to be on Euroreef's website , and the power consumption is:

Eheim: 40 watts
Gen-X: 60 watts

Any significant differences in regards to long-term electric consumption?

[melev]

If you consider that your skimmer has two pumps on it, and the Gen-X pumps use 60w of power, then the skimmer will cost you 40w more power every hour of every day. If that doesn't matter to you, then go for it. If it works well with the Eheim pumps, I don't see the need for the upgrade.

[sjm817]

I had an RS250 with the SP5 and really liked the skimmer. The skimmer ran very well with the air wide open (air tap removed). With the Eheim, I would definitely run it wide open since it has less LPH to begin with.

[markandkristen]

the genx is a great pump but if i had the money includeing alot of euroreef owners they would opt for the eheim..

deltec, h&s, use eheim. they are very nice pumps and going to be more quiet then the genx. its not just about lph its about consistency. and thats what eheim is..... consistent

if you did a poll on Reef central i would imagine most would choose eheim

[tbone28]

Originally posted by melev
If you consider that your skimmer has two pumps on it, and the Gen-X pumps use 60w of power, then the skimmer will cost you 40w more power every hour of every day. If that doesn't matter to you, then go for it. If it works well with the Eheim pumps, I don't see the need for the upgrade.

Thanks, I'll continue to monitor the skimmer.

Regarding the pumps, the Eheim is actually the "upgraded" pump, even though it pushes less air! I had to pay for that pump.

The Gen-X is OEM. ER's telling me that if I'm not happy with the Eheim, I can return it for a full refund, and they'll send me the newly designed impellar for the Gen-X.

At this point, I'm hoping ER will send me the new impellar so I can compare both pumps and then decide which to keep.

[euroreef]

To all,

In light of recent posts in this thread, we feel it is important to make an official statement regarding the GEN-X pumps we use and the current product developments that concern those pumps. We will make this statement in a new stickied post in our forum as soon as possible.

For the purpose of immediate clarification, recent statements made or referred to in this thread regarding changes to impeller design and warranty policies are not official, and do not represent the intentions and designs of Euro-Reef, Inc.. Our support department has been notified and released to discuss some of these changes, but no official offering or policy has been established. We apologize for any confusion that may have arisen regarding this issue.

That is not to say that we believe that there is any ill intent within these posts, but official clarification is required and is forthcoming. Actually, we believe the exact opposite: That these posts/ exchanges are very helpful and beneficial to all who read them as the "Euro-Reef Club" thread has always been a great asset to RC and this forum in particular.

Suffice it to say that the announcement will be helpful to all who currently own or are considering the purchase of a Euro-Reef product.

Please refer to our forum for further information.

Sincerely,

Jeff Macare
Euro-Reef, Inc.

[melev]