j.stagner
Seeker of knowledge
Sigh. I have had a Reef Devil skimmer for a little over a year now, and so far it is one of the biggest equipment purchases I wish I'd never made. Seriously, I had a $100 venturi skimmer that Saltwater City had on clearance and which they sold me almost as a joke, which outperforms the Reef Devil by an order of magnitude. I gave the venturi away to a friend because the noise drove my girlfriend crazy.
My reef devil *might* fill the collection cup once every 6 weeks, I think that's being generous most of the time. The first couple of weeks of operation it worked okay, still not as good as the venuri, but nearly silent so I was content.
Since then, I've pretty much decided that it is a piece of garbage. I've tried messing with the water level, running it higher, running it lower, and get marginal changes at best. The stuff it does manage to collect is fairly dark, but I simply cannot believe that with a 4-5" sand bed and heavy feedings that there is only that little amount of gunk to collect.
The water flow through the system is good, approximately 18x turnover, using a Sea Swirl and alternating powerheads on a timer to keep stuff suspended and fairly turbulent.
I've tried not cleaning it for 2-3 months, cleaning it weekly, full breakdown cleaning as well as just cleaning the neck and riser. I've tried larger bioballs, fewer or more bioballs, reduced airflow, etc. It's in a constant-level chamber in my sump, and I've raised and lowered it within the limits of my stand. Just can't get the darn thing to work. I will generally leave it alone for a week or two to see if any changes have an effect, so I don't believe that it is suffering too much from "Tinker-itis".
During cleanings, I use RO/DI water only (added vinegar once), and rinse with RO/DI or tank water when done.
I've seen the same skimmer running on other tanks, and the bubbles are finer and denser, the cup actually has stuff in it, and the owners have not had bad things to say (though never great things) about them.
Since I am in the process of upgrading to a larger tank, I just can't fit another skimmer into the budget for another month or two, so I am incredibly frustrated.
So, my questions are two:
1) Does anyone have advice on how I can get this thing to operate like a real skimmer?
2) I am upgrading to a 75gal, with plans to move to a 100 within maybe a year to eighteen months. Skimmer recommendations?
Thank you,
Jonah
My reef devil *might* fill the collection cup once every 6 weeks, I think that's being generous most of the time. The first couple of weeks of operation it worked okay, still not as good as the venuri, but nearly silent so I was content.
Since then, I've pretty much decided that it is a piece of garbage. I've tried messing with the water level, running it higher, running it lower, and get marginal changes at best. The stuff it does manage to collect is fairly dark, but I simply cannot believe that with a 4-5" sand bed and heavy feedings that there is only that little amount of gunk to collect.
The water flow through the system is good, approximately 18x turnover, using a Sea Swirl and alternating powerheads on a timer to keep stuff suspended and fairly turbulent.
I've tried not cleaning it for 2-3 months, cleaning it weekly, full breakdown cleaning as well as just cleaning the neck and riser. I've tried larger bioballs, fewer or more bioballs, reduced airflow, etc. It's in a constant-level chamber in my sump, and I've raised and lowered it within the limits of my stand. Just can't get the darn thing to work. I will generally leave it alone for a week or two to see if any changes have an effect, so I don't believe that it is suffering too much from "Tinker-itis".
During cleanings, I use RO/DI water only (added vinegar once), and rinse with RO/DI or tank water when done.
I've seen the same skimmer running on other tanks, and the bubbles are finer and denser, the cup actually has stuff in it, and the owners have not had bad things to say (though never great things) about them.
Since I am in the process of upgrading to a larger tank, I just can't fit another skimmer into the budget for another month or two, so I am incredibly frustrated.
So, my questions are two:
1) Does anyone have advice on how I can get this thing to operate like a real skimmer?
2) I am upgrading to a 75gal, with plans to move to a 100 within maybe a year to eighteen months. Skimmer recommendations?
Thank you,
Jonah