Cali Kid Corals

Arin's Reefer-S 850 Build

105g Norwesco container has been ordered from Make a Buck. He said I should have it in 7-10 days as its in stock somewhere in CA.
 
Yeah probably about $500 based on what containers cost and usually can't be sourced locally. What I did with mine, mind you I don't do AWC, is I have a 100G container for salt, which isn't terribly tall (it's not a skinny one) and built a pedestal on top of that that holds a 45(??) gallon brute can which holds my RO water. I have a simple clear hose attached on the outside so I know what the water level is inside the brute, and a tee split off the output (bottom) one goes into the 100g can and one goes off towards the tank both with valves so I can turn off as needed.

Now I want to throw this out there mostly because I like spending other's money and I my reef brain sees these things 'in the wild" but while standing in line waiting for a COVID test, I noticed those plastic barriers, ones that get filled with water, and noticed they had openings at the top and drains at the bottom (because of course they would, no one is moving these empty!), they looked to be made of the same PE plastic that my container is made of, and importantly they're very rectangular in size such that they could possibly be stacked or fit in some place that are more convenient than a cylinder of water. Now I'm not sure how big the ones I saw were, but going by the fill weight I see online they seem to range from 130 to 200 gallons of water, not sure if they're food safe as water storage, but I really want someone to make it happen :) Oh and you can google 'water wall barrier' to see some out there, they don't seem to be much cheaper than water storage containers that we normally might get though.
 
Still a while away from the tank arriving - so nothing exceptionally new or fun to discuss. But... I would like some feedback/recommendations.

My current skimmer, RSK 300, is pretty "small" so I'll need a new one for the 220g system (guessing 170-180g of water w/ rock & stuff). What do folks recommend? I'm giving serious thought to getting a Bubble King since the reputation is pretty stellar.

What else should I consider? The Octo Elite series looks good too (plus it'll be apex controllable with the 0-10v).

I've only owned a single skimmer and would love to hear what gear folks have had a great experience with.
 
I’ve been using an Octopus Regal 200INT 8” with the Varios pump since 2017 with good performance and no significant problems. Similar size system (mine is 200g total vol). It has some features I thought I might use like 0-10v controllability and full cup shut off switch, but I don’t.
 
I would highly recommend the Lifereef skimmer. Went with one on my 69g and have since bought a Simplicity DC 240 and a Bubble Magus Curve 7 elite for the 75g tank. I find myself comparing both to the Lifereef and wishing I had the room for one under the 75g. Quieter, better features, less maintenance. It just works and works and works. I've pulled it out twice in 18 months to clean the pump. Skimmer itself didn't really need the cleaning. The simplicity I' had to pull about 6 times in a year due to clogs and gunk. The Curve 7 is pretty new and hasn't had any issues other than vibration noise from the pump that's kind of loud.

I did opt to get my own Simplicity DC pump for the Lifereef skimmer for less heat and power consumption over the Mag Drive usually paired with it. You can customize other features like cup size or skimmer height as well.
 
Da_Neefer said:
I would highly recommend the Lifereef skimmer. Went with one on my 69g and have since bought a Simplicity DC 240 and a Bubble Magus Curve 7 elite for the 75g tank. I find myself comparing both to the Lifereef and wishing I had the room for one under the 75g. Quieter, better features, less maintenance. It just works and works and works. I've pulled it out twice in 18 months to clean the pump. Skimmer itself didn't really need the cleaning. The simplicity I' had to pull about 6 times in a year due to clogs and gunk. The Curve 7 is pretty new and hasn't had any issues other than vibration noise from the pump that's kind of loud.

I did opt to get my own Simplicity DC pump for the Lifereef skimmer for less heat and power consumption over the Mag Drive usually paired with it. You can customize other features like cup size or skimmer height as well.
Click to expand...
OMG this web page is giving me Geocities flashbacks!
 
JVU said:
I’ve been using an Octopus Regal 200INT 8” with the Varios pump since 2017 with good performance and no significant problems. Similar size system (mine is 200g total vol). It has some features I thought I might use like 0-10v controllability and full cup shut off switch, but I don’t.
Click to expand...
Both definitely seem like a nice to have that I'd rarely or never use but, again, they're nice to have...
  • Cup shut off would be useful in case i'm on vacation & it overflows - not the end of the world without one.
  • The 0-10v on the other hand would allow the controller to be out of reach while still being able to adjust the pump.
 
phatduckk said:
Both definitely seem like a nice to have that I'd rarely or never use but, again, they're nice to have...
  • Cup shut off would be useful in case i'm on vacation & it overflows - not the end of the world without one.
  • The 0-10v on the other hand would allow the controller to be out of reach while still being able to adjust the pump.
Click to expand...
The cup shut off switch makes it a little more difficult to clean the skimmer cup/lid since it is mounted to the lid. I don’t need anything else making me not want to do routine maintenance :)

I have the skimmer plugged into an Apex outlet, so if I want to turn it off I do so through Fusion. If I just want to adjust it, I do so with the outflow gate valve. I never find myself wanting to change the pump speed on the fly.
 
I think the tank is getting delivered on the 25th! I just got an SMS from a fright company to confirm a delivery window & the sender had a fishy name in it - can't image it could be anything else....

That would put it at less than 4 weeks from ordering to delivery. Not bad! Now I have to figure out how to move this thing once its in the garage!
 
No suction cups and not a whole lot in the muscle department, but I can help if you need an extra hand Arin. How far do you have to move it? Any steps?
 
nanoguy said:
No suction cups and not a whole lot in the muscle department, but I can help if you need an extra hand Arin. How far do you have to move it? Any steps?
Click to expand...
I’m on the club list for the cups but I might just buy some. Pretty sure the folks at AC would let me borrow their too

It’ll be an easy move. Probably should be able to dolly it over about 15ft, then up a single stair & finally up onto the stand.

Should be pretty straight forward once I buy a good furniture dolly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top