d2mini's Epic Fantabulous New Reef Build

You're the man Dennis. What a perfect, amazing tank. The lighting, the flow, the stocking, the scaping, all just too wonderful.
Thanks, sarah! :)

So how are you liking the Radion Pro's?
Love them.
Everything just pops compared to the gen 1 radions.
Could still use less shadowing underneath coral though. But I do appreciate that the light is not as flat/shadowless as T5's. I've always preferred MH over T5.
 
Great video Dennis! Its been an amazing ride watching your tank progress and turn into something that is quite beautiful. Good job man!
 
Wow! All 143 pages in one day, great thread! You definitely have a truly amazing talent. I would love to see it in person, don't worry I won't bother you I just need a chair in front of it. Haha well done man! Really enjoyed it all, what a great group of people and talent on this site.
 
Ok ladies and gents... for summer 2013 the fish room is undergoing some changes/upgrades. Here is Part 1... new protein skimmer!

No more cones, no more needle wheels, no more new fads, no more hassles!
d2mini is going old skewl with the tried, true and relatively unchanged LifeReef SVS3-30 venturi skimmer. Just got it a few days ago and first impressions are good! I'm coming from a Vertex Alpha 250 so that is my comparison. I can say that this LifeReef skimmer is built very well, easy to assemble, and it so simple... just one knob to adjust! All you do is set the water height inside the skimmer body using the gate valve and walk away. This is the only thing that ever needs adjustment. No more balancing acts. Even the water height in the sump is not part of the equation. Just make sure it's below the output of the skimmer. It took just over 12 hours for the skimmer to start producing foam in the neck... quicker than expected. Within 24 hours I already had a solid 1/4" of dark skim in the 8" diameter collection cup.

I also had the ozone kit added (another Summer of 2013 upgrade coming soon). Two great things about using ozone with this skimmer.
For one, the contact time in this skimmer is longer than most other skimmers.
Second, any unused ozone is reintroduced back into the skimmer. None of it escapes out of the collection cup.

So far my new LifeReef skimmer has been making skim for less than 36 hours.
So more comments to come as I get to know it better. But so far I am impressed, not only with the skimmer but the man behind it. Jeff was real easy to work with both on the phone and through emails and seems to make a real quality product and backs it up with great customer service.

Meanwhile, here are some pics.
Out of the box, hooked up and running, first foam in the neck and finally a shot of that dark black poo. :)

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My god, there is now well over an inch of black poo water in this 8" cup.
Just 3 days in. Using the pic above, it's to the top of the blue valve.
I hope this keeps up. Will see if it eventually idles.
 
hahahaha pooooooo water must smell lovely when my skimmer first went in the sump it was super pooo water and the living room smelled like some one took a dump on the heater.... That's the only part of a skimmer I hate. POOOOOO WATER

P.S. I'm looking ay the VS2-SHORTY
 
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I believe in trying to keep it simple. Part of the problem with this hobby is all the doo dads and whatchamacallits. I think you'll continue to be impressed with the poo water disposal.
 
I believe in trying to keep it simple. Part of the problem with this hobby is all the doo dads and whatchamacallits. I think you'll continue to be impressed with the poo water disposal.


:sfish::pooh::question:Are you going to clean that up :mrgreen:
 
These skimmer discussions recently really make me question how efficient my skimmer is running. Keep us posted. If you keep liking it, I might check to see if they make one I can use on my tank. The pictures look like an advertisement anyway! I need your photography skills/knowledge! LOL
 
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