Posts by Fat Tony
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Adam... I wouldn't go with the Octo pumps... they draw way too much power. Spend the little extra and buy the Sicce's. I haven't put my amp meter on mine yet, but the Octo pulled about 210 watts in my system... matter fact, i'm going to take some measurements now 
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w00t! as I suspected, the Sicce pump pulls aboput a quarter the amperage of the Octo pump. The Octo pump was pulling about 1.8 amps while the Sicce pulls 0.5 amps... that translates into a pump that is VERY efficient and pulls some serious air!
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I just looked at the site you were referencing for the build. If you decide to go with decent pumps, you are going to spend as much on the DIY skimmer for something that is going to take up a ton of space as you would if you bought one of the modded NW200's from Marine Solutions (modded with the Sicce pump ) like the one I have... for me, it would be a no brainer, I would just buy the skimmer from Marine Solutions...but that's just me.
) like the one I have... for me, it would be a no brainer, I would just buy the skimmer from Marine Solutions...but that's just me.
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Foot print is not just a determining factor in space Randy, Height is another major concern since personally I would not want to see a big ugly skimmer sticking out from my tank. As far as the cost of the build, On his site it listed the parts cost (with a cheap pump) around $170. If one decided to use a much more efficient pump that they would have to purchase, that brings the total to about the same cost or more than One of the NW200's with the pump modification (Sicce psk2500). I'm sure you have seen the trends lately with skimmers. A tall slender skimmer is no more efficient than a short wide skimmer with a bubble plate. IME, most DIY stuff that we try to do, end in costing more in terms of time and energy and redesigns than they would have cost just to purchase a decent piece of equipment in the first place.
As far as the Mag pumps are concerned. I think you don't hear as much about them being used/modified because there are better pumps out there. Most people tend to stick with pumps that are already proven as good skimmer pumps liek the Eheims, or choose to go the cheap route (which is what most DIYers are trying to do) and use a much less expensive but more powerful pump. If it were me, I would spend the inital cost and just buy one and see if it fits... if it doesn't then send it back...instead of spending all the energy trying to find out (along with the hassles and headaches) if it will work....but that's just me being silly I guess.
As far as the Mag pumps are concerned. I think you don't hear as much about them being used/modified because there are better pumps out there. Most people tend to stick with pumps that are already proven as good skimmer pumps liek the Eheims, or choose to go the cheap route (which is what most DIYers are trying to do) and use a much less expensive but more powerful pump. If it were me, I would spend the inital cost and just buy one and see if it fits... if it doesn't then send it back...instead of spending all the energy trying to find out (along with the hassles and headaches) if it will work....but that's just me being silly I guess.
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Hey Adam, as I was reading through this thread again, I noticed you are wanting to use the 55 as the sump.. they make ok sumps, but I have found that the taller the sump, the harder it is to work under the stand and makes maintenance a living he11.
a 33 Long makes a much better sump and you can get them at AO for right at $60...it's the same footprint of the 55, but is just shorter...
a 33 Long makes a much better sump and you can get them at AO for right at $60...it's the same footprint of the 55, but is just shorter...
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I have compared it to the 1260 which pulls about 80 watts in my system. The 1262 I would expect to pull about 100 watts. No that doesn't take into account the power factor and stuff, that is just 100% amperage pull on the pump reading the hot leg. The advertised ratings on pump are after powerfactor is calculated in... so with that said, the 30 watt rating on the Sicce would be about right and the 65 watt (as far as I can remember) on the Eheim is about right as well.
With your reply that it simply isn't worth it, I take it that you are getting a little offended or something. No real reason to be, why get offended, this is simple opinion based thread on a DIY skimmer. My opinion is that you can buy one that will cost the same and be as or more effective or efficient... once again, that's my opinion. I see your side as well cause you like to tinker with stuff. I just find that oftentimes we spend more on making DIY stuff work than we would have if we would have just bought the item we were trying to save money on... Once again my opinion here. I personally want to do it once, and call it done until I upgrade (again) in the future. But then again, I don't have the time to tinker with stuff all the time, nor the want after I tinker all day at work
No love loss bro, lets just continue this debate further
With your reply that it simply isn't worth it, I take it that you are getting a little offended or something. No real reason to be, why get offended, this is simple opinion based thread on a DIY skimmer. My opinion is that you can buy one that will cost the same and be as or more effective or efficient... once again, that's my opinion. I see your side as well cause you like to tinker with stuff. I just find that oftentimes we spend more on making DIY stuff work than we would have if we would have just bought the item we were trying to save money on... Once again my opinion here. I personally want to do it once, and call it done until I upgrade (again) in the future. But then again, I don't have the time to tinker with stuff all the time, nor the want after I tinker all day at work
No love loss bro, lets just continue this debate further
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