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Reeflo Skimmers Beware

Dace

Dace

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 99.7%
393   1   0
Just a quote i was sent from a friend about these skimmers, just to keep ya ll on your toe's so you can make sure you keep up the proper maintenance on this skimmers

If I might chime in on the Orca/Deltec debate I agree that both are great skimmers, but have any of ya'll actually cleaned a sequence pump?

Huge PITA if everything goes smoothly, even worse if you experience what I have with the 20 or so pumps we've taken apart. Apparently in shipping, the seal that keeps the saltwater from contact with the outside gets knocked slightly causing it to rust. When you take apart the pump you find a rusty nasty mess and we've just begun stocking the replacement seals so that our pumps aren't out of commision for days at a time. The process can take between one and two hours just to clean the pump, not including an acid bath!
Click to expand...
 
gnatp2

gnatp2

Greek god
Location
Greenwich village
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
What's "the seal that keeps the saltwater from contact with the outside"?
Is that an o-ring? Do you know where to get replacement seals and how to check to ensure that a new pump doesn't have this problem?

Rust is the devil
Nate
 
Q

qy7400

Member
Location
Long Island
Rating - 100%
28   0   0
I've had the same issue with the Dart as a return pump. The seal is a composite (can't remember the exact name) on the impeller side and a carbon fiber at the pump side, the seal is made when the impeller is screwed on and the seal is compressed. This is a shot of mine before I replaced the seal, pump ran for 2 years before I had to replace the seal.

Call MDM and they will send you new seals free.

dart_pump.jpg
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Location
On the waste coast, again.
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
gnatp2 said:
Looks like massive rust issues. Will the pump only rust after the seal is leaking?
Click to expand...

These pumps uses ceramic pressure plates as the seal on the shaft, they leak from fine grains of sand or coraline algae rubbing between the plates. They all leak after a while.

The rust should not be a problem, since the rust is on the spring and outside of the wet end. The constant leak and salt creep is annoying.

Its funny someone on this board didn't believe me when I mention this as the reason I don't think reeflo is the perfect skimmer.
 
jackson6745

jackson6745

SPS KILLER
Location
NJ
Rating - 99%
201   2   0
Daceman89 said:
Hey pierce, being that you left this as a open statement do you care to imply who that may be. Inquiring minds want to know.
Click to expand...

Probably me.


All brand names aside, this is an acrylic tube that pumps in air+water. The design is great as with most of the better skimmers today. For the wattage/LPH pumped, the specs are damn good.
If the dart pumps have long term issues, that is another variable to consider in it's cost effectiveness .
 
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