RollaJase's Trip Off the Deep End - Custom Rimless 55G

[RollaJase]

Have you looked on Ali express? Most brand name skimmers are made in China and there are plenty of knock offs probably made by the same company. I saw some nice no name skimmers with Jebao DC pumps that were affordable.

I did take a bit of a look at Ali Express, having used them for a lot of stuff in the past. Looks like there are a lot of Bubble Magus branded or look alike units on there, JNS as well. I'll have a bit more of a look over the weekend but that is definitely an avenue to explore.

[metrokat]

Love my Bubble Mangus. Wish it was a tad smaller, the thing is huge.

[RollaJase]

Love my Bubble Mangus. Wish it was a tad smaller, the thing is huge.

If I decide to go down the route of the Bubble Magus i'm still undecided between a Curve 5, C5.5 and I recently found the Hero 7 available (rated to 700L). Which model do you have Kat?

[Felicia]

Too many options! The DC skimmer seem really nice, but they're definitely pricey. Does Jebao (or a spin off of them) have one? I like the Jebao DC pump that I have.

[RollaJase]

Too many options! The DC skimmer seem really nice, but they're definitely pricey. Does Jebao (or a spin off of them) have one? I like the Jebao DC pump that I have.

Yes, definitely too many to choose from haha. At the moment, the 3 brands leading the pack are Bubble Magus, Coral Box and Reef Octopus. As far as I am aware, Jebao actually make the Coral Box D300, D500 and D700 skimmers (bit of confusion if they actually make the skimmer or just provide the pump though). These skimmers use the same Jebao DC pumps that you can buy as a return pump. I love my Jebao DC3000 return, this is something that is dragging me towards the Coral Box skimmer.

[Felicia]

Yes, definitely too many to choose from haha. At the moment, the 3 brands leading the pack are Bubble Magus, Coral Box and Reef Octopus. As far as I am aware, Jebao actually make the Coral Box D300, D500 and D700 skimmers (bit of confusion if they actually make the skimmer or just provide the pump though). These skimmers use the same Jebao DC pumps that you can buy as a return pump. I love my Jebao DC3000 return, this is something that is dragging me towards the Coral Box skimmer.

Oh ok. Well that's good to know. I have the DC3000 and well and its a great pump. Love the controllability and the feed button.

[RollaJase]

Oh ok. Well that's good to know. I have the DC3000 and well and its a great pump. Love the controllability and the feed button.

The feed button is a great feature to have and it is very quiet which I like. My only complaint is that I should have got a DC5000. I am 1 setting of full speed on my DC3000 running my return and 2 reactors and the overflow definitely has potential for more flow.

[Sancho]

Yes, definitely too many to choose from haha. At the moment, the 3 brands leading the pack are Bubble Magus, Coral Box and Reef Octopus. As far as I am aware, Jebao actually make the Coral Box D300, D500 and D700 skimmers (bit of confusion if they actually make the skimmer or just provide the pump though). These skimmers use the same Jebao DC pumps that you can buy as a return pump. I love my Jebao DC3000 return, this is something that is dragging me towards the Coral Box skimmer.

I have tried for a while now to get some of this stuff here so I can sell it on Ebay. I have negotiated with Jebao and bought a bunch of WP's when they first came out. From the negotiations I learned that they make pumps that are sold as few different brands. Jebao referred me to a company that makes acrylic products. I think they may have a business relationship but Jebao dose not make the Coral Box brand. They just supply some of the pumps. Its been years now but I am pretty sure Reef Octopus, Bubble Magnus and Coral Box are all made by the same company Jebao referred to to. After I was sent a shipment with 220v EU versions WP's I basically broke even on the deal It became a nightmare. I never pursued bringing skimmers over.

[ninjamyst]

The dct3000 pump in the d700 makes a humming noise. Is that normal? I thought dc pumps are silent.

[RollaJase]

I have tried for a while now to get some of this stuff here so I can sell it on Ebay. I have negotiated with Jebao and bought a bunch of WP's when they first came out. From the negotiations I learned that they make pumps that are sold as few different brands. Jebao referred me to a company that makes acrylic products. I think they may have a business relationship but Jebao dose not make the Coral Box brand. They just supply some of the pumps. Its been years now but I am pretty sure Reef Octopus, Bubble Magnus and Coral Box are all made by the same company Jebao referred to to. After I was sent a shipment with 220v EU versions WP's I basically broke even on the deal It became a nightmare. I never pursued bringing skimmers over.

Ah, good to know, thanks for clearing that up Sancho. I definitely find it believable that a few OEM's make a lot of the skimmers we see here in the western market. Half of the models out there look identical with the exception of the pump, bubble plate and a few colour options. Shame you had issues bringing in the gear yourself. I used to do that with PC water cooling gear from Europe and Asia and it just ended up being too messy and too hard to keep up with the change in components so I gave it up.

 

The dct3000 pump in the d700 makes a humming noise. Is that normal? I thought dc pumps are silent.

Mine does make a noise but it is by far one of the quietest pumps I have ever used. When the front of my stand is off I can hear it and when the front is back on I can only hear my skimmer. I found that depending on what speed level I ran mine on the noise would change. Up to level 3 was basically silent and then the noise changed up until max speed. I actually think it is most noisy when running it at around 50%. My particular pump did wear in over a week or so of use and quietened down a tad over what it was initially. I'd be saying the hum you are hearing could be contributed to the fact that the pump is inside of a skimmer body (more resonance ) or because the pumps have a pinwheel impeller in them which will create more noise over a standard impeller.

 

Besides the noise, what do you think of the coral box?

[RollaJase]

Ended up biting the bullet and ordering a Coral Box D500. My LFS didn't end up getting back to me and from the research I did it looks like the Coral Box build is on par with that or Reef Octopus but I get the benefit of a DC pump for the same money. It also looks like a more solid option over a Bubble Magus. I still think the Bubble Magus is a great budget option but when I was comparing DC to DC the Bubble Magus DC options were much harder for me to source and at a higher cost than the Coral Box. I was going to skimp out and not get the AUD plug thinking a DC2000 pump uses the power brick style adapter but it uses a wall wart style so I ended up just buying it. Sold a few small items on eBay this week so with the cash I had in my PayPal account the skimmer only cost $295AUD shipped from Hong Kong.

 

Oh, and Sancho, I was right. While Fish Street do have an 'Australian Warehouse' there are notes on all their products from the Australian Warehouse saying that they will ship from Hong Kong via Toll, shipping time is expected to be 1 week so hopefully I see in by the 4th March, if not it should arrive around the 7th.

[Fishy!]

Ended up biting the bullet and ordering a Coral Box D500. My LFS didn't end up getting back to me and from the research I did it looks like the Coral Box build is on par with that or Reef Octopus but I get the benefit of a DC pump for the same money. It also looks like a more solid option over a Bubble Magus. I still think the Bubble Magus is a great budget option but when I was comparing DC to DC the Bubble Magus DC options were much harder for me to source and at a higher cost than the Coral Box. I was going to skimp out and not get the AUD plug thinking a DC2000 pump uses the power brick style adapter but it uses a wall wart style so I ended up just buying it.

This build is great, been following along since the beginning. I am currently building a similar size set up. I am in the decision making process on the skimmer as well. I am leaning between the BM curve 5 and the Coral Box DC 300 or 500. If you have time please do a review for us once you have it up and running!

How do you find the DCT3000 return pump for flow? I have bought, but not hooked up the DCT4000 and have been second guessing my self on if it is big enough. I am contemplating getting the 6000 and using the 4000 on my frag tank.

[ninjamyst]

Besides the noise, what do you think of the coral box?

 

Still trying to get mine dialed in. I dosed prazipro last week so had the skimmer off that time. But so far so good. The quality is nice and the drain tube has a valve for easy draining. The collection cup is a little hard to take off but I imagine most people will use the drain valve most of the time. I like the water outlet control gate they use better than turning the tube on the Bubble Magus.

[jedimasterben]

This build is great, been following along since the beginning. I am currently building a similar size set up. I am in the decision making process on the skimmer as well. I am leaning between the BM curve 5 and the Coral Box DC 300 or 500. If you have time please do a review for us once you have it up and running!

How do you find the DCT3000 return pump for flow? I have bought, but not hooked up the DCT4000 and have been second guessing my self on if it is big enough. I am contemplating getting the 6000 and using the 4000 on my frag tank.

I had a DC6000 running on my 40, when I was using eductors I had it turned to maximum, but when I took them off (they make too much gurgle noise) I had it down to I think 3/6. I wanted to upgrade to the DCT and see if I could get rid of the resonance the pump makes against my stand, so I went to get a DCT-6000 and found I could get an open box DCT-12000 for $20 less lol. I did that, and I have that set at 2/10.

[RollaJase]

This build is great, been following along since the beginning. I am currently building a similar size set up. I am in the decision making process on the skimmer as well. I am leaning between the BM curve 5 and the Coral Box DC 300 or 500. If you have time please do a review for us once you have it up and running!

How do you find the DCT3000 return pump for flow? I have bought, but not hooked up the DCT4000 and have been second guessing my self on if it is big enough. I am contemplating getting the 6000 and using the 4000 on my frag tank.

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for stopping by . I'll definitely try to post up a bit of a review on the D500 when it arrives, should be mid next week sometime I think. I love the DC3000 return but kinda wish I went for a DC5000. I had originally purchased the 3000 as an upgrade for my 30G but never installed it so decided to use it on this build. I'm running the pump at level 7/8 at the moment feeding my return line and two media reactors. The overflow has more headroom for extra flow but at the moment the pump is the bottleneck. I definitely have room to upgrade to a DCT4000 and may be able to squeeze in a 5000 or 6000 (they are a few inches wider than the 3000 & 4000). Depending on how you want to set up the return I would say the 4000 would be enough for you. As Ben pointed out though, you can overspec your pump and reduce the flow through the controller, that's the beauty of a DC pump.

 

 

Still trying to get mine dialed in. I dosed prazipro last week so had the skimmer off that time. But so far so good. The quality is nice and the drain tube has a valve for easy draining. The collection cup is a little hard to take off but I imagine most people will use the drain valve most of the time. I like the water outlet control gate they use better than turning the tube on the Bubble Magus.

Ah Ok. I read that when dialing it in that starting at pump speed 3, adjusting the level with the dial and then ramping up the speed to 5 or so was a good way to start with the tuning. I'm probably going to plug the drain line on the collection cup as I have no intention of using an external skimmate vessel and the line will just get in the way. I figured the collection cup would be tight to start with, even my Tunze 9004 was super stiff when I got it but it did loosen up over time.

 

I had a DC6000 running on my 40, when I was using eductors I had it turned to maximum, but when I took them off (they make too much gurgle noise) I had it down to I think 3/6. I wanted to upgrade to the DCT and see if I could get rid of the resonance the pump makes against my stand, so I went to get a DCT-6000 and found I could get an open box DCT-12000 for $20 less lol. I did that, and I have that set at 2/10.

Downside of my sump is that even though the return chamber is quite long, it isn't overly wide, I may just be able to squeeze in a 5000 or 6000 if I ever had to. Not that my current pump is an issue, it's doing just fine, I might like to increase the circulation rate in the future though.

[ninjamyst]

Ah Ok. I read that when dialing it in that starting at pump speed 3, adjusting the level with the dial and then ramping up the speed to 5 or so was a good way to start with the tuning. I'm probably going to plug the drain line on the collection cup as I have no intention of using an external skimmate vessel and the line will just get in the way. I figured the collection cup would be tight to start with, even my Tunze 9004 was super stiff when I got it but it did loosen up over time

Mine is overflowing at speed 1 =P. I dont have an external skimmate vessel. When the cup is half full, I just open the valve at the end of the drain line and empty into a bowl / bucket.

[RollaJase]

Mine is overflowing at speed 1 =P. I dont have an external skimmate vessel. When the cup is half full, I just open the valve at the end of the drain line and empty into a bowl / bucket.

Oh, that's odd :S. Is the water level too high for the skimmer? That's not a bad idea actually. When my 500 arrives I'll see how much room I have around it, I may be able to use the drain line without it getting in the way, if not, no great loss. I typically clean my skimmer cup when I do water changes anyway on top of the weekly emptying.

[ninjamyst]

Oh, that's odd :S. Is the water level too high for the skimmer? That's not a bad idea actually. When my 500 arrives I'll see how much room I have around it, I may be able to use the drain line without it getting in the way, if not, no great loss. I typically clean my skimmer cup when I do water changes anyway on top of the weekly emptying.

it is sitting in 9 inches of water. I will let it run for a few more days. Right now I have the valve open on the drain line and emptying back into the filter sock. I see lots of nasty stuff stuck to the side of the collection cup already so I am hopeful this skimmer will be awesome.

[Sancho]

 

Still trying to get mine dialed in. I dosed prazipro last week so had the skimmer off that time. But so far so good. The quality is nice and the drain tube has a valve for easy draining. The collection cup is a little hard to take off but I imagine most people will use the drain valve most of the time. I like the water outlet control gate they use better than turning the tube on the Bubble Magus.

The collection cup is also a pita on the small Coral Box I have. Mine was a bit difficult to dial in at first but I think all skimmers are until a slime coat gets built up. Mine been running almost a week and its making nice dry foam today. Played with the water level a bit yesterday and that seemed to make all the difference.

[ninjamyst]

The collection cup is also a pita on the small Coral Box I have. Mine was a bit difficult to dial in at first but I think all skimmers are until a slime coat gets built up. Mine been running almost a week and its making nice dry foam today. Played with the water level a bit yesterday and that seemed to make all the difference.

what water level are you running your Coral Box?

[RollaJase]

it is sitting in 9 inches of water. I will let it run for a few more days. Right now I have the valve open on the drain line and emptying back into the filter sock. I see lots of nasty stuff stuck to the side of the collection cup already so I am hopeful this skimmer will be awesome.

I think my skimmer chamber is roughly 10" deep so I may have to make a little platform for the skimmer to sit on, I need to double check. What was the recommended depth for the skimmer? It wasn't listed on the product page and figured it may be in the user manual. Hearing reports of between 7.5" and 9". Ultimately it's going to be totally different for everyone depending on pump speed used and how open the gate is.

what water level are you running your Coral Box?

Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this also Sancho.

[jedimasterben]

I think mine is in like 10" of water. It is above the little water level mark on the adjustment valve, so I have it sitting on a piece of foam and it is better, but it is still skimming pretty wet, so I think I need to raise it up just a bit more.

 

The cup on mine is also VERY tight and takes a good amount of force to get it off. Mine is in a shitty spot, too, and is difficult to get to, so if/when I change my setup it will be better.

[Sancho]

what water level are you running your Coral Box?

Mines is the little girl s150. Not a big boy DC model. 7" seemed to be the sweet spot

[RollaJase]

I think mine is in like 10" of water. It is above the little water level mark on the adjustment valve, so I have it sitting on a piece of foam and it is better, but it is still skimming pretty wet, so I think I need to raise it up just a bit more.

 

The cup on mine is also VERY tight and takes a good amount of force to get it off. Mine is in a shitty spot, too, and is difficult to get to, so if/when I change my setup it will be better.

From memory I designed the sump to accommodate a decent depth for the skimmer to give me more flexibility. If I need to make a stand, then so be it. May even just get a cheap tupperwave container from a $2 shop and drill holes in it so I can flip it upside down and put the skimmer on it. Lucky for me, I have lots of space around the skimmer so hopefully it's a bit more manageable for me. Worst case, I'll just play with it out of the sump for a bit to loosen it up. Making sure the plastic is dry when you put it together will make it easier to pull apart also, If the coupling area is wet when assembled it will create a tighter seal one it dries.

[Sancho]

Mine has an o ring. Its not acrylic to acrylic. Its a very tight fit. Definitely need both hands to remove the cup.