designing pro equipment, what do you want???

[Skimmy]

O.k.
So, some of you may have heard the rumor that I am going to be designing a professional line of reef equipment....IT'S TRUE!!!
Mike (MC lighting), owner of Creative CAD designs and myself have partnered up, and plan on making an entire line of professional reef filtration.

These are going to be made in USA, right here in Washington, they are going to be very high quality, cnc machined, with innovative designs not currently seen. But, with a pricetag and a lead time that everyone will be happy with...

My questions for you guys, the consumers is...
What features do you want to see in your next protein skimmer, sump, media reactor??
What would you say are the design flaws of your current equipment??
Or things that you would like to see different??

As you can imagine, I myself have many, many ideas and designs for skimmers, sumps, media reactors, etc... but scince we are making this gear for you guys, we want to know what YOU want, and what is important to YOU.

So please feel free to post, pm me, or even call me personally...
my number is 425-780-1059, and I am happy to speak with anyone about their ideas.
As it stands, I can already promise you that it will be very difficult to match our build quality, design features, and customer service that we will offer with our equipment, and I look foreward to providing the northwest reefing community(and beyond ) with new and exciting options for the success, stability and health of your reef systems.
Thank you in advance for any imput, criticism, or kudos...

 

[MrSculpin]

Well

Im very new to salt, six months or so, so keeping that in mind. My skimmer, which is a hob. Makes a mess when
it gets full, all over my wall. I wish I could have some sort of overflow to another container. And its not as adjustable
as I would like. Easy to adjust tho.

Sumps.. they are so so expensive! It would be nice
to have the option to hook two together so you could get
them in your stand.

Maybe stupid but hey.. you asked! :doubt:

 

[Skimmy]

not stupid at all, MrSculpin...

We plan on making a hob skimmer that is worth a damn, easily adjustable, stable, and the design will anticipate potential issues due to loss of power,
obstuctions, chemical changes in the water which effect skimming results, or pump failure. And really, a drain for a hob skimmer cup is such a no brainer, I dont know why more skimmers dont employ one.

And as far as sumps, having a modular design that can accomodate additions as a person 's reef system grows is another no brainer, and an excellent idea!!

this is exactly the kind of feedback im talking about, we really want to know what people want from their equipment!!

thank you, MrSculpin!!

 

[loohunter]

i would like to test all new equipment on my systems and be compinsated with a 50,000 dollar a year salary
all kidding aside a couple things that come to mind are ease of use: a skimmer that pulls apart easily for cleaning but dosn't feel like you can crush it with your bare hands and a gate valve for adjusting water level. wedge pipes are cheap,but i'm sure a simple gate valve won't break the bank. customer service. if a customer gets treated well then you have a customer for life

 

[MrSculpin]

On the sump too, it would be nice if you could have
adjustable dividers. Like built in grooves or channels so you could put a divider where you wanted and adjust it if your needs changed.

Does that make sense?

 

[MC Lighting]

On the sump too, it would be nice if you could have
adjustable dividers. Like built in grooves or channels so you could put a divider where you wanted and adjust it if your needs changed.

Does that make sense?

First off Thanks Mark for making the announcement we have spent many weeks working some things out on the business side but all is a go now. As for the divider option we already have a prototype sump that is exactly that... Modular dividers and expandability in mind... There are so many things we want to implement in our designs it will just be a matter of an evolution on thoughts and design that turn these ideas and paper layouts into reality.

Please keep the ideas coming and if its something you want to speak to myself or Mark directly about please give a PM and I will call you.

P.S. once we are online wit RF as a sponsor we will move this into an actual business forum right now we are just asking for preliminary info before we go live...

 

[dailydriven911]

This sounds awesome!!!! Good luck to the both of you! Liking what I hear so far...

 

[MC Lighting]

Thanks man, I know Mark and I are both in the same boat when we say we are tired of seeing things we have come up with in the past hit the market, I loose my job come October and the way the market is right now I don't expect to find another soon. I think between Mark and the people I am partnered with we should be able to turn some heads and hopefully bring a line of affordable products without loosing the quality or having to resort to cheap materials in order to bring costs down to something under crazy.

There are a lot of great products and companies out there but it seems only a few really good quality ones here in the Northwest, I hope that we can fit in with the others around and provide some great products.

 

[The Apprentice]

Sounds Good

Mark & I Mike I think this is a great idea, I look forward to what you guys can build I to would like a hob that could preform like a cone with low electrical consumption and with a drain attachment as Mr Sculpin has also mentioned. I also want thank you for all your advice and in-site on skimmers I have tried things that you have suggested and even at the "manufactures claims of that wont work " Did indeed work and real well from it. Good luck looking forward to making a purchase when your ready
Jeff

O.k.
So, some of you may have heard the rumor that I am going to be designing a professional line of reef equipment....IT'S TRUE!!!
Mike (MC lighting), owner of Creative CAD designs and myself have partnered up, and plan on making an entire line of professional reef filtration.

These are going to be made in USA, right here in Washington, they are going to be very high quality, cnc machined, with innovative designs not currently seen. But, with a pricetag and a lead time that everyone will be happy with...

My questions for you guys, the consumers is...
What features do you want to see in your next protein skimmer, sump, media reactor??
What would you say are the design flaws of your current equipment??
Or things that you would like to see different??

As you can imagine, I myself have many, many ideas and designs for skimmers, sumps, media reactors, etc... but scince we are making this gear for you guys, we want to know what YOU want, and what is important to YOU.

So please feel free to post, pm me, or even call me personally...
my number is 425-780-1059, and I am happy to speak with anyone about their ideas.
As it stands, I can already promise you that it will be very difficult to match our build quality, design features, and customer service that we will offer with our equipment, and I look foreward to providing the northwest reefing community(and beyond ) with new and exciting options for the success, stability and health of your reef systems.
Thank you in advance for any imput, criticism, or kudos...

 

[Skimmy]

On the sump too, it would be nice if you could have
adjustable dividers. Like built in grooves or channels so you could put a divider where you wanted and adjust it if your needs changed.

Does that make sense?

This is funny because we were talking about doing exactly that.
Ask, and ye shall receive...

 

[Skimmy]

Mark & I Mike I think this is a great idea, I look forward to what you guys can build I to would like a hob that could preform like a cone with low electrical consumption and with a drain attachment as Mr Sculpin has also mentioned. I also want thank you for all your advice and in-site on skimmers I have tried things that you have suggested and even at the "manufactures claims of that wont work " Did indeed work and real well from it. Good luck looking forward to making a purchase when your ready
Jeff

yep, Im already working on skimmer designs (I've been working on skimmer designs in my head for years now..lol) and a nice hob skimmer as well as very nice cylinder and cone skimmers are coming. im also designing some smaller "square" skimmers for nano's and all in one's, or sumps with minimal room to accomodate a skimmer...it's going to be interesting... And being "green" is going to be a huge motivation for my designs, as well.
also, im just going to say that there's more that a few ways to make fine bubbles that have yet to be utilized in the aquaria industry that im looking at bringing over into reefing...so it will be interesting for sure. The big thing is having the ability to make whatever parts we need from scratch with the cnc milling machine...so all those specialized impellars, venturis, volutes, are alot easier to deal with...
Although, I want to assure people, the first skimmer design is going to be something that is more meat and potatoes, but very hearty and strong... we want something super powerful yet affordable for the first skimmer out of the gate, then im going to go crazy on some newer designs...:evil::idea::razz:
oh yeah, we're gonna make your jaw drop...

 

[Skimmy]

This sounds awesome!!!! Good luck to the both of you! Liking what I hear so far...

Thank you!! we need good luck...

 

[aquariumdebacle]

make a model of the HOB that is as thin as possible for the smaller tanks, I am thinking of 2 inches or less

 

[Skimmy]

a thin profile hob would be easy...although it would probably have to be long/tall to make up for being skinny, but very doable...
another excellent idea...

 

[tylert]

I'm looking for a skimmer right now for my 90 but reading this makes me want to wait. When do you think you'll get the first ones out the door? What's your target price? And do you have any prototypes or old skimmers lying around you don't need and want to sell?

 

[Skimmy]

i would like to test all new equipment on my systems and be compinsated with a 50,000 dollar a year salary
all kidding aside a couple things that come to mind are ease of use: a skimmer that pulls apart easily for cleaning but dosn't feel like you can crush it with your bare hands and a gate valve for adjusting water level. wedge pipes are cheap,but i'm sure a simple gate valve won't break the bank. customer service. if a customer gets treated well then you have a customer for life

Yep, totally agree, wedge valves dont really allow for the finest of adjustments... They work better than ball valves, but not as nice as a gate valve... My gripe with gate valves though, is that they are bulky...so that brings me to my friend the knife valve, which if designed properly, can be less than an inch long, but with all the same adjustablity as a gate valve. ATI is the only other company I know of to offer them, and their's is a problematic sort of "screw" design which I dont like too much, our's will be much easier to control.
Other than just being powerful, ease of use, elegant, simple design, and low power consumption, are some major design motivations for me...Also, I want equipment that looks SEXY!!! It sounds silly, but it makes a difference. The color scheme and physical appearance of our equipment is going to be quite unique...

And why more manufacturer's dont offer premium customer service, I dont know... It's sad, really. imo, it's the number one thing that makes you a good salesman. You must put the success of the customer before your own success!!! simple, basic, and it works. ...if your in business, live by it!!!

 

[Shane and John]

Hey guys,Working on a quality skimmer for the nano's is a great idea,We need one to fit in Johns Bio-cube in the second chamber...We were one of the foolish ones who purchased the Oceanic skimmer,,What junk that thing is....We are also looking to do something different with the Red Sea Max skimmer..I just can not get it to work very well...Micro bubbles are an endless fight for us..Good Luck on your venture's..I know you guys will be a success...Thanks...Shane

 

[Poseidon]

I guess the biggest thing for me right now is that if you announce a product, and say it will be available on X, then make sure it is! There is one vendor that lost me as a customer due to what seems like a nonstop push back in date of release.

Also, fit and finish is GREAT, but FUNCTION is where it has to begin.

 

[Skimmy]

Having a fast lead time is paramount, and as we know, people hate waiting for something that is already past it's due release date. This almost always happens because of the supply of parts you have to order from somewhere else, and dealing with back log of multiple manufacturers. So not having to rely on other people for our parts is HUGE!!! The only thing (for skimmers) that we cant make ourselves (yet, working on it...) are pumps, but all the cylinders, cones, and specialized plumbing parts we need will be made by us with cnc, so the level of precision will be very high, and the amount of time to make something will be minimal by comparison. Also, making our own cones, cylinders, and parts like that will also allow us to keep the final cost down, so the customer will enjoy a substantial savings while still getting all or more features than from the competition.

 

[Poseidon]

I look forward to seeing what you can put together. Sometimes I think skimmers are designed by folks that can't keep a decent tank, and other skimmers are out of this world.