Ah, the Remora Pro

[lancef]

Jason,

The Romora Pro skimmer I bought yesterday is dripping no more, like you said, a drop of glue was all it needed. It works just great and so I will be moving the Knop to my 30 gallon.

I also managed to eliminate the vibration (which was so bad I could feel it in the floor) I used the trick Knop used, I cut 4" of 1/2" clear vinyl tubing and attached it with snainless steel hose clamps to the nipple on the pump and skimmer, near silence. If anyone complains about the loud vibration you can recommend this. At first I thought the valve was needed to adjust the skimmer but the instructions say to leave the valve wide open. The chatter of the Rio 1700 can still be heard, you mentioned another pump that would be better, quieter, which one was it?

BTW that Ask Dr. Ron thread is right here on Reef Central. One thing you should read from it is this link. http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/library/articleview2.asp?Section=&RecordNo=166
It seems Nassarius may be better than hermits for a reef tank.

Thanks.

Lance

 

[jasonfrey]

Hi Lance,

Glad you got the leaked fixed. The pump(s) i was talking about are called SEN pumps, we have the large 700 and 900 models now. They had a 300 and quit importing it due to low demand, but they are suppose to bring the 300, 500 and 1200 models in Feb. 2001 (hopefully).

I'm hoping the 300 will work on the RemoraPro, but might need the 500 slowed down a bit. SEN pumps are pretty quiet compared to most pumps. They have been one of our most reliable pumps in the 700/900 sizes. A few impeller problems, but they claim there new designed impeller fixes those problems.

jason

p.s. You can't beat those nass. snails. They are super small, but move faster then the Road Runner....!

 

[gas4544]

lancef,
Your solution to the vibration problem inspired me to go to Home Depot tonight. I came home with some vinyl tubing and some beefy tie-wraps and added a couple inch section of tubing. Wow, what a difference!
I didn't want to use metal clamps, and the tie-wrap seems like its gonna work.

 

[lancef]

silence is golden

silence is golden

Gas4544, I tried a healthy cabletie on the skimmer end and could not get it tight enough to keep water from coming out even with teflon plumber's tape so I resorted to the ss tie.

I thought enough of the improvement to tell Jason Kim, the owner of AquaC and he says he is implementing it in future sales of Remoras. Sent me a cleaning brush as a thank you.
woo-hoo!

I take it you have the Remora Pro model? Now that the vibration is gone, does your pump chatter at all? Mine does, maybe it needs to be broken in.

I have never seen so much quality foam produced so fast.
Remarkable. It's a keeper.

Lance

 

[gas4544]

Yes, I have a Remora Pro. Now, what can we do about that "sucking air" noise? I didn't realize how loud the hissing noise was until I turned the Skimmer off to work on it last night. My reef is in my bedroom.

The largest diameter vinyl tube I bought (5/8" OD?)turned out to have the same OD as the stub on the Rio, so I could not fit the vinyl tube over the stub. It also would not fit over the end of the in-line valve that attaches to the barbed end of the skimmer (as designed). The vinyl tube does fit over the barbed end of the skimmer, though.

The interference fit between the Rio and the valve is pretty tight, so I left it attached. I just added the vinyl tube between the valve and the skimmer. To attach the 5/8" tube to the valve, I inserted a piece of 1/2" tube into both the valve and the 5/8" tube. The I taped that joint. Where the 5/8" tube attaches to the barbed end of the skimmer, I used two tie-wraps. The tie wraps are not as tight as metal clamps, but they seem to be holding. Now I can remove the Rio for cleaning by twisting the interference joint, just like before. Whew, that was allot of words to explain something simple.

The Rio does not chatter, just vibrate like crazy. I should try replacing the Rio with a Maxi-Jet 1200 I have laying around.

 

[lancef]

"Now, what can we do about that "sucking air" noise?"

Why that's the sound every Remor Pro owner has to put up with. Why should we be different?

I set to work on that and quickly found a decent solution, a 5" diameter round rubber ring gasket wrapped around the outside of the skimmer cup at the precise level you normally set the cup not only baffles the sound but also holds the cup where it is needed so you don't have to use that darned screw that pushes the cup and column cockeyed. You could probably do the same thing with two big rubber bands or four or five smaller ones wrapped together.

I'll send that suggestion in as well. Maybe they'll name a skimmer after me, the AquaC "Lance".

Lance

 

[lancef]

Remoramod

Remoramod

Make that a 5" round 1/8" thick diameter rubber gasket.

We'll see how it holds when the cup gets full which in my tank right now does nto take long. If there were several engraved indentations in teh corners of the cup it should hold just fine.

I figure this will not keep fresh air from entering the skimmer as it can come in from the outlet port.

L

 

[gas4544]

lancef,
A couple of days ago I called Jason of AquaC in San Diego and told him about my vibration problems. He told me that he had a retrofit connection kit and sent one to me. It arrived yesterday.
The kit is very simple - a new (larger) barbed hose adapter to replace the existing one on the Remora Pro inlet and a short length of re-enforced tubing. The Rio outlet fits into the tubing so you don't have to use the valve attachment that came with the Rio. I wasn't using the valve anyway.
It took five minutes to install and works better than my homemade retrofit. Jason didn't charge me a cent for this retrofit and sent it out promptly. He knows how to keep his customers happy.
Sometime this week I will be getting a couple of Eheim 1250 pumps I found on eBay for a great price. One of them will be used as a recirculation pump for a new calcium reactor. I'm gonna try the other one as a replacement for the Rio. It is rated at 317 GPH. I'll let you know how it works out for me.

 

[lancef]

remoramods

remoramods

Hey Uh...Gas,

I was sent that kit as well, I like the pressure fit better than the hoseclamp and the hose is the correct length to still use the surface skimmer.

So did you try the rubber bands? I think you should, take five rubber bands, they have to be decent to survive the sharp turns and put them around the collection cup at the level that you want the cup to sit then put it on the skimmer and screw the old holder in for safety when the cup gets full (and mine has been getting full pretty fast at night, not sure why, the sucking sound is reduced and the performance is not. I contacted Jason Kim about it and he agreed that enough air will enter the water outlet hole and it will work just fine.

I replaced the bundeled rubber bands with a high quality drive belt from a Sony Betacam broadcast tape deck but I will look for a suitable common replacement, it could be a round gasket or a square belt, the square belt can be cut and reglued (with gasket cement) to be the shape of the cup and will not break for a long time.

Lance

 

[gas4544]

I'll have to try the rubberband/gasket modification. Maybe I can find a large diameter o-ring to use.

I only used the new barbed fitting and hose with the Rio a couple of days. My Eheim 1250's arrived yesterday, so I installed one on the skimmer. I had to go to Lowe's for another barbed fitting - one with 1/2" NPT and a 1/2" hose barb. I'm getting less water flow, but still getting allot of skimmate. The Eheim is quieter, too. I'll have a more complete opinion on it after its been running for awhile.

When I removed the Rio, I noticed that the interference fit between the Rio and the re-enforced tubing was a little looser. I tried a little teflon tape on that connection and it held better. You don't want to come home some day to find your Rio spraying water like a fountain if it comes a little loose.

 

[jasonfrey]

Hi gas4544,

Let me know what you think of the Eheim 1250 on the Remora Pro. I just bought quite a few for that purpose. I hooked up a demo yesterday and so far it seems very good, no noise from the pump at all. I am getting some bubbles returning to the tank, but this is a brand new Remora Pro, so we'll see how it does in a couple of days. Was interested to hear your results as well.

Will be an expensive upgrade from the Rio, but considering Eheims last many years, had one customer say 10 years in operation, they should be well worth it.

jason

 

[gas4544]

The Eheim 1250 is working well for me. Even though the flow rate is lower than the Rio, the skimmate output is comparable. I no longer have the vibration noise, and I feel better knowing that I have a more reliable pump running my skimmer.
I like the output fitting that comes with the Eheim 1250. The end that mates with the pump is threaded and has an o-ring, too, making a very secure connection. The opposite end of the fitting that attaches to 1/2" tubing is very nice also - a combination barb and locknut that hold the tubing very well.
A similar fitting would be nice to attach the 1/2" tubing to the skimmer input. The fitting I found at Lowe's - 1/2" NPT and a 1/2" hose barb - is holding well, however. The 1/2" tubing I am using is only a couple of inches long.
The combination of using the Eheim pump and the flexible tubing has made the skimmer much quieter. I have not tried the rubber-band modification yet to reduce the "sucking-air" noise. Its time to head to the supply cabinet now for a rubber band search...

 

[gas4544]

Lancef,
I added a couple of rubber bands around the collection cup like you suggested. It has cut down on the "sucking air" noise. Thank you for the suggestion.
The Eheim is working very well, too.

 

[lancef]

rubber bands

rubber bands

The Remora is the loudest skimmer I have ever had so it needs all the help it can get. A rubber band will break now and again as the cheap ones don't seem to like the sharp turns but you can just replace teh broken one or use a square VCR drive belt.

If you always run your collection cup at the same level, the rubber bands will allow you to just drop it back in, tighten the screw though as I have had the weight of a full cup cause it to overcome the rubber bands.

L

 

[gas4544]

Skimmate output has dropped the last couple of days. I'm not getting as much skimmate, but it is darker in color. The colection cup is at its lowest setting, and I cleaned the Eheim 1250 yesterday.
Maybe its time to clean the skimmer again...

 

[lancef]

skim-mate

skim-mate

Hey Man,

Let me know what happens there, if my cup drops to the lowest level it overflows in a night, as it is I have to empty it once a week. That's with my creepy Rio 1700 and no cleanings. You're thinking of cleaning the whole thing, not just the cup?

L