AquaC CLUB!

[YoitsArson]

I had a mag5 and it wasnt doing much of anything so I figured more power but I dont know at this point im stumped. I have a good size bio load with 5 fish in a 60g that i feed twice a day.

 

[MatthewLaw]

any luck with that tuning down of the mag7?

 

[fourzero]

Did you ever run the 1262 with the 3/4" injector? Can you give detailed differences before and after the switch?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14636164#post14636164 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jim.l
I'm running my 150 with a EV180 / eheim 162 combo and a 1" injector. Works fine. The cup fills to the drain hole every 2 days and I have a fairly low load in the tank.

 

[fourzero]

In that context, I understand why you plumbed it the way you did. I forgot that there's probably a reason you went with a hang-on in the first place, most people would opt for an in-sump if space allows.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14628857#post14628857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mech
now I only use one mag 5 to run the skimmer and the loop, it was for simplification and conservation of electricity, when the PVC gets covered in coraline it will be fine with me, also at least there not a huge pump hanging off the front of a remora anymore, that was way more aesthetically displeasing

 

[ari5736]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14623512#post14623512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CaptainCoral
It's a good question there ari. Pumps made to handle pressure are going to always be the best pumps (for max performance) for models EV240 and up. I think that they are also less forgiving with electrical consumption when working with head pressure than other pumps (which drop electrical use considerably with head pressure). I'd consider this pump, the Iwaki equivalent or Mak4. Take note of the top review on the link page.

Captain,
I have a blueline 70 on my return that is way to strong, and before I replace my return pump, with something more along the lines of an Iwaki or Blueline 40 or 55, do you think I can get away with hooking up the EV 240 to my blueline 70, and put on a gate valve before the skimmer to control the flow. I have heard that it is generally recommended to have a dedicated skimmer pump. Would appreciate your advice.

 

[faded1004]

i am currently setting up my ev240 in my system... i went with a iwaki 30 high pressure pump with 1" injector. when i start to put the stuff together, i will take and post some pics.

 

[CaptainCoral]

ari...
I don't recall ever hearing that about dedicated pumps. It's easier to set up and manage, no doubt, but I don't think performance would suffer any for those capable and inclined to "T" a larger pump.

FWIW, I've been thinking of doing something similar with my set up. I want to put my ev180 on a shelf above my display (drain into), drive it with my mak4 and bleed off the extra flow to the refugium which is beside and drains to the display. I could then remove my eheim1262 display return pump, the mag9 ev180 pump, and the mag3 fuge pump. I believe I could pump water through my entire 180g set-up, skimmer included in the 80w range and help keep system temps down as well.

 

[ari5736]

Do you think the gate valve would best be placed on the side of the T leading to the skimmer's input or on the other side of the T leading back to the display?

 

[CaptainCoral]

Probably on the skimmer side. I've never done it before so I'm a little uncertain myself. Hopefully someone doing it will chime in.

 

[jim.l]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14689344#post14689344 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fourzero
Did you ever run the 1262 with the 3/4" injector? Can you give detailed differences before and after the switch?

Sorry, I haven't checked back lately/

It worked fine with the gate valve all the way open and air valve 2/3 shut. With the 1" injector, I needed to remove the gate valve.... I also adapted the Eheim to 1" tubing, so a lot more water is going thru the skimmer. Also added the "snorkel" with charcoal to the air valve ( Capt. Coral's mod??) so it wouldn't salt up. That helps a lot also.

 

[faded1004]

can you tell me what page the snorkel mod is on? or if it is simple what it is?

 

[jim.l]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14710515#post14710515 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by faded1004
can you tell me what page the snorkel mod is on? or if it is simple what it is?

There's a pic and description on page 30 by CHRIS4860.

 

[faded1004]

sweet! carbon filtering on both inlet and outlets!
i am so setting this up...

 

[ari5736]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14698138#post14698138 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CaptainCoral
Probably on the skimmer side. I've never done it before so I'm a little uncertain myself. Hopefully someone doing it will chime in.

Here was the response from AquaC:

We've found that running the skimmer and return with the same pump can be done, as long as the pump has enough power to run both. I think that it might be a bit tricky to adjust, however. I would probably install the valve on the line returning to the tank, to make sure that enough pressure will be delivered to the skimmer. Otherwise, most of the pressure/flow might just bypass the skimmer and follow the path of least resistance up to the tank.

Once I get my Blueline 70 fixed I will probably install w/ gates going both directions, and will update in a couple of weeks.

 

[CaptainCoral]

Good call contacting AquaC ari. Their reply makes sense.

 

[YoitsArson]

Well I am stumped I just cant get my ev120 to skim. I have tried a mag5, i thought it was to weak so I jumped to a mag7, I thought that was a little to much turbulance so I put a valve on it and still nothing. I know these are good skimmers I have seen them work but not mine.

 

[ari5736]

Well I T'd my Blueline 70 return to the EV 240. The ball valve before the skimmer is all the way open, the gate valve to the return is likewise all the way open and I have a gate on the ouput of the skimmer that is slightly closed to raise the water level to the top of the black box. I have the air chocked back about 3/4, and the beast is frothing about half way up the tower, which is the best I could do with the Mag 18 with air wide open.

The Mag 18 would eventually get skim into the cup, but most just landed on the side of the tower. I am going to let it run for a few hours before I open the air any more, but overall am very pleased.

The Mag 18 uses 145 watts. My old return pump a Blueline 55 uses 180 watts. The Blueline 70 uses 290 watts, so I am saving 35 watts, getting a much better skim, and the flow to the display is kickin'. Plus the external pump with fan should be running my system cooler than with the internal Mag.

 

[jim.l]

YoitsArson
I see no one is answering, so:
Open the output from the mag7 all the way and close the air valve to adjust the skimmer. You will make finer/better bubbles that way. Before that, make sure the air valve and injector are completely open/clean inside. Remove them and make sure. That is the most common problem with these units.

 

[sympley]

Hi everyone,

I have question about Aquac 180 running off Eheim 1262 pump. I read all the pages from this tread and it seems that quite a few people are running this set up with no flow restriction from the pump. In my case I needed to put in a valve because water would be going up the neck almost half way up. I am also running it without the air valve because if I put the air valve in it gets salt creep which hinders performance as well as I get very little skim mate produced.

I am pretty sure that my DOC are high because I am getting this crappy red algae/bacteria (not cyano) which is related to high DOC levels.
If I run with no air valve my collection cup fills up to the drain elbow in about 4 days. If I put in the air valve it fills up to the drain elbow in 3 days but skim mate is considerably lighter in color.

I really think it should be pulling out more crap from the water. Any tricks/suggestions anyone can recommend. Especially on how to run off my Eheim 1262 with no valve, I can't believe it can be done. OR how to get more DOC form the water.

Another observation that I have is that when I put my hand under the nozzle that is inside the skimmer the water stream seems not to be very powerful and for a lack of a better word it it feels as if the water is pulsating. I checked the nozzle and there is nothing wrong with it. I have been fiddling with this skimmer for over year now and can't get it dialed in.

 

[MatthewLaw]

hmmm. i have an ev-120 and it took a few weeks to get it skimming properly with a mag 5.

could your bioload be affecting how affective it is skimming? i have found that my skimmer is visually now a lot more active with the introduction of a juvi dogface puffer, a juvi yellow tang, and a juvi niger trigger.