AquaC CLUB!

[Teddy Ballgame]

I have an Aqua-C 180 with mag 9.5 I've been trying to get rid of for a few weeks now...I know this isn't a selling thread, so please pm me if interested...
Great skimmer and works like a champ, just looking for something external and bigger since I am going ULNS for my 180 reef tank

 

[saltydog64]

ok thanks for the help so if the mag24 works better then I just might go and get one to have better performance.

arred...........sounds like a good choice......as I'm sure you know you might need a control valve between the output of the pump and 240 for level control @ the black box....just a thought !!!!

Check your messages when u can as I sent one this am.....and once again THANKS for all you people do for us :rollface::rollface: and continue to be safe....

 

[Beaun]

I use the metal ones you get at the hardware store for sprinkler systems.

 

[newtank]

Hi! Does anyone have the EV1000? I picked one up at a great price and have the Blue Line 70 to push it, just haven't hooked it up yet. Looking for anyone with experience with this exact unit. I'm sure advice for the small ones apply such as gate valve on the pump effluent, set the water level hight correctly, little / no back pressure on the skimmer effluent, etc..Am I missing anything?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ethank77]

this is a nice thread after 5 months I finaly got my ev 180 dialed in making good dry skim and the mods I found in here I am sure will help as well

 

[reefified]

Help with AquaC EV 180 skimmer before I make a mistake!!

Help with AquaC EV 180 skimmer before I make a mistake!!

Hello everyone. I am new to this thread and reef central in general. I am about to birth my first true reef tank. I have had several fish only with live rock setups in the past. What I currently have purchased (sorry about all the info, just want to give the full disclosure) is a 36x18x18 rimless w/starfire front from glass cages, the AquaC EV 120 skimmer, MJ 4500 for return, MJ 1800 for skimmer (will get to this), Current USA 2x250 mh, 4-t5 actinics, lunar setup, Vortech MP40w pump, 29 gallor sump for the skimmer, return and refugium, and all the other misc. "stuff", no reactors, no special controlers at this point other than carbon. I am going to set this up using a shipment of Marco rock that I plan to recieve today and start my scape work. I will seed with some small pieces of live rock I have in a nano and some sand from my buddy.

Now, to the real question. I have at my disposal, one Mag 7 pump. Would I be better off using that rather than the 457 gph rated MJ 1800 I purchased? I see a lot of recommendations to go with a larger flow. I appreciate all responses and if you have any other advice as far as my plan, equipment, hair style, etc. I am open and greatly thankful for your advise.

Oh ya, one more thing. I plan to paint the back with a Krylon fusion for plastice paint this evening. I also planned to rest the tank on the 3/4" pink foam insulation rather than the messy white stuff. I know some people like the dense foam pads typically used in workout rooms but being a structural engineer makes me hesitant to use something that doesnt allow for much stress releife or lack of compressibility. Any thoughts on these two items?

Thanks

 

[ackee]

At some point a couple of months ago I wrote that i had conveted an EV 180 by removing the air injector intake, substituting a standard elbow with an 8 inch tube below to bring bubbles to bottom, closing air intakes, and attaching the new needle wheel Eheim pump. I wrote that performance was excellent, better than with the 1260 Eheim. I was asked for pictures. I finally got a camera and had my wife post the pics to my new RC album, which she set up. I'm not competent with this devilish stuff, though I can make my own lights, electrical grids, and have a PhD. Computers are confusing and countrintuitive. If you go to my personal profile, the first two pics are of the hybrid EV skimmer. The rest have mostly to do with fish collecting, from my 'scuba and snorkeling' post.

 

[evoracer]

For those who run Urchins-
I am planning a 60g build, with 20g for a sump. I am doing this build using only equipment I already own. I have an Urchin and an EV-240 at my disposal. I plan on using the Urchin for this tank, along with a large refugium with chaeto and GFO/GAC reactors. I estimate less than the 75g rated capacity of the skimmer in water volume in this system, buy have no experience with this skimmer over about 25g (but it was on a heavily-packed frag tank). Anyone happy with the Urchin performance on a system this size? I really don't want to run the EV on this one, trying to stay more energy efficient.
Thanks.

 

[saltydog64]

EV-120 or 180 ???

EV-120 or 180 ???

Hello everyone. I am new to this thread and reef central in general. I am about to birth my first true reef tank. I have had several fish only with live rock setups in the past. What I currently have purchased (sorry about all the info, just want to give the full disclosure) is a 36x18x18 rimless w/starfire front from glass cages, the AquaC EV 120 skimmer, MJ 4500 for return, MJ 1800 for skimmer (will get to this), Current USA 2x250 mh, 4-t5 actinics, lunar setup, Vortech MP40w pump, 29 gallor sump for the skimmer, return and refugium, and all the other misc. "stuff", no reactors, no special controlers at this point other than carbon. I am going to set this up using a shipment of Marco rock that I plan to recieve today and start my scape work. I will seed with some small pieces of live rock I have in a nano and some sand from my buddy.

Now, to the real question. I have at my disposal, one Mag 7 pump. Would I be better off using that rather than the 457 gph rated MJ 1800 I purchased? I see a lot of recommendations to go with a larger flow. I appreciate all responses and if you have any other advice as far as my plan, equipment, hair style, etc. I am open and greatly thankful for your advise.

Oh ya, one more thing. I plan to paint the back with a Krylon fusion for plastice paint this evening. I also planned to rest the tank on the 3/4" pink foam insulation rather than the messy white stuff. I know some people like the dense foam pads typically used in workout rooms but being a structural engineer makes me hesitant to use something that doesnt allow for much stress releife or lack of compressibility. Any thoughts on these two items?

Thanks

Reef....If your talking about running a EV-120 then the Mag 7 is the only way to go as it will kick the 120 in the butt so to speak, that's exactly what drives my 120. I started with the rec. RIO 2100 and it would produce foam but nothing like the Mag 7 just be aware that you will never be able to run the air valve wide open.....as will flood the box for sure....just my $ 0.02...

Dick

 

[hammmerhead]

I ran a 240 with the little Mag 12 and a 3/4" injector for several years. I later upgraded to the 1" injector and it still did a great job. A Mag 18 would probably be perfect with the 1" and allow the gate to stay open wider.

 

[3djedi]

Can someone please point in the right direction with my EV 180? I read some of the posts on here but dont have time to read them all. I have 3 small children, time is not on my side! Anyway, I've had a ev 180 for a couple of years. I started with a mag 7 and never got it to do anything. I purchased a larger pump a AquaeuroUSA EU-1000. It is rated for 1057 g/hr...750 g/hr at 4ft, 300g/hr at 8ft. It still will not do anything for me. It is bubbling to about an inch of the collection cup level but never gets any higher. I bought this pump at a LFS for about $70. I wonder if this is just a POS pump? I actually pulled the ev 180 out of my sump and used the old one cause I wastired of messing with it and it has sat for about a year on the shelf. What do you think I should do? IS it worth investing in an eheim 1262 or should I just sell this thing on ebay and go for something else? Thanks for the help!

 

[07mz3]

first post whoot.. anyway I have an ev-120 running on a mag7. I have the water level set to just at the top of the box where it should be. By controlling the level with the air valve i either have to wet of foam and it spills over the collection cup or if i close the air valve at all then i get no foam in the tower??

 

[ethank77]

I would say a good statting point is to turn of air set water level .25 to.5 in below top if box turn on air about 25% and let run for several hr watch bubbles in tower and increase air till bubble get slightly bigger then back air off just a touch and let it eat.

 

[07mz3]

it started to foam, and now the bubbles in the tower and huge bubbles. how do I go about making them smaller like they should be?

 

[ethank77]

the moving bubbles bythe bottom of the tower or the fom at the top
but to make the bubbles at the bottom of the tower smalller turn down the air a bit or rise the water level a bit and i meana bit. small changes can make a big difference.

 

[07mz3]

yea, the bubbles in the bottom tower are really big.. I made a slight adjustment to the gate valve and lost the foam completly so its just sitting at the bottom of the tower now. Heres a quick pic

 

[saltydog64]

Welcome to RC

Welcome to RC

yea, the bubbles in the bottom tower are really big.. I made a slight adjustment to the gate valve and lost the foam completly so its just sitting at the bottom of the tower now. Heres a quick pic

Nice pic, they always help....first your unit "looks" new, is it ?? If so the very first thing we must do is just let the water flow thru there a day or so and by now u have done that, good. Now what I would do is first make sure the output of the gate valve is above the sump water level if not it will be impossible to control it ( some folks think they can silence it by submering the out put dont) and once you set the water level in the box, don't mess with the gate valve, set it and forget it.The initital setting is done by closing your air valve completly, then set your water level in black box just to where u can see it about level with bottom of the clear riser section let it run here to confirm setting then slowly open your air valve, I mean real slow, let sit here then rise it again to where u have the foam level where u what it ( I know the book says set it @ the lower level but many of us run it up a little higher, about 3/4 inch or so up into the clear section. Once u obtain the openning of the air valve put a black mark across the small handle and housing for it, they way u can always come back to that "exact" setting, like i said it's fussy but good!!:bounce3::bounce3:

A reminder: the gate valve is way to sensitive to use to contoll the foam height, period, always use your air valve. The AV series are a great skimmer as I have been running one for over 2 years and it cranks out some nasty stuff...BUT they can/are " fussy" what ever the hell that means, oh well, but once set in they are one of best for maintaining there settings day in day out.

Also as I'm sure u now the Mag 7 "could" over-drive the 120, so u just might need a second gate between the pump and the skimmer, I didn't but some do...and the pump input, where is it ?...it should be getting the first water into the sump is it ???

Finally if u continue to have issues with it call the company as they the very best service we could ask....at least the last time I talked to Steve there...if u don't have the phone # it's 858-689-1121 or web @ www.proteinskimmer.com .......good luck with it.

 

[ShadowViper]

The mag 7 is enough to overdrive the 120 yes, but from what I am seeing, the skimmer is remote and looks to be sitting high. The distance from the pump is going to create head preasure and the mag 7 is going to lose performance.

 

[thomasp123]

I have a remora pro with a mag 5 on it and i have to raise the cup almost to the top so as not to empty the tank but even at this height I still get only green tea! Im looking for earl grey! any help would be great

 

[07mz3]

thanks for the great suggestions, yes the skimmer is getting unfiltered water right from the tank. Its about 6 months old.. I had to change the design of the sump but before i was using it i never had it dialed in and finally decided to do somthing about it. the feed line to the skimmer is about 18 inches and the drain is 18 inch 1 inch pvc to the skimmer horizontal or slightly downward. heres a pic of it after letting it sit for a day....