AquaC CLUB!
- Thread starter JohnL
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TheMorayMan
New member
Has anybody did an elbow mod to the gate valve? I Have to fit it in my sump works pretty good. Anybody else done this?
chris4869
New member
I'd added an elbow mod to the gate valve before. It reduced alot of the noises and the splashing. The only drawback to it was that it caused a little of backpressure.
I've discovered that the protein skimmer works best when there is a lot of pressure going through the injector with the least amount of backpressure at the gate valve. I can restrict the air intake and I'm able to get more finer bubbles that way.
I've discovered that the protein skimmer works best when there is a lot of pressure going through the injector with the least amount of backpressure at the gate valve. I can restrict the air intake and I'm able to get more finer bubbles that way.
chris4869
New member
Here is an update to my EV-180 with a 1" injector.
I've been running my protein with a 1" injector for over three weeks now. I ran it the first two weeks with the recommended water level and had a very, very, very small increase in skimming. It's nothing great to write about. I got a big boost in pressure with the bigger injector, so I had to install a ball valve to lower the water level in the protein skimmer.
Now here is the interesting part to my experiment. I wanted really fine bubbles and I want as much of it as I can get. I achieved it by restricting the air intake to the point where it's almost closed. It's nothing new to us. I removed the gate valve to reduce the backpressure. Thanks guys for the idea. I RAISED the water level to 1.5 inch below the collection cup. I now have water almost 80% filled up in the foam tower. I know it sounds crazy, but my protein skimmer is in a sump, and I'm not worrying about overflow. It's so much easier to adjust the air intake when you can see the water and the size of the bubbles in the foam tower. I adjust (restricting) it to the point where I can only see fine bubbles and lots of them. It's almost like a snow storm, but only with really fine bubbles. If I restrict the air intake too much, I get only a few big bubbles and then no bubble at all.
I thought the little amount of skimmate I've been getting was because of my light bioload and a new tank setup, but was I wrong. It used to take me a few days to collect enough skimmate to flow down the drain line. After I raised the water level above the recommended line, and choke the air intake, the collection cup fills up in 6-7 hours. I wonder how fast it'll be if I have a medium to high bioload. The skimmate is a little wet and has the color of light coffee.
I think the 1" injector produced a higher water pressure going into the protein skimmer. I can only guess that the extra pressure helps reduced the bubble size, and the higher water level gives the bubbles more contact time with the water. It's a little wetter than before because the foam have less room to condense, but the consistency of the foam is a little different.
I'm pleased with the result, and I think I'll keep it that way.
Can someone try it with their EV protein skimmer let us know of the result?
I've been running my protein with a 1" injector for over three weeks now. I ran it the first two weeks with the recommended water level and had a very, very, very small increase in skimming. It's nothing great to write about. I got a big boost in pressure with the bigger injector, so I had to install a ball valve to lower the water level in the protein skimmer.
Now here is the interesting part to my experiment. I wanted really fine bubbles and I want as much of it as I can get. I achieved it by restricting the air intake to the point where it's almost closed. It's nothing new to us. I removed the gate valve to reduce the backpressure. Thanks guys for the idea. I RAISED the water level to 1.5 inch below the collection cup. I now have water almost 80% filled up in the foam tower. I know it sounds crazy, but my protein skimmer is in a sump, and I'm not worrying about overflow. It's so much easier to adjust the air intake when you can see the water and the size of the bubbles in the foam tower. I adjust (restricting) it to the point where I can only see fine bubbles and lots of them. It's almost like a snow storm, but only with really fine bubbles. If I restrict the air intake too much, I get only a few big bubbles and then no bubble at all.
I thought the little amount of skimmate I've been getting was because of my light bioload and a new tank setup, but was I wrong. It used to take me a few days to collect enough skimmate to flow down the drain line. After I raised the water level above the recommended line, and choke the air intake, the collection cup fills up in 6-7 hours. I wonder how fast it'll be if I have a medium to high bioload. The skimmate is a little wet and has the color of light coffee.
I think the 1" injector produced a higher water pressure going into the protein skimmer. I can only guess that the extra pressure helps reduced the bubble size, and the higher water level gives the bubbles more contact time with the water. It's a little wetter than before because the foam have less room to condense, but the consistency of the foam is a little different.
I'm pleased with the result, and I think I'll keep it that way.
Can someone try it with their EV protein skimmer let us know of the result?
I have an EV120 that is raised above my sump, and it is being driven by a Mag 7. I chose the Mag 7 despite the fact that a Mag 5 is recommended because the outlet of the skimmer is about 19" to 20" above the pump.
I'm having a really hard time getting the EV120 to skim well. I've had it for years, and I've never gotten it to skim very well.
I have uploaded some pictures of my setup here (critiques welcome):
http://flickr.com/photos/shapegsx/sets/72157601366757298/
I started reading this thread, and I saw that some people have gotten their AquaC skimmers to perform really well. But following the thread got really confusing.
Any tips for an EV120 owner? As you can see from the pictures, I don't mind doing modifications.
One change I've been considering is using flexible tubing to run from the pump up to the skimmer inlet, which should provide less head pressure than my hard setup with multiple right angles.
I'm having a really hard time getting the EV120 to skim well. I've had it for years, and I've never gotten it to skim very well.
I have uploaded some pictures of my setup here (critiques welcome):
http://flickr.com/photos/shapegsx/sets/72157601366757298/
I started reading this thread, and I saw that some people have gotten their AquaC skimmers to perform really well. But following the thread got really confusing.
Any tips for an EV120 owner? As you can see from the pictures, I don't mind doing modifications.
One change I've been considering is using flexible tubing to run from the pump up to the skimmer inlet, which should provide less head pressure than my hard setup with multiple right angles.
TheMorayMan
New member
Yea ShapeGSX, WHere is CaptainCoral When you need him, I need some suggestions on fine tuning adjustments for my EV-120, or if anybody else can hwlp me out.
Ok, I just read the new AquaC manual for my EV120. It is very different from the manual I received with my EV120 back in 2003. The biggest change is that they now recommend that you run the skimmer with the water level at the top of the box instead of below the platform.
I adjusted the water to this level, and we will see what happens. I'm also heading out to get some 3/4" tubing to eliminate the 2 90 degree bends in my piping (even though they are 1").
I adjusted the water to this level, and we will see what happens. I'm also heading out to get some 3/4" tubing to eliminate the 2 90 degree bends in my piping (even though they are 1").
ShapeGSX, I run a 180 off a mag 9 and it works well for me. The overflow from the tank goes into a ples box that the mag 9 is in so I get all surface water from the tank to my skimmer. I use flex tubing that is about 2 feet long from the skimmer to the pump. I removed the gate valve all together and just let the skimmer overflow into the sump. I control the amount of skimmate and the color by pinching off the air valve. I can go from dark brown skimmate to clear water just by adjusting the air valve. My tank has a medium bio load and the skimmer fills to the overflow in about 8-10 hours. I have to clean the skimmer every 2-3 days because of gunk buildup in the neck. This keeps my skimmate a constant color (coffee like). Once I have my air valve set I seldom have to adjust as long as I keep up on my skimmer cleaning. I hope this helps you. IMO these skimmers work quite well once you modify them by getting a bigger than recommended pump.
Pacific Reefs
New member
Just got my EV180 w/Mag7 on my 92g. This is less than 24hrs breaking in. I will be changing my sump design so the raw water from the tank meets the Mag7 first. Thanks for the tips on this thread guys.
I replaced the tubing on my EV120. Now I have some black plastic tubing going up to the skimmer in a gentle curve.
The issue I seem to have is that the bubbles are not uniform in the tube. About 1/3 of the way up the tube, the bubbles start to get larger. By 2/3 of the way up the tube, the bubbles can be as big as the tube itself. This means that the bubbles are pushed up into the collection cup only rarely.
If I want finer bubbles, and wetter skimmate, how should I adjust the skimmer? Less air? More air? The air valve is probably 2/3 open right now.
The issue I seem to have is that the bubbles are not uniform in the tube. About 1/3 of the way up the tube, the bubbles start to get larger. By 2/3 of the way up the tube, the bubbles can be as big as the tube itself. This means that the bubbles are pushed up into the collection cup only rarely.
If I want finer bubbles, and wetter skimmate, how should I adjust the skimmer? Less air? More air? The air valve is probably 2/3 open right now.
Here is an illustration of my issue:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shapegsx/sets/72157601392393610/
The bubbles are fine at the bottom of the column. But they rapidly become larger as they go up the column. At the top of the column, the bubbles are smaller and darker colored, and the bubbles stay formed. This is the stuff that should be skimmed away! But it never makes it up into the cup!
Changing the air valve makes very little difference.
What's going on here?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shapegsx/sets/72157601392393610/
The bubbles are fine at the bottom of the column. But they rapidly become larger as they go up the column. At the top of the column, the bubbles are smaller and darker colored, and the bubbles stay formed. This is the stuff that should be skimmed away! But it never makes it up into the cup!
Changing the air valve makes very little difference.
What's going on here?
TheMorayMan
New member
HELP!!! LOL I Have the EV-120 With the Mag 5, SHould i remove the elbow on the gate valve and not use the gate valve at all and just use the air intake or leave the elbow and Gate on? THe Skimmer is Stock, but its not getting the aqua C braggin Rights Yet! ASAP Thnks
i dont post here much i mostly just browse but recently i picked up a ev -120 to run on a 90 gallon tank..at the time i couldn't pass up the deal on this skimmer ...now since i have gotten a 90 gallon tank im wanting to use the ev-120 but im not sure if its going to be underpowered...im wondering what all you ev owners think....will the ev-120 be enough to skim my 90 gallon?
i still need a pump to run this skimmer i know aquac recommends the mag 5 but im looking at the something stronger....maybe you ev owners could recommend another pump...
my build thread
i still need a pump to run this skimmer i know aquac recommends the mag 5 but im looking at the something stronger....maybe you ev owners could recommend another pump...
my build thread
TheMorayMan
New member
Iwaki Pump...if you want power then get the external pump, i think its the Iwaki 20 RLT
I have an EV-150 that I have severely modded so that it operated more like a EV-180 with the 1" injector. In order to get the fines bubbles and greatest control of the skimmate amount and thickness, shut the air all the way off and adjust the water level in your skimmer's riser tube to just below (1/4") the top of the skimmer box. Then turn the air all the way back on and adjust the outlet gate valve slightly, waiting a couple minutes in between to obtain the smallest bubbles in the bottom half of the riser tube. The probably won't need to adjust the gate valve more than a 1/4 turn in either direction. Don't worry too much about what is happening up higher in the tube as the skimmate may take a little time to work its way up there since it hasn't been up there recently. Once you have the outlet gate valve adjusted to obtain the optimum water level, all you should need to do to control the skimmate amount is adjust the air valve. A slight adjustment to the air valve can change your skimmate from dry to overflowing so only adjust the air valve very slightly and give it several hours before adjusting again. For my EV-150, I have used Mag 9.5 and Mag 12 pumps on it. My guess is that a Mag 7 would be the smallest pump you would want to use on the EV-120, but it should still work. Upsizing the pump should help though and if you want to spend the money, many people are having the best results with Eheim pumps.
Here's a pic from when I was first adjusting my skimmer. The skimmate in the cup is still a little wet, but it was only about 6 hours of skimmate and there was a little skimmate in the bucket as well.
Here's a pic from when I was first adjusting my skimmer. The skimmate in the cup is still a little wet, but it was only about 6 hours of skimmate and there was a little skimmate in the bucket as well.
Will the 1" injector work with the EV120? I would think that using 1" hose might help.
This is my second pump for this skimmer. I had the Mag 5 at first. Now I have the Mag 7. The thought of upgrading pumps again makes me cringe.
Besides, my sump only has a 1/2" bulkhead for the pump. Ugh.
This is my second pump for this skimmer. I had the Mag 5 at first. Now I have the Mag 7. The thought of upgrading pumps again makes me cringe.
Besides, my sump only has a 1/2" bulkhead for the pump. Ugh.Similar threads
