AquaC CLUB!

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Well, Ive been massing with my EV120 for some time now. I tried what Captain Coral said to do. After doing this I got a good collection of at the top of the cup but it wouldn't let more skimmate come up. Next I sent Aqua C an email. They said to open the air valve all the way and regulate the flow from the pump. After doing that it pushed the skimmate that had colected at the top of the cup down into the cup. Now the skimmate is not the thick nasty grime that so many talk about but it is more like light tan/green water. My question is what am I trying to get from the skimmer, The thick nasty stuff or the thin watery stuff?
Mark
 
Well,
I couldnÃ"šÃ‚´t post yesterday because I went for some frags to Mexico City and it took me all day. Actually I ended aclimating them at 6 am from today!
The skimmer didnÃ"šÃ‚´t worked better. The new plumbing didnÃ"šÃ‚´t make a difference, so the panworld is on itÃ"šÃ‚´s way!
I hope that with the panworld and the 1" injector, the skimmer will rock.
IÃ"šÃ‚´ll keep you posted.
Marco
 
Marco, I believe you'll be very happy now. You mentioned earlier about the 13" sump depth. Is your skimmer raised a couple inches? The ev400 is for 11" and under. I'm just checking to make sure that you're not fighting any sump backpressure. :)
 
printedpaper, do you have a gate or ball valve coming off of the pump? Maybe there is too much turbulence in the mixing box. Three things come into play when tuning AquaC's to optimum performance; the quantity of air injected, the size of the bubbles, and turbulence in the mixing box. More air works better than less air. Small bubbles work better than large bubbles. Too much turbulence impedes function. Running the air wide open gets you more, but at cost to larger bubble size. (that's why it's tea colored set like this, the bubbles are too big for the 2 min dwell time) Choking the air get's you smaller bubbles the more you choke. Running a higher velocity/pressure (bigger pump) can potentially create too much turbulence in the mixing box, but it also allows the user to choke the air for smaller bubbles without reducing the amount of air injected to the degree that the smaller pumps do. When using a larger pump, apparently, it seems best to use a valve on the output to cut back pressure just enough (if needed) to reduce turbulence, and still allow for copious air injection with tiny bubbles, and good dwell time.

These skimmers would be easier to tune, if one adjustment didn't cancel out another. However, once all the playing and lessons are done, you know your skimmer and it's adjustments like Zen.
 
Captain, I do have a ball valve coming off the mag 7. So if I understand what you are saying I could try to go back to where you told me to go last week then choke back the pump a bit. Did I get that right? Mark
 
Sort of. Maybe your mag7 is creating too much turbulence open wide. Try to get enough small bubbles to blow nasty smelling foam all the way to the cup, and beyond to the waste collector.

Smaller bubbles can be made two ways; one way is to choke the air, and another way is to raise the water height line. The manual says to keep the water line just under the air chamber plate. (I havn't had mine set that low in two or three years). It also says not to raise it more than an inch above the bottom plate in the air chamber.
I believe that keeping the water height just out of sight in your riser is about where they say is the max height. This is also the spot where bubble production is the the smallest and most uniform. That's great, because then all you have to do is choke the air slightly to get even smaller bubbles. Now here's the thing, the amount of air you need to choke ranges from very little to none with a weak pump, to half way or more with a larger pump.

That is just what I have figured out by tinkering with them for almost 4 years. Now, my plumbing to the skimmer isn't that short, so if I needed to gate the pumps output I probably didn't notice.
If you are noticing an issue, perhaps you should play with the pumps valve to rule out turbulence issues. Otherwise, I don't know what to say.
I'm currently setting up my ev180 on a new sump set up for my 75 gallon tank (with 25gal fuge). I'm going to be using a pump which would work well on the ev240 (genx pcx30), so I'm expecting to push the boundarys of where that turbulence issue is. I'm going to put a gate valve w/pvc nipple right on the pumps output. I may need a union there too to be able to do clean the injector. This plumbing line is turning out to be very close to the injector, so I'm expecting to have to gate the pump some.

I may have all my parts here by next weekend, and I'm going to test it (the new sump outfit) out with some water change water before I install it. I'll shoot some photos for everyone then.
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7093127#post7093127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robsmith32
or what aqua-c says is best internal, for the 120 is eheim 1260
many have had success apparently with mag7 though.
Click to expand...

The best choice really would be the 1260, it is a better/quieter pump, it also costs more than the mag 7.
 
Ok Captain, Ill give it a try, Thanks
Ti, if I had to buy a new pump I would try the 1260.........or maybe a differant skimmer. I like the aqua C because it works out good with my sump. It seems like most need to sit in the sump except for the very expensive models.
 
FWIW, the expense and trouble to get a GATE instead of a ballvalve is really worth it in the effort it takes to get it tweaked just right. Ball valve SUCK when trying to get minute adjustments.
Found some at www.jehmco.com very reasonable.
On another topic with all the heater problems going around lately, they have reasonably priced temp controllers too. Thinking about testing one out. As it is, i run a single temp unit that came from a chiller on a fan to keep it cool.
 
The gate valve sounds like a good idea. I looked for one but all I could find is a ball valve. Seems like I should find one at a local box store doesn't it?
 
Here is what I pull from my EV-120 on a regular basis. I'm pushing a little more flow through it with a QO3000. I definitely noticed an increase in output when I swapped over from my Mag5. I run my gate valve wide open and control the foam height with the air valve. I'd say I get about 1/4 -1/2 gallon a week depending how wet/dry I want to run it.


74480EV-120-med.jpg
 
Awsome pictures Ken. When you say the gate valve are you refering to the valve on the skimmer or the valve on your pump? How does a QO3000 conpare to a mag 7? Thanks for the pictures. Mark
 
have a qo4000 on a ev180 and it has yet to start a nice foam, eheim 1262 will be installed towards end of the week when it comes in.

quiet one is a bit cheaper than mag's are.
LOT more flow than a mag at less wattage, but not as good with head pressure.
see flow charts.
 
Good call on the gate valves!

So, I'd like to add the link where I bought mine while it's on topic. :)
This store worked out well for me since I needed threaded unions and threaded gate valves.

Here's the link to Savko's valve page. Lots of goodies there.

Lot's of unions here .

I did find threaded gate valves at aquatic eco systems too.
 
I don't understand the pump debate. Do we need volume or pressure? If its pressure how much is enough? Can you have too much pressure? Mark
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7096437#post7096437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ti
The best choice really would be the 1260, it is a better/quieter pump, it also costs more than the mag 7.
Click to expand...
If you run a 1260, you now have something in common with Deltec and H&S!

FWIW, the 1260 handles head A LOT better than a Mag7. I would think that would be a big benefit on a spray injection skimmer.
 
I think the pressure is a big thing to do with it, since the qo 4000 is over a 1000gph pump and doesn't come close performing. on the 180.
which they suggest between a 7 and 900gph pump.
 
Yeah, there can be too much pressure. The gated output can only handle so much flow. With too much pressure, you'll have limited water height adjustments, because the water will be backing up trying to escape. I suppose there is a turbulence issue in the box also, but that may be a myth, I wouldn't be surprized either way. It may not be effecting the larger models with huge mixing boxs and or risers.

Pressure is the key. my mak4 is rated at 10 psi. The pressure for the pcx30 going on the ev180 is 6.83. Volume comprimises velocity. Good for return pumps and closed loops, but not for getting pressure at the injector. The more pressure at the injector, the more air it will pull in.
 
Ok the Eheim 1260 pumps 575 gallons per hr @2 feet the mag 7 pumps 550 @ 2feet can I assume the Eheim has more pressure because the folume is about the same. It dosen't seem like 25 gallons less per hr would make much differance.
 
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