AquaC EV-120 operation question.. Pics included

R

rohitp78

Premium Member
I am testing my equipment and have a question about my skimmer. I read the instruction manual and drilled a siphon hole on the exit pipe. When i shut off the return pump and skimmer pump and let it stand for few mins and then start them again the water column in the skimmer is filled with water. If i wait for few mins and then close the siphon hole with my finger for a minute the water in water column drops.

The first picture is taken immediately after the pumps are started.
You can see a 1/4" siphon hole above the water level in sump. When pumps start from stop the siphon hole is below the water level.
187816Skimmer1.jpg


In the second picture you can see a close up of water filled in section below collection cup.
187816Skimmer2.jpg


The third picture shows the drop in water column after the siphon hole is blocked for a minute. The siphon hole is blocked after the water level in sump drops below it.
187816Skimmer3.jpg


Is this normal? If there is water filled in section below the collection cup, after some time the water is pumped out of the air exhaust in collection cup. This is the reason i have hooked up a flexible tube on the air duct, to pump water in sump and it is not submerged in water.
 
Last edited:
Your post confuses me a little.

"If there is water filled in section below the collection cup, after some time the water is pumped out of the air exhaust in collection cup. This is the reason i have hooked up a flexible tube on the air duct, to pump water in sump and it is not submerged in water."

Are you saying tank water is coming out of the collection cup? The "Air duct" is the valve with the blue handle. The spout on the collection cup is just a tub to help you connect over-flowed sludge/skimmed water.

Well - regardless the water level should not be that high in the second pic unless you are REALLY wet skimming.

That neck is typically a whirlwind of bubbles for me and if I'm really lazy - it becomes a neck of sludge.

What kind of pump are you using? A Mag7?

You may get more mileage if this post were in the equipment forum.
 
I'm confused as well. I'm not sure what the purpose of the siphon hole is. I just used to run water straight in and out. I dialed the gate valve so that the water level was even with the black box. Just below bubbles in your 2nd shot. It took a few weeks to get it to stay at that level consistently. I had to monitor it daily as it broke in.
 
The manual says to put a "T" where you have the 90. Have it so that one side drains in to the sump and the other pointing up. The other not preferred way is to drill a 1/4" hole on the top of the 90. If you call them they will help you! Their service is second to none. Also the manual is on their site.
Protienskimmer.com

Then set the water as Capt cully stated.
 
From the looks of it you have your output choked which is causing the water level to be way too high in the skimmer.

I would guess that the reason the water level drops in the manner you describe is that it's reaching a state of equilibrium using a siphoning action (beacuse the hole is not preforming as it should due to the incorrect location). I bet that if you hit a power outage and the pump came back on the skimmer would overflow (suprised you arent geting leakage out the injector).

Try this (take a few days and just let it acclimate according to below):
1. Remove the features from the output. Clean black injector by unscrewing and cleaning any algae. Unscrew grey air injector and make sure its not clogged with any salt creep.
2. Open exit gate 100%
3. Close air flow completely
4. Plug in pump
5. Wait 2 hours for water level to settle
6. Observe water level which should be inside the dark grey box. Ideally it should be slightly lower than the internal platform (shine a flashlight through the box and you should be able to see).
6a. If water level is higher the output is restricted - or - something is wrong with pushing too much water through the skimmer, contact AquaC or send an e-mail, they respond within 1 busines day with pump info, etc
6b. If the level is too low slowly close the exit gate valve until the water level reaches the top of the internal box (at max it should be at the top of the outer box).
7. Observe in 2 hours. Once water level is stable (not fluctuating) open air valve 100%.
8. New skimmers should begin generation waste within 48-72 hours - be sure to check periodically as they can kick in fast and overflow the collection cup elbow - but it looks like you have a collector (good move)


This skimmer is a good quality skimmer. However much of it's bad name comes from those not patient enough to understand it and flaming. Also be aware that any feeding, sticking hand in tank, additives, etc adds some oil which will decrease the bubble level for a short period of time. It will kick back in in about 1-2 hours.

Now your sig indicates that you are planning on starting a reef - if you have no bioload (fish/coral/LR waste) it will not produce any skimate.

I'll check in tomorrow and Sunday to see if this has helped. Let us know what pump you are using.

You can also check the AquaC club thread at
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=594995&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
for more info from others.
 
BTW the water level in your sump looks a little high - will that handle a power outage? Only trying to help...
 
Thanks ive been trying to figure out how to properly adjust this thing.


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12696135#post12696135 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wink1906
From the looks of it you have your output choked which is causing the water level to be way too high in the skimmer.

I would guess that the reason the water level drops in the manner you describe is that it's reaching a state of equilibrium using a siphoning action (beacuse the hole is not preforming as it should due to the incorrect location). I bet that if you hit a power outage and the pump came back on the skimmer would overflow (suprised you arent geting leakage out the injector).

Try this (take a few days and just let it acclimate according to below):
1. Remove the features from the output. Clean black injector by unscrewing and cleaning any algae. Unscrew grey air injector and make sure its not clogged with any salt creep.
2. Open exit gate 100%
3. Close air flow completely
4. Plug in pump
5. Wait 2 hours for water level to settle
6. Observe water level which should be inside the dark grey box. Ideally it should be slightly lower than the internal platform (shine a flashlight through the box and you should be able to see).
6a. If water level is higher the output is restricted - or - something is wrong with pushing too much water through the skimmer, contact AquaC or send an e-mail, they respond within 1 busines day with pump info, etc
6b. If the level is too low slowly close the exit gate valve until the water level reaches the top of the internal box (at max it should be at the top of the outer box).
7. Observe in 2 hours. Once water level is stable (not fluctuating) open air valve 100%.
8. New skimmers should begin generation waste within 48-72 hours - be sure to check periodically as they can kick in fast and overflow the collection cup elbow - but it looks like you have a collector (good move)


This skimmer is a good quality skimmer. However much of it's bad name comes from those not patient enough to understand it and flaming. Also be aware that any feeding, sticking hand in tank, additives, etc adds some oil which will decrease the bubble level for a short period of time. It will kick back in in about 1-2 hours.

Now your sig indicates that you are planning on starting a reef - if you have no bioload (fish/coral/LR waste) it will not produce any skimate.

I'll check in tomorrow and Sunday to see if this has helped. Let us know what pump you are using.

You can also check the AquaC club thread at
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=594995&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
for more info from others.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry guys for not getting back... Since the post was not answered in 2 days i thought this must be buried down and out of sight for anyone to answer.....

Anyway after doing some experiments i think i have got it working. I had to replace the exit PVC and it no longer has a siphon hole, so currently there is no siphone hole.

I adjusted it as follows
1. I closed the air duct completely and after some time adjusted the exit gate valve so that the water level is just at the top of the black box of skimmer.
2. After this i adjusted the air duct valve so that there are less bubbles. I think its around a little less than half way closed.

The skimmer is working now, but may be not to a full potential. i do not have any livestock, but my live rock has a lot of worms and many different creatures. I will post current picture as soon as my camera is charged.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12695586#post12695586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phil519
Your post confuses me a little.

"If there is water filled in section below the collection cup, after some time the water is pumped out of the air exhaust in collection cup. This is the reason i have hooked up a flexible tube on the air duct, to pump water in sump and it is not submerged in water."

Are you saying tank water is coming out of the collection cup? The "Air duct" is the valve with the blue handle. The spout on the collection cup is just a tub to help you connect over-flowed sludge/skimmed water.

Well - regardless the water level should not be that high in the second pic unless you are REALLY wet skimming.

That neck is typically a whirlwind of bubbles for me and if I'm really lazy - it becomes a neck of sludge.

What kind of pump are you using? A Mag7?

You may get more mileage if this post were in the equipment forum.
Click to expand...

Yeah for the first few days, i kept the air duct fully open and this caused the water to come out of spout on collection cup after the skimmer kicked in. I had water all over the bottom of the stand and thus i attached a flexible pipe so that the water from the spout was thrown back into the sump.

I am using Mag5 pump...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12695971#post12695971 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sabbath
You need the hole to be where I put the red dot.
187816Skimmer1.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the graphic! Currently i am not using any siphon hole.. will that be a problem?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12696135#post12696135 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wink1906
From the looks of it you have your output choked which is causing the water level to be way too high in the skimmer.

I would guess that the reason the water level drops in the manner you describe is that it's reaching a state of equilibrium using a siphoning action (beacuse the hole is not preforming as it should due to the incorrect location). I bet that if you hit a power outage and the pump came back on the skimmer would overflow (suprised you arent geting leakage out the injector).

Try this (take a few days and just let it acclimate according to below):
1. Remove the features from the output. Clean black injector by unscrewing and cleaning any algae. Unscrew grey air injector and make sure its not clogged with any salt creep.
2. Open exit gate 100%
3. Close air flow completely
4. Plug in pump
5. Wait 2 hours for water level to settle
6. Observe water level which should be inside the dark grey box. Ideally it should be slightly lower than the internal platform (shine a flashlight through the box and you should be able to see).
6a. If water level is higher the output is restricted - or - something is wrong with pushing too much water through the skimmer, contact AquaC or send an e-mail, they respond within 1 busines day with pump info, etc
6b. If the level is too low slowly close the exit gate valve until the water level reaches the top of the internal box (at max it should be at the top of the outer box).
7. Observe in 2 hours. Once water level is stable (not fluctuating) open air valve 100%.
8. New skimmers should begin generation waste within 48-72 hours - be sure to check periodically as they can kick in fast and overflow the collection cup elbow - but it looks like you have a collector (good move)


This skimmer is a good quality skimmer. However much of it's bad name comes from those not patient enough to understand it and flaming. Also be aware that any feeding, sticking hand in tank, additives, etc adds some oil which will decrease the bubble level for a short period of time. It will kick back in in about 1-2 hours.

Now your sig indicates that you are planning on starting a reef - if you have no bioload (fish/coral/LR waste) it will not produce any skimate.

I'll check in tomorrow and Sunday to see if this has helped. Let us know what pump you are using.

You can also check the AquaC club thread at
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=594995&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
for more info from others.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed instructions, i ended up reading almost 16 pages of the AquaC club and it helped me get back on track!
 
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