Few questions on the MRC MR2

[gflat65]

Got the PCX 55 plumbed in over the sump wall to feed the pump (1.25" PVC to 1" inlet), then have flex tubing run to the top of beckett. It took a few minutes for the pump to fully prime itself. Got a few questions.

Should there be water in the beckett injector assembly? There is currently water up to about 1" below the air inlet valve.

Should the water be turbulent up the neck of the collection cup? I'm getting what look like surges of water in the neck of the collection cup, so I'm afraid to close the gate valve any more. I have the old style skimmer, so it has the smaller diameter beckett assembly and almost the same size riser as the base of the skimmer tube (newer ones have a skinnier neck in the riser section).

Approximately how long does it take for the skimmate to hit equilibrium? I was just summonsed by the wife because the collection cup was flooding water into the 7 gallon bucket I have the collection cup hooked to, but it had been stable and ~1" below the top of the neck of the collection cup. Will it sit in one spot for a while, then start rising until I get it set right?

I'm using the gate valve as the adjustment for the height of the water in the riser. Does running the air inlet wide open do anything besides bring in bigger bubbles (i.e., is there a detriment to running it wide open)? Is the air inlet adjustment primarily for getting finer and finer bubbles?

TIA

 

[rcmike]

My aerofoamer has water in the beckett assembly. The beckett's seam is not water tight so water will leak out of it into the housing and that is normal. As far as where the water should be I am not sure with that skimmer. I set mine with the water level pretty low and let it run for a while and raised it a little bit until I got it where I wanted it. Closing off the air valve will sometimes make the bubbles a little smaller. I have heard the skimmer may have to break in some before the bubbles get finer also.

 

[cee]

Gary:

It takes 1-2 days to stabilize the water level, which should be 2-3 inches below where the riser meets the collection cup riser section. Sounds like you're putting too much air into the unit, which will cause excessive turbulence as well as too large of bubbles. I'd reduce the air into the unit and play with that awhile until you get the hang of it and don't overflow the collection cup. Mine dumps into a 2 gallon pitcher, and I've never overflowed it, but have come close on several occasions. Unless you have one of those ping pong ball collection devices, you've got to be careful 'cause these can cause flooding really quick. Oh, and I'll reply to your PM...

Dave

 

[imsqueak]

Yea, after a couple days break in you will be able to tweak it better. I'd suggest closing the air and increasing it half turns until it starts to look ok but still a bit starved for air. Let it sit couple hrs, increase air, let it sit, etc.

I just checked mine and the water is almost to the air holes in the becket, and the water level is about even with the riser that connects to the neck, the gate vale is about 80% closed. I'm running a pcx40 though.

Note; every time I clean my tank (done with every water change) the skimmer goes nuts that night. Almost always overflow my 1g catcher but for me it goes into the sump. I've come home from work to see foam going nuts for no apparent reason also. I've seriously considered getting the ping pong add on or trying to diy one but it' low priority since mine overflows back into the tank so no major water loss.

 

[fishdoc11]

Yep sounds like too much air. I also agree to give it a few days to break in. Mine took a couple of weeks but it was new. Here is a pic of how I run mine if that helps as far as bubble size etc.....This is what I would call fairly wet:

IME it will probably take you several weeks to figure how to run it to it's potential but it should still skim well in the meantime so be patient

Chris

 

[gflat65]

Thanks for the input, guys. I will tune the air down (I am getting some air leakage somewhere, so I'll have to clean up with some teflon. Even with the air turn off, it gets quite a bit of air... I'll open the gate a little more, too. I have fine bubbles to about an inch below the collection cup riser, then they get pretty large. I'll keep tinkering with it and let it run for a few days. I have it draining into a 7 gallon bucket, so hopefully it won't get away from me again. I 'collected' about a gallon and a half in two minutes when I wasn't watching earlier, but nothing since (turned air down and gate valve open a bit more). It only took about two minutes to start showing some nasty stuff floating on the top of the bubbles, though. Once I get inside it's head, I'm gonna change it around a little to get rid of the micro bubbles in the tank, etc. I'm liking it already. I need to hunt down a used newer style beckett assembly to get the larger diameter...