Is this normal for an AquaC

[algaefree]

I run an AquaC EV-120 also. I have had it for about a year and am now running it on my 135 reef in the sump. I use the recommended RIO 2100 to power it. I believe this is approximately a 700gph pump, but still not the highest of quality. I have done everything the manual recommends, including keeping the output above the sump water level, keeping the internal water level within a 1/2" of the top of the main box. I have never run the water level above that inside the riser tube, but then again, I have never gotten great production from this $300!!!! device!!! Recently, I have been trying to clean it out once every few days, but it still doesn't produce very much. After reading this post, I am going to try running the water level higher inside the riser tube. I will post again when I see how it's production changes with the water level change. Thank you all for sharing your experience with this skimmer.

Here is a picture of the current setup. I have not yet added the live sand to the fuge yet.

You can see more pix of my new setup and some more details at the following post:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=250899&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[Roadie]

Dave - Did you try that new injector? Did that fix the issue?
My EV120 just got here today and I'm not feeling good about it right now after reading 9 pages of your troubles.

 

[RichTG]

Guys, there are so many great Diy plans out there. I built a 3' tall 3" counter-current skimmer that was relatively easy and cheap to build, but works fantastic once your water flow and air bubble ratios are correct (trial and error). I have approx. 1/2 litre of nasty brown foam & sludge to remove every day and my whole setup is only 50 gal of water. Same with the fluidized bed filters-flow is everything - more is not necessarily better. Save your money and time by building components to suit your setup!

 

[algaefree]

Everyone,

Do you think I would get better production by increasing pump size? Currently running a RIO 2100 to power the skimmer. What if I went up to a 2500? What if I just built my own skimmer and sold the EV120 for the piece of crap it is.

Comments?

 

[YYZ_125G]

algaefree, before spending time and money on a different pump you should check the flow rate of the pump you have. If you are in the 250gph to 300gph range through your piping and injector, a new pump would be a waste. I found the best setting for my skimmer is with the water level right at the internal platform. Any higher and I get water splashing back up out of the injector downdraft tube.

 

[jonaslee]

As a person who has used both EV-120 and CS8-2,
I certainly could understand Dave A's frustration.

I have used an EV-120 since August 2002 and it is a
skimmer I still find very difficult to understand.
It took me about 2 months of trial and errror to
get the EV-120 to skim to its potential but the road
to get there was needless to say not necessary for
a product that cost that much.

After the long and arduous break-in period, the EV-120
worked quite well in my 180 gallon reef tank.
This past December I also bought a CS8-2 and just
to compare I place both of them in my large sump.

To my amazement, starting that very day, my EV-120
stopped skimming after more than one year of
good work. I tried everything, including washing it in
hot water, in vinegar, etc. etc....

In contrast the CS8-2, just kept on skimming fine from
day one. So after two weeks of trying, I pulled the
EV-120 out of the sump and it now sits in the closet.

Somehow having the CS8-2 in the same sump disturbed
the EV-120 and made it stop foaming. I tried shielding the
Mag5 pump and relocating but nothing seemed to work.

I was hoping Dave A would run the EV-120 and CS8-2
at the sametime (if possible) to see if he experiences the
same problem.

IMO, EV is a good skimmer but just too sensitive to its
surroundings for its own good.

 

[Dave A]

I did try the new injector with no results. I removed the CS8-2 from the sump, which was skimming great at the time, and dropped in the EV-120 with new injector. I ran it for 3 days and was unable to get any skimmate at all. I've since put the CS8-2 back in and it's skimming great again. I don't have the room in the sump to run both skimmers at once.

Dave

 

[Vincerama2]

Ugh, well I have a (newly purchased) EV-120 and at first it was skimming well, but I messed it up. Basically, I tried to silence the output and that put the output pipe (I'm using PVC with some elbows on the output) a bit under water. This makes it hard to adjust since being submerged puts back pressure on the skimmer and raises the water level in it. So I need to do some fiddling...which is annoying considering the cost of this thing!!!! ($300!!!) The part that hurts is that the EuroReef ES5-3 is only $250! However, I have NO sump space to spare, so I don't regret the purchase, I've seen it skimming, and I know I can tune it back to that point, I just have to avoid looking in the direction of my tank or else it will disturb the skimmer!

I think that this skimmer must be set so that there is only one adjustment...the water level in the skimmer. So you can't allow a variable backpressure on the sump outlet, or you screw that up. And just leave the air valve open all the way. Just to cause myself a headache, I attached my calcium reactor output to the skimmer! (Though I know that a HIGHER ph would help skimming...I want to reduce overall ph by using the skimmer as a off-gassing platform.

V

 

[RonSF]

I messed it up. Basically, I tried to silence the output and that put the output pipe (I'm using PVC with some elbows on the output) a bit under water. This makes it hard to adjust since being submerged puts back pressure on the skimmer and raises the water level in it. So I need to do some fiddling...V

V-
I did the same thing to quiet the peeing cherub sound coming from my sump. I solved the backpressure problem by drilling an 1/8" hole in the elbow to make sure that there was no back pressure (mine just vents a little air). That seems to solve one problem, but I must confess that I have highly variable results with mine. I think that Jason is a great guy with excellent customer service, but this is definately a finicky design. I've tried all three pumps recommended and am back with the first one I bought, a Rio 2100 since it works the best. Unfortunately, I worry about Rio meltdown syndrome, so I'm thinking about trying an Eheim, but it's twice the $$$ as any of the others (although a bit more flow, as well).

Dave-
You certainly gave that skimmer the benefit of the doubt. Is Jason going to take it back for a refund?
-Ron

 

[socal-rich]

This past December I also bought a CS8-2 and just
to compare I place both of them in my large sump.

To my amazement, starting that very day, my EV-120
stopped skimming after more than one year of
good work...

...IMO, EV is a good skimmer but just too sensitive to its
surroundings for its own good.

YES! my EV also suffers from this jealousy syndrome. Also if I have guests over, I HAVE to introduce them to the EV otherwise it will stop skimming.

 

[Dave A]

Dave-
You certainly gave that skimmer the benefit of the doubt. Is Jason going to take it back for a refund?
-Ron

Hey Ron,
The answer is yes. Total replacement or refund, he gave me the choice.

Dave

 

[cecilturtle]

I'm glad to see Jason has offered to do that Dave as I only thought he would from my previous experiences with him. I can think of only a handful of companies who would do that.

Several of you guys are comparing a Euro CS8 series to the EV-120 and I think that is quite unfair. Even so, I could not possibly ask for more performance from mine as I already have to shut it off from time to time to keep some food in my water column. Anyhow, glad to see your problem has been resolved Dave...I just wish we could have some closure in what the actual problem was. If not the skimmer itself then possibly the design as some have suggested in accordance to specific sump designs...refugium first/last, sump levels, gph, pumps, etc. etc.

 

[Vincerama2]

My EV-120 now will not allow me to keep the water below the "platform!" I removed all backpressure (I think) by letting the water just rush out of a horizontal pipe (I guess that is backpressure too...but no more than I had before) and now even with the gate valve open, the water is at the platform level! I also attached my calc reactor to the JG fitting, but I can't image that would cause this! Luckily, it _is_ foaming so I am getting skimmate. Even if the skimmate is "wet" and weak, I'll take it...it means that at least SOMETHING is skimming out of the tank! I can always top off the salt water.

I don't understand this skimmer at all. It is more finicky than the Prizm that it replaced, not to mention louder and 3-4 times more expensive! If I could go back in time, I'd rather buy that ER ES5-3 and use the $50 difference in price to simply buy a larger aquarium to use as a sump that could fit the ES5-3 !!!!!! I am really really hoping that the skimmer is just "breaking in" (after 2 weeks) and that soon, it will just work without me ever touching it (ha!)

V

 

[cybertomtbcb]

Try an etss

 

[Vincerama2]

I figured out how to tune the AquaC! (long winded)

I figured out how to tune the AquaC! (long winded)

Dave, I went back and read your very first post, and now I'm going to share something I discovered last night!

After some fiddling with the plumbing a few days ago, I somehow managed to mess up my EV-120. No matter what I did, the water level would NOT come down! However, I know that I DID have the water down below the platform before and that it WAS skimming well then! Yesterday morning, the water level was way up in the tube part and when I got home, the skimmate was watery and weak and had overflowed into my overflow bucket.

Even with the gate valve WIDE OPEN, the water level would not come down...

This is what happened...I was sick of the glurping of the outlet pipe, which was partially submerged in my sump water, and which I figured was causing the skimmer to work inconsistently because as the skimmer water level changed, the sump level changed and then I'd get a feedback loop on the water level as teh outlet pipe was submerged or not-submerged. So I tried to quiet the outlet. I eventually gave up because I couldn't stop the glurping. I HAD a horizontal run, then a 45 degree bend towards the water and then a small piece of pvc with a few holes in it (to let out the air to prevent glurping) lightly in the 45 bend. I CHANGED it to a straight horizontal run with a T at the end (but with the "long side" of the T running inline with the pipe so that a little air could escape out the single open end that was pointed up (like an invrted letter T). This caused a laminar flow of water that was more tolerable. HOWEVER, that's when my troubles began! I couldn't understand it, now the outlet was a straight shot into a waterfall, NO backpressure at all, and with the gate WIDE OPEN, I couldn't control the level! I messed with the air valve but nothing worked. So I gave up, but decided to work on the outflow problem again, I used a sideways T valve, running downwards into the water, but that caused glurping, despite the "air escape chimney" created by the sideways T (opened at the top)...

Eventually, I got rid of the T altogether and used a 90 degree bend, which went downwards with a short pvc piece connected to a 1" to 2" bushing, which in turn had a 2" coupler on it (like a bell so that the water would go into the bell under water)...

V:eek1: Holy shmokes! I had tried drilling air holes into the 1" to 2" bushing to let the air out but then I tried one without holes. And .... V:eek1: It all worked! No sound! I could adjust my outlet flow again!

Here's what I concluded....in the outlet pipe, I had holes to let air "escape" but what I was really doing was creating venturis to drive more air down the pipe to glurp. OK, so then I got rid of the holes and SUBMERGED the end of the pipe...well guess what, now I have a siphon that DRAWS water out of the skimmer FASTER than an open pipe! So fast in fact that I could now use the gate valve to actually control the water level! When the gate was just open, the pump dumped in more water than the outlet could handle, with the submerged (and air hole less) outlet pipe, I sucked water out of the skimmer so that the gate valve actually did something!

I think that submerging the pipe may be irrelevant, if you just bend down a 90 elbow that goes to a pipe that is lower than the level you want the skimmer's internal water level set to, you will create a siphon (we all understand siphons at this point!). The 1"-2" bushing and the 2 inch coupler (which I drilled some under-the-waterline holes in) makes the outlet silent!

I will post a picture tonight when I get home, but if you even give a crap anymore, maybe you could try running a pipe with a 90 degree bend going downwards to create a siphon just to see if this theory is correct...if it is, then you can sell the EV-120 on eBay and NOT have to say that it is underperforming!

OK, I know I put too much "I did this, then I did that" but I felt the need to explain how I came upon this conclusion, so that you guys can trouble shoot your skimmers too.

This morning I had some nice foam rising into the collection cup...!

Hope this helps...someone!


V

 

[Vincerama2]

Another hint...

If you want to find your "water level" in the skimmer to adjust it, put your finger over the air valve (or just use the valve!) to block off the air flow, there will be no bubbles in the water and the water level is easily observed with a flashlight! MUCH easier than trying to guess the water level with all the bubbles and turbulence!

Once you tune your water level to get good skimmate, do this trick and mark the water level with a piece of tape or something. Now after you clean your skimmer or take it offline or change the pump, you can do this trick again to find your "sweet spot" water level!

V

 

[Dave A]

Sounds interesting Vince, although my EV-120 is at this moment somewhere in the mail being returned I'm sure your plumbing set-up will be worth trying for some people who had posted here with similar problems. I'm interested to see pictures of your set-up. Keep us posted if it keeps working well.

Dave

 

[YYZ_125G]

Vince, You are right about the siphon. I have been using a single 90 elbow on my output to lower the water level in my skimmer.

Daniel

 

[Slaw Man]

I have been running an EV180 for the last three weeks and I am less than impressed.

I am doing everything by the book and it produces less than my old Queen clone (piece of junk).

I don't buy the "break-in" crap (after three weeks!).

I suspect that not enough is known about injection skimming method and there is something fundamental in water chemistry that makes it useless under certain conditions. Unfortunately I have (and clearly some others), have such a water chemistry!

Sell the Aqua C - buy a Euro Reef. I will be.:mad2:

 

[H@rry]

Vince - What effect (if any) does this syphon have on micro bubble in your sump?