Is this normal for an AquaC
- Thread starter Dave A
- Start date
Dave A
New member
Daniel.............thank you for that picture. I take it that's your water/foam level when it's not pushing foam to the cup?
I can get mine there no problem with between 1 to 1-1/2 turns of the gate valve. I'll even get a small scum line right where your foam level is at in that picture. But that's about it. Interesting though, I must be close. Thanks again for taking the time to help.
Dave
I can get mine there no problem with between 1 to 1-1/2 turns of the gate valve. I'll even get a small scum line right where your foam level is at in that picture. But that's about it. Interesting though, I must be close. Thanks again for taking the time to help.
Dave
Have you tried opening up your skimmer pump to check whether there may be something impeding it's efficiency? I sometimes get tiny snails or valonia balls stuck in the impeller of mine. It puts out, but not as much as it should when this happens. If you haven't taken a look at the injector nozzle on the skimmer you should check that as well for the same issue.
-Ron
-Ron
Dave A
New member
RonSF said:
Ron...........funny you should ask. I was just about to post.
I think I FINALLY found the problem. I just opened the Mag 5 and found that the impeller shaft had snapped and there were fragments in the motor. It was still pumping but I suspect not very efficiently. A friend is bringing a new one over right now, so stay tuned!
Oh god please let this be the beginning of the end of this thread. If it works the party is at my place. :beer:
Dave
YYZ_125G
New member
Foaming
Foaming
Dave, Here it is foaming away 5 min. later. Taking off the 90-degree elbow was all I had to do to break the foam in the column.
Setup:
Ã"šÃ‚· Dolphin 560 pump (different than your Mag).
Ã"šÃ‚· Gate valve wide open.
Ã"šÃ‚· Air valve wide open.
Ã"šÃ‚· Connector and bulk head on output.
Ã"šÃ‚· 90 degree elbow with Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ air hole.
I played with the skimmer a bit this weekend after I cleaned the tank. Stirring up my tank shuts down my skimmer for a good 8 hours. Since I had time, I played.
I found while playing with the skimmer input, more is better. A sponge on my pump intake will lower the water level in the skimmer and foam in tower. I even plumbed one of the tank overflow outputs directly to the pump input. I believe I was pushing the skimmer near 600gph. I was able to put the foam column into an overflow condition, even though the water level stayed below the intake platform of the skimmer.
Playing on the output side with a normal input, I could pull water out of the skimmer by plumbing the output below the water line in my sump. Siphon action must have been pulling water out of the skimmer. Several pipe configurations later I found the best configuration was an unimpeded flow out of the skimmer (to noisy)
I would try to maximize the flow to your skimmer. Minimize restrictions on your output so the gate valve is your control and not atmosphere pressure changes. Remove any piping on the collection cup (let it breath). Try cleaning your stack, you may not be able to see the oils but if they are there no foam.
Next time you have your injector out take a picture and measure the openings. I would like to compare it to mine. The part looks handcrafted differences could affect performance. I have seen some DIY injectors on the board and their best ones used smaller apertures than mine.
Ron makes a good call on checking your pump input.
Sorry I am used to writing year-end reports, Daniel
Foaming
Dave, Here it is foaming away 5 min. later. Taking off the 90-degree elbow was all I had to do to break the foam in the column.
Setup:
Ã"šÃ‚· Dolphin 560 pump (different than your Mag).
Ã"šÃ‚· Gate valve wide open.
Ã"šÃ‚· Air valve wide open.
Ã"šÃ‚· Connector and bulk head on output.
Ã"šÃ‚· 90 degree elbow with Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ air hole.
I played with the skimmer a bit this weekend after I cleaned the tank. Stirring up my tank shuts down my skimmer for a good 8 hours. Since I had time, I played.
I found while playing with the skimmer input, more is better. A sponge on my pump intake will lower the water level in the skimmer and foam in tower. I even plumbed one of the tank overflow outputs directly to the pump input. I believe I was pushing the skimmer near 600gph. I was able to put the foam column into an overflow condition, even though the water level stayed below the intake platform of the skimmer.
Playing on the output side with a normal input, I could pull water out of the skimmer by plumbing the output below the water line in my sump. Siphon action must have been pulling water out of the skimmer. Several pipe configurations later I found the best configuration was an unimpeded flow out of the skimmer (to noisy)
I would try to maximize the flow to your skimmer. Minimize restrictions on your output so the gate valve is your control and not atmosphere pressure changes. Remove any piping on the collection cup (let it breath). Try cleaning your stack, you may not be able to see the oils but if they are there no foam.
Next time you have your injector out take a picture and measure the openings. I would like to compare it to mine. The part looks handcrafted differences could affect performance. I have seen some DIY injectors on the board and their best ones used smaller apertures than mine.
Ron makes a good call on checking your pump input.
Sorry I am used to writing year-end reports, Daniel
vinstr
Premium Member
Dry Rot- Thats got to be it! Last year I got some depoits built up in mine and the same thing happened- I got foam but not enough to overflow...I thought my tank was soooo clean that there was nothing to skim- after a few weeks, I started to see some hair algae growing so I took everything apart and found that my MAG was probably only pumping at half speed!! Sounds exactly like what you had!
I am so sorry I didn't think to mention this to you but I assumed you were using a new Mag Pump with your new skimmer.
Also, one I fixed it it started foaming like mad because my water was now loaded with junk and I had to keep the gate valve wide open and then lower the air intake for a few weeks until the water was cleaned up. (With the air intake totally open it was producing tins and tons of weak foam because the water was so bad) But after a few weeks I was able to opne it back up fully and then start to close the gate valve a little.
Just an FYI in case you start producing too much foam now.
I am psyched for you- I am sure this is it!!
I am so sorry I didn't think to mention this to you but I assumed you were using a new Mag Pump with your new skimmer.
Also, one I fixed it it started foaming like mad because my water was now loaded with junk and I had to keep the gate valve wide open and then lower the air intake for a few weeks until the water was cleaned up. (With the air intake totally open it was producing tins and tons of weak foam because the water was so bad) But after a few weeks I was able to opne it back up fully and then start to close the gate valve a little.
Just an FYI in case you start producing too much foam now.
I am psyched for you- I am sure this is it!!
Hey Dave
Sounds like you finally got this skimmer working.
I knew it could not be for nothing, now that it is working I guess your not selling it now Eh.....
and all for a stupid impeller shaft
Sounds like you finally got this skimmer working.
I knew it could not be for nothing, now that it is working I guess your not selling it now Eh.....
and all for a stupid impeller shaft
Dave A
New member
MarineFiend said:
I put the new impeller in last night and although it looks like it's trying to produce foam as of 8am this is where it's at. Notice the cup is still empty.
I've already ordered a Euro-Reef CS8-2 so I guess a comparison will be in order. I really want to get this one working but time is running out. Since it had already been running for over a month now I thought last night that as soon as I replaced the broken impeller it would start skimming without delay..........not so.
This picture taken this morning.
Dave
IBASSFSH
New member
Water Height
Water Height
I know you have checked this but maybe one more time, unscrew the injector and make sure it is not blocked. Also it looks as if your gate valve could close down or open some more ( I cannot remember which way is which) to get the water level to come up in the reaction chamber. Maybe a piece of the mag impellor shaft, fins is stuck in your injector? Worth a check.
Water Height
I know you have checked this but maybe one more time, unscrew the injector and make sure it is not blocked. Also it looks as if your gate valve could close down or open some more ( I cannot remember which way is which) to get the water level to come up in the reaction chamber. Maybe a piece of the mag impellor shaft, fins is stuck in your injector? Worth a check.
Mine did the same thing for over two weeks. When I first got it everything was fine it was foaming away within about an hour. Then it just stopped I checked everything even swapped out the mag 5 with a dolphin 560 nothing. Put the mag 5 back on and then it took just over 2 weeks to make foam again. Now it makes too much all I get is really wet foam. These things seem to be very picky. I am begining to wonder if I should hve got something else.
Dave A
New member
Update..................well since replacing the broken impeller about 36 hours ago I've been running the skimmer with gate valve fully open. For the first time in over two weeks it did make a head of dryish foam, but it never got high enough to reach the cup. Just made it to under the bottom of the collection cup.
So this morning I closed the gate valve 1/2 turn to try to get the foam to rise higher. I'll leave it like this for 12 hours then if needed I'll close the gate another 1/2 turn every 12 hours.
Since the skimmer should be broken in after the 30+ days in my sump and it seems now with the new impeller to be making a small head of dry foam I plan to start closing the gate valve 1/2 turn every 12 hours until the foam head reaches the cup and overflows into it. Does this sound OK, or is there a better way?
Dave
So this morning I closed the gate valve 1/2 turn to try to get the foam to rise higher. I'll leave it like this for 12 hours then if needed I'll close the gate another 1/2 turn every 12 hours.
Since the skimmer should be broken in after the 30+ days in my sump and it seems now with the new impeller to be making a small head of dry foam I plan to start closing the gate valve 1/2 turn every 12 hours until the foam head reaches the cup and overflows into it. Does this sound OK, or is there a better way?
Dave
