Is this normal for an AquaC

[RustySnail]

Well maybe just try closing the air valve to help it make smaller bubbles then? It's gotta be a contact time/bubble size issue. Either that or something in his tank is out-competing is skimmer for nutrients! :lol:

-Russ

 

[Vincerama2]

I think Dave has given up (and rightly so!) he has a new ER skimmer now.

I think the most useful thing to do is to take a picture of the set up and then send AquaC the unit back (maybe include the pump) at their expense and then they can troubleshoot it. Well, as an engineer, that is what I think I'd want if I were AquaC...nothing helps the evolution of a product better than a failed example!

Anyway, I've had my EV-120 running since Thrusday (I think) and it has produced about a centimeter of "tea" in the collection cup. It has been producing a nice head of foam since I plugged it in. The input is CLOSE to the tank drain and the output is routed PAST the drain via a PVC tube, so I think I'm skimming mostly tank water.

I think I will connect my kalkwasser drip to the skimmers "ozone fitting" John Guest valve to help it along as well. Or else I'll rig the right tubing to my calcium reactor and stick it in there.

I love this thing, but I was nervous because of Dave's experience. I think it's a matter of a specific faulty skimmer coupled with his set up, not the design of the skimmer or his setup alone.

Dave, how is that EuroReef working for you?

V

 

[atrain]

question for dry rot. Are you recieving watery skimmate due to wet foam build-up in the riser? or is it from the bubbles popping and throwing the water up thru the riser? When I had watched mine for awhile, it was when the bubbles popped the water was spit upwards. I figured the bubbles shouldn't be popping, they should be collecting, therefore being to wet, so i switched out the pumps. I don't think i need to circulate my water thru the skimmer 10 times an hour since it's on 24/7, so circulation rate doesn't do anything for me. bubble size is directly equal to contact time... meaning the more bubblesand smaller the bubbles, the more and total time water is in contact with the air is longer. I reduced my water flow, left the air completely open and dialed the gate valve back to raise the water to the correct spot, havn't touched it in three months, nor have i cleaned it in that long(bad on my part). and i'm almost afraid to clean the thing it's that dirty. Do whatever works for you and run with it, even if means buying a new skimmer.
On another note, I had seen someone build a additional riser tube for the ev-120, and giving it a longer time to collect. I believe essentially would help as well, due to fact the wet water would be too heavy to collect by the time it reaches the top, therefore only the dry skimmate makes it to the collection cup.

do what works for you


aaron

 

[ShapeGSX]

I think connecting the kalk drip to the John Guest fitting would be a mistake. Kalk drips usually have to be cleaned relatively often because the outlet calcifies. And the inside of the EV120 is not exactly accessible.

 

[Dave A]

I think Dave has given up (and rightly so!) he has a new ER skimmer now.
Dave, how is that EuroReef working for you?

V

Hi Vince................it's not been a good month. My new ER skimmer is not here yet so I called FedEx to see what the delay is. They tell me the box is still sitting there because it had no destination address. Oh great, how long was it going to sit there before they call someone, like maybe the shipper. Well I gave them my address and they tell me it should be at my house by Wed. or Thur.

Dave

 

[jwm2k3]

Im just gonna start with the Euroreef. I have not seen ONE post with a bad Euroreef experience. Not one. I have a Berlin Classic powered by a Rio 2500 running on my 120 with teriffic results. This is gonna stay. I will get a Euroreef for the 450, nothing else. I really dont want to fiddle with it too much and it seems all the other brands work great, but have their share of problems.

Glad I read this thread.

John

 

[Vincerama2]

jwm2k3...good idea. Go with something that is known good, or rather "has no complaints". The AquaC seems to come highly recommended, which is why I got one. And I had no space in the sump, so the AquaC can be run outside of it...thus my decision to get it (Also, I had an unused Mag5). THEN Dave A posts this thread and I have second thoughts, but MarineDepot already sent the AquaC. Anyway, it seems to be working well for me.

I'm sure you will be quite happy with the EuroReef! I think the best thing to do is to search for complaints on equipment, rather than praise!

V

 

[YYZ_125G]

Dave, Back to the flow rate thing. I tested my flow and got 246gph through the Aquac injector (281gph through my custom injector). I get 482gph without an injector just 3 foot of tubing. Using the Dolphin pump curve I back calculated the head pressure of my Aquac injector and came up with 3ft of head.

It is hard to believe you get the same flow rate of 308gph with and with out injector. By my calculations using a Mag5 pump curve, assuming 2ft of tubing. No injector you should have seen 415gph and with the additional 3ft of head from the injector your flow rate should have dropped to 250gph.

What it all means is I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have any advice. If your no injector flow rate is correct your pump is way below spec. If the through injector flow rate is correct your way above spec, but not much more than I am. If you want to play take some more flow rates using the two-bucket method I mentioned before.

On another note, I was gone this weekend and the skimmer produced about a cup of really dark skimate. Much darker than with the factory injector, but when I cleaned my filter floss yesterday, the skimmer shut down and stayed down today. I took the opportunity to flow rate the pump and stir up the tank. Stirring up the tank usually shuts down the skimmer but tonight it already is building a nice column of foam in less than an hour, go figure.

Daniel

 

[jmicky41]

I had an ev-120 for about a year and a half now with 2 familiar problems: 1) there was a very long break in - about 3 weeks where there was no foam going up the tube. Then all of the sudden one day it was foaming real good. 2) every time i fed the tank the skimmer would shut down for 4-6 hours. I fixed problem 2 by installing a larger pump. In fact without a ball valve it would instantly overflow the riser. Now with the larger pump, after feeding it resumes skimming in about a half hour. These are great skimmers, but they take a lot of fine-tuning to operate ideally on some systems.

 

[saltykirk]

Dave A, I feel for you man. I went through some of the same problems w/ a down draft skimmer. I upgraded the pump which it sounds like you don't need to. I run the valve tighter than I used to & get smaller bubbles than I used to. You will love your ER skimmer. The only thing I don't like about them is you have to run a deep sump (real deep) to compensate for all the splashing of the water return. It makes the stand area really humid too. They jank the junk out of the water though.

 

[Philip Parrott]

...The only thing I don't like about them is you have to run a deep sump (real deep) to compensate for all the splashing of the water return.

Couldn't you just put a tall sponge (Aqua Clear 500 or similar) under the output to quiet things down? I've seen sumps with this similar setup because of the high water return.

 

[saltykirk]

ah, sounds like a good idea, have to try it. It has a large spong @ the top of stand pipe. It does a decent job by itself. It gets heavy w/ crud between bi-weekly cleanings & tends to slide down the stand pipe. If I can ever remember I would like to put a zip tie below the sponge to keep it from sliding down.

 

[Dave A]

B]Update[/B] ........the AquaC EV-120 has been out of the sump for 2 1/2 days now and the Euro-Reef CS8-2 is in it's place. I don't know what to say but the ER is already skimming like a champ. Lots of thick foam spilling into the cup.

Kind of ironic but the new injector for the EV-120 arrived this morning. I guess I'll give it a try this weekend for another two days but if it doesn't produce with this new injector I'll be returning it. It's been a long road but it's coming to an end.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has been following this long thread and have taken the time to try to help me out with this problem. It demonstrates the true value of this forum and it's members. Although my problem persists I think this thread has helped people to understand the workings of this fine skimmer of which mine I believe to be an exception to the rule.

Again thanks,

Dave

 

[wasp]

Hey Dave once you get that new injector in and run the remora against the euroreef you MUST post to let all know what happens. There is a lot of talk but I cannot find a direct comparison between the two thats been done. I am sure the euroreef will be the winner, but it would nonetheless be interesting to see just how much skimmate the remora would pull against it.

 

[YYZ_125G]

As a fellow Ev-120 owner I would like all the details. Mine is still touchy with feeding and hands in the tank stuff. I am thinking of following your path if there is a night and day difference. Don't forget some pictures.

Daniel

 

[Dave A]

Hi Daniel,
I can't really compare the two skimmers because I was never able to get the AquaC skimming. But here are a few pictures of the Euro-Reef CS8-2 after just 3 days. Remember the ER's cup and body are 8" in diameter.

ER a few minutes after start-up.

ER on day 3. Really thick foam and just starting to get dark.

Another on day 3.

It was very simple to set up. Just drop in and plug in. Only adjustment is the water level via the outlet tube. It's a huge skimmer.

Dave

 

[ShapeGSX]

Is that how much skimmate you have after 3 days with the ER? Or is it draining away?

My EV120 produces a little more than that in the same time.

 

[crab0000]

But, the ER is only three days old. Watch out when t breaks in.
Steve

 

[Dave A]

Is that how much skimmate you have after 3 days with the ER? Or is it draining away?

My EV120 produces a little more than that in the same time.

The ER had been running for only three days but just started producing foam hours before that picture. Also remember the collection cup is huge and that 1/8" of skimmate you see would probably be at least 1/4" in my EV-120 cup.

I put the new injector in the 120 and trying it again.

Dave

 

[twd4]

Sorry for the late reply but i thought i would mention my Aqua C setups in case you choose to keep your EV for future use.

First off i think anyone who can fit a Euroreef in thier sump should use one. They are huge and expensive but with the new ES series from Euro and the G series clones from ASM they have become more affordable.

For smaller applications where you want a high turnover rate i think the Aqua -C is tough to beat. I have an EV-180 on one of my systems and on 2 client systems. I run mine with a mag 7 ( i would like to try a 9.5 just for testing purposes). I was having issues with inconsistency and poor foam production. I found by submerging the skimmer so the external water level is within an inch of the top of the black box and kepping the internal water level higher than aqua c recomends i get great consistency and foam. I keep my internal water level about in the middle of the aqua c logo on the riser tube. Since i have a float valve to keep my water level in my sump stable it keeps the Aqua C very constant. i face the skimmer toward the input side of my sump and have not had any issues with micro bubbles.

Also i should mention that i am a fan of over skimming. Two of these EV 180s are on 72 Gallon Bow front tanks. I use fairly deep sand beds (about 3") so i have millions of bugs, worms, and stars. And i do a small water change every 10-15 days. Also I dose with seachem products religously. For these reaons i am not concerned with over skimming micro fauna and trace minerals. These tanks all have a low bio load and are fed once a day mostly live brine and fish eggs. They still pull about half a collectin cup a week. These two 72 gallons are totally corraline encrusted and have no bad algaes. They have been up for 2.5 years. I could not be happier with the Aqua Cs. Hope this has been helpfull to someone.