ChicagoReefOne
New member
I thought I'd share some of the AquaC Remora mods I've done. They've helped with the performance and efficiency of the skimmer, without a doubt, as evidenced by above. I'm also not trying to claim that I came up with these mods, or all the steps, so I'm going to link to the original mods in case people need more steps and details. Also I should note I did all these on a new skimmer (though I did soak it in SW for a number of days prior) any photos reflect a recently started skimmer which is much different than one fully broken in. I'm also not an expert but just sharing what I did, feel free to jump in and clarify or correct details. The mods dealt with are:
• Upgrading pump on Remora to increase skimmate production, which usually requires:
• Mod the riser to accommodate the resulting increased foam production
• Mod the stock collection cup to increase foam collection
• Adding overflow options alternative to the overflox box accessory from AquaC
• Noise baffle
• Splatter cap
• Bubble trap
Design of the Remora and areas for improvement via mods
As we all know the AquaC Remora operates by their patented spray injection system, which mixes high velocity water with air in the same way holding your thumb over a hose does (their analogy). Therefore generating high water pressure to the spray injector is key as it will increase the amount of bubbles you yield. DO NOT ADD A NEEDLEWHEEL pump or a venturi or attempt to add air into the intake stream, they will interfere with the way the spray injection works. You want to just upgrade the pump. However upgrading the pump usually will require other mods as well, as you will see.
1. Upgrading the pump
I originally started out with the Maxi Jet 1200 (MJ1200) on the Remora, the standard set up. Over time, the pump loses energy and efficiency, as I'll attest to, so boosting the output of the pump is a must. Now you can do this a number of ways. I've read about people hooking up Eheim pumps, Hydor pumps, etc. to the Remora and that will work apparently. When you add a new pump it usually will necessitate the next mod, due to drastically increased bubble production that will overflow the standard collection cup.
An item of consideration at this point is do you want the pump hooked directly into the input of the Remora?
There are mods for connecting the pump directly to the Remora, which I can't find links to at the moment but probably involve using a PVC coupler and remove the 1/2" hose barb fitting from the Remora intake and coupling the pump directly. There are also mods to widen the intake of the Remora on NR which I don't believe I can link to.
Additionally the prefilter box accessory for the Remora requires that the pump be attach directly to the Remora for the overflow to work. And attaching the pump directly to the Remora will result in the most possible head pressure on the spray injector-top efficiency. These are things to consider
But on the minus side a high-power pump in a tank adds a good amount of heat depending on the pump.
Being that I have a smallish tank (30G) and not enough space for the overflow box (plus I think it's pretty ugly) I opted to go this route:
Externally hook up a Mag 7 pump to the Remora via vinyl tubing. It may not be the most efficient but it is more than enough power, let me tell you.
I use metal hose clamps on the exterior hoses and plastic hose clamps to secure the in-tank intake to the Remora. You should too as upgrading the pump will increase the pressure on these connections and they should all be secure.
Modding the foam riser to accommodate increased foam production
Upgrading the pump will most likely result in vastly increased bubble production which is a good thing. If it overflows the top of the internal bubble reaction chamber, then it will most likely require this riser mod. If it doesn't overflow, then you probably are all set to go with the stock collection cup, but I don't know how much the performance will be improved purely because the things I've read haven't dealt with that. It may be acceptable, especially if you've directly hooked it up to the Remora.
Now these mods are largely inspired by Cardiak on Bostonreefers so kudos to him.
He uses a PVC tube to build the riser.
I didn't have that lying around and to be honest it was getting imperative to increase the efficiency of my skimmer due to the demands of the "reef"
(not so much yet, still! after 2 years! anyyyywayyyss) So here's my riser mod:
• A length of rigid aquarium bubble risers (like for those old plenum-style filters for FW)
• With a sharp knife I beveled the edge of the tube and firmly screwed it into the stock collection cup. Make sure it's super tight, find a way of securing it if it is not.
• I happened to have another stock cup lying around so I screwed that onto the the end. Alternative mods would be making one out of tupperware like in the above link and affixing it to the end.
One question maybe someone can answer is: Is it better to narrow ascent of the foam or is it better to widen it? Mine mod narrows it while the Cardiak widens it.
So it works out pretty well though it's a bit strange looking. My girlfriend calls it the poop tower so.... I like it though, I can monitor the foam and fine tune the whole thing.
Modding the collection cup to increase foam production
Another result of the increased bubble production is that the collection cup needs a very tight fit to operate at high efficiency otherwise air just escapes around the collection neck. This mods the collection cup with airline tubing to make it more airtight. Caution should be used when reinserting the cup back into the skimmer to not dislodge the internal walls, I did that just cleaning my remora once.
Apparently there are some collection cups that are very tight, so you may not need to do this mod depending on that factor. I've owned two remoras and that hasn't been the case though.
Again this is the idea of Cardiak on Bostonreefers.
Here's what I did:
• Likewise I cut airline tubing down the length of it, but I wanted to cover the length and width which I thought would make it most effective.
• I cut the ends at a 45 degree angle to match them up.
• I siliconed the tubes and the cup together for 24 hours.
It works but catching all the bubbles is still key.
