MRC Club

[DocG]

I would like to share my MRC and the history behind it.

I bought a dual beckett MR3 with a PCX-55 for a 375 gallon tank and the sump. Since it was rated for 500 gallons I thought that I was fine. Since then the system grew to about 650 total gallons and I have come to think that MRC over-rates their skimmers a little. Since then I have done some fairly extensive upgrades that I feel have really added a lot to this skimmer, in both performance and ease of use.

Performance boosters
#1 - I added 1.5" PVC risers to both injectors
#2 - I have changed the pump to a PanWorld 250PS. This is a 1900 gph pump that has a max head of 46'. It is directly comparable to the Iwaki 100
#3 - I added a 12" extension to the main riser
#4 - I added a 12" extension to the main riser (another one)

The total height of this skimmer is now 57 inches.

Ease of use boosters - the big problem that I had was that when I cleaned the skimmer I either had to shut the skimmer off or turn the air off to take off the collection cup. When I turned the skimmer back on it would fill up too much and overflow the collection cup before settling back down and when I kept the pump on and just turned off the air I had to reset the air every time and it was a major pain to get it right as a small turn on the air valve made a big difference. So I came up with a solution:

#1 - This skimmer is up high and I had problems reaching the air valve so I lowered the air control with JG fittings and airline tubing.
#2 - I have 2 controls for air. One that is set permanently at the setting I want and the other that is a simple on or off valve so that I can clean the cup and not have to worry about fiddling with the air.
#3 - Just to make sure that the air is consistent I added a Dwyer airflow meter to both becketts. I am running them at 15 LPM each.

Since doing the above modifications I have had to do absolutely no tinkering at all with the skimmer anymore and I believe that it is working to its fullest potential. It takes 1.5-2 days to fill a 5 gallon bucket with a nice brown semi-wet skimmate (you can't see the bottom).

Here are some pictures of the current set up. In the first picture there is a line marked A and a line marked B.

A - the water level when the air is off.
B - the water level when the air is on, above that line is the foam.

That is my beckett skimmer set-up. If anybody has any comments as to how I can further improve the set-up I am all ears.

Also I am now a firm believer in extreme overskimming and think that 2 skimmers (preferably different styles) are better then one. Coming soon to my tank is a Euro-Reef RC-750 (Replacing an ASM G6) that is going to go on the same system.

 

[steve68]

thats good DocG i think no matter what tipe of equipment we all have we find our selfs trying to make them better. ur idea of using 1.5 inch PVC is one that i have been waitng to do to my skimmer but at the box i wanted to use 1.5 bulkheads & my box is just not big enough so i cant do that mod, for the air intake i have had great results with the way i conected both air inlets to a 1/2 inch gate valve, both beckets get = amounts of air, i still think there should be baffles in the skimmer box to help with the micro bubbles on sumps that are not that big, i know u can use filter socks but i know a lot of reefers that dont want to use any kind of filter pads.
i love my MR-2

 

[RGibson]

steve i have found this helps with the micro bubbles,on the 11/2 bulkhead put a in 11/2 tee inside the box.At the end of the tee put a street ell this way you have two ways for the water to drain out ,less bubbles

 

[steve68]

Thanks RGibson that is a good idea.
i dont have issues with microbubbles since i used the U tube mod, but i have gotten PM's that the U tube mod does not work for some reefers i just think there should be some kind of baffles in the box to prevent them.

 

[sellout007]

I was getting MAD bubbles and I added the U tube mod and i have zero bubbles now. I do have a few questions, im trying to understand things a bit better.

I am running my wahoo pump which is about 1500-1700 GPH pressure rated through one beckett on my MR2. I only have my air valve turned open about one turn.

Now my question has to do with how turbulent my water is in my first cylinder. The water moves around a ton in there. Is this bad? I read somewhere that the turbulent water doesnt allow the bubbles to accumulate the right amount of stuff. Or that it might pop the bubbles.

So am I running to much water through my skimmer? Should I reduce the intake into the beckett? I cant get a straight answer from anyone. I even emaile andy and he never gave me a straight answer as to how much water I should be pushing through each beckett.

 

[steve68]

if the turbulance is not making ur foam cavitate i wouln't worry about it, i think max flow through one beckett is 700 GPH but im not sure, i ran an iwaki 70RLT for a year on a single beckett & it worked fine even though i knew it was to much pump.

 

[Hop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7836870#post7836870 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DocG
I would like to share my MRC and the history behind it.

I bought a dual beckett MR3 with a PCX-55 for a 375 gallon tank and the sump. Since it was rated for 500 gallons I thought that I was fine. Since then the system grew to about 650 total gallons and I have come to think that MRC over-rates their skimmers a little. Since then I have done some fairly extensive upgrades that I feel have really added a lot to this skimmer, in both performance and ease of use.

Performance boosters
#1 - I added 1.5" PVC risers to both injectors
#2 - I have changed the pump to a PanWorld 250PS. This is a 1900 gph pump that has a max head of 46'. It is directly comparable to the Iwaki 100
#3 - I added a 12" extension to the main riser
#4 - I added a 12" extension to the main riser (another one)

The total height of this skimmer is now 57 inches.

Ease of use boosters - the big problem that I had was that when I cleaned the skimmer I either had to shut the skimmer off or turn the air off to take off the collection cup. When I turned the skimmer back on it would fill up too much and overflow the collection cup before settling back down and when I kept the pump on and just turned off the air I had to reset the air every time and it was a major pain to get it right as a small turn on the air valve made a big difference. So I came up with a solution:

#1 - This skimmer is up high and I had problems reaching the air valve so I lowered the air control with JG fittings and airline tubing.
#2 - I have 2 controls for air. One that is set permanently at the setting I want and the other that is a simple on or off valve so that I can clean the cup and not have to worry about fiddling with the air.
#3 - Just to make sure that the air is consistent I added a Dwyer airflow meter to both becketts. I am running them at 15 LPM each.

Since doing the above modifications I have had to do absolutely no tinkering at all with the skimmer anymore and I believe that it is working to its fullest potential. It takes 1.5-2 days to fill a 5 gallon bucket with a nice brown semi-wet skimmate (you can't see the bottom).

Here are some pictures of the current set up. In the first picture there is a line marked A and a line marked B.

A - the water level when the air is off.
B - the water level when the air is on, above that line is the foam.

That is my beckett skimmer set-up. If anybody has any comments as to how I can further improve the set-up I am all ears.

Also I am now a firm believer in extreme overskimming and think that 2 skimmers (preferably different styles) are better then one. Coming soon to my tank is a Euro-Reef RC-750 (Replacing an ASM NG') that is going to go on the same system.

We need more posts like this! Sometimes I don't think the manufacturers know what make them work, otherwise there would be better directions with photos

I've been trying to figure mine out for a year... I had everything finally set and working great and now I'm having issues again and can't figure it out. I would be fibbing if I told you that I wasn't looking into big-name needle wheel skimmers, but I want this one to work...

 

[sellout007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7841398#post7841398 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by steve68
if the turbulance is not making ur foam cavitate i wouln't worry about it, i think max flow through one beckett is 700 GPH but im not sure, i ran an iwaki 70RLT for a year on a single beckett & it worked fine even though i knew it was to much pump.

By cavicating if you mean acting like a volcano, yes it does. I pushes it up and down about an inch or two max. Should I cut back on the flow until that stops completely?

 

[sellout007]

hop - what issues are you having now?

 

[Hop]

I either get "foamlock" where the foam apparently gets so thick it won't push up into the collection cup, bubbles the size of dimes in the chamber or I wake up to a full, crystal clear waste collector. It was going perfect for about three months and now this.

I've cleaned everything, and checked all the fittings. I can get it running good for a day or two and then... Thwap, problems....

Obviously something is amis somewhere, but I can't find the problem.

 

[sellout007]

Ive had the same thing.

I cant always get it to produce a constant foam. I either get nothing comming over the top, or I get to much.

*shrug*

 

[steve68]

sellout yes that is what i mean, u can cut back on the flow & it should help, this is when a Bubble diffuser plate would come in handy.

 

[RGibson]

steve a Bubble diffuser plate would work well ,now we just need to get Andy to start using them in the skimmer. Andy did you every sell that car?

 

[jjmatti]

Does anyone clean the inside to the skimmer box? (the black part) Are there any tricks to make cleaning it easier? Also does anyone clean the pump? I have a Gen-X pcx-55 ?

 

[Sparky0028]

I have a question for you MRC guru's. I am running a mak4 on a MR-1 for a 100 gal tank. I do a 15 gal water change every week with Tropic Marin salt. After I am finished and power everthing back up the skimmer goes nuts and basicly pumps water into the collection cup. I have to shut down the skimmer for 24hrs before it will skim properly. Does this happen to anyone else and if so how did you resolve this?

Rich

 

[RGibson]

Turn off the air on the skimmer and tell us how high the water is in the tub?

 

[BreadmanMike]

I recently purchased Ereeific's 42" recirc. I was thinking about using the Sequence Uno Marlin for the recirc pump which is their 2050 gph pressure rated pump. I was also considering adding a 8x12 riser to this. My total water volume will be @ 350g and I'll be heavy stocked with a few big angels and tangs.

I was considering just running my Deltec skimmer with this skimmer as it is, but think I'll be better suited to expand this one instead. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Hop]

Any one heard from Andy lately? I was communiacting with him via e-mail and they just stopped...

 

[sellout007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7909296#post7909296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquaticman74
I recently purchased Ereeific's 42" recirc. I was thinking about using the Sequence Uno Marlin for the recirc pump which is their 2050 gph pressure rated pump. I was also considering adding a 8x12 riser to this. My total water volume will be @ 350g and I'll be heavy stocked with a few big angels and tangs.

I was considering just running my Deltec skimmer with this skimmer as it is, but think I'll be better suited to expand this one instead. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Just curious what deltec you are using?

 

[BreadmanMike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7909649#post7909649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sellout007
Just curious what deltec you are using?

I have the 851, but it's pending sale. It's an awesome skimmer and it will be missed... I plan on upgrading to a 902 when I get my pennie's saved up, unless the MRC does the job.