Opinion needed on a MRC skimmer

[TitansFan]

Hiya,
I am hoping to get feed back from Gary or Chris.. or anyone for that matter with knowledge on this.

I understand the added value of recirc on a needle wheel but..
It seems one of the major pluses on a beckett is the amount of water it can process and the speed at which it does it. Would a recirc MRC defeat this purpose? Would it really add that much performance? Would it not be better to forgo the dwell time and just try to run as much water through as the skimmer can handle?

 

[fishdoc11]

IMO balancing dwell time and water processing is the ideal with the emphasis on water processing. Thus a beckett with a larger chamber will be more effective than one with a smaller chamber processing the same amount of water. If I wanted a recirc skimmer I would get a needlewheel because the design is more refined (or seems so IMO). If you want to process more water a traditional beckett or a downdraft are the best choices IMO.
I haven't done much research on the recirc becketts but it would be interesting to know how much water they can process. I would imagine they would be equally as effective as the recirc needlewheels but harder to tune.
Chris

 

[TitansFan]

Just wondering... on the recirc MRC3 the quick release is standard and comes with 2 injectors standard for $580. The reg MRC3 to add the quick release and second injector comes to $545.

This is what a $35 difference... knowing what you do which would you do?

 

[fishdoc11]

I would skip the quick release. What pump do you plan on running it with....the beckett part that is? Is this on your 120? What pump were you planning on feeding the recirc with and is this in your calculations?

 

[TitansFan]

This would be for a planned upgrade to a 215 gallon. I was hoping I could run the becketts with a dart. Hmmm the recirc part.. can this not be gravity fed? Guess more research is needed as I don't even know the recommended flow into the skimmer.

 

[fishdoc11]

I would shoot for a pressure rated pump to run the becketts. Plan on an Iwaki55rlt, Genxpcx55 or Panworld 150PS for one beckett and an Iwaki 70 rlt, genX pcx 70 or a Pan World 200PS for 2 becketts. As far as feeding with the overflow that should work but from what I understand gives you less control and is harder to set up properly....I could be wrong on that though as I've never done it. My thinking is you would be fine running a single beckett MR3 with a 55 class pump.
Chris

 

[gflat65]

I'm running a Panworld 250PS on the MR4. It is loud, but puchign power is not an issue. Since I've had to temporarily set up the skimmer with several turns in the outlet, I've had to throttle down the outlet from the pump (especially when I clean). Reducing the added pressure from the 90's and 45's out of the outlet should alleviate this (just need the space). I can't answer much on recirc skimmers (haven't really one much research on them). I went with an MR4 to give me upgradability (he'll custom make a new riser to extend an MR3, but I figured I had more upgradability on the MR4 for that 5000000000 gallon aquarium I want).