MRC Club - Page 6

RGibson · #**126** 11/25/2007, 02:07 PM

The pump that i found works the best with a beckett is Iwaki MD55RLT,i have used this pump for many years and allso tried many other pumps allways come back to the Iwaki.

anothermineral · #**127** 11/25/2007, 03:16 PM

SDguy,

Thanks again for the info.

SDguy · #**128** 11/25/2007, 06:38 PM

NP

elvictre · #**129** 11/30/2007, 11:26 AM

OK I am new to this thread and I have a few questions. I have a MR4R and I located it higher than my tank and my sump. I have the water draining from the skimmer down to the sump. The line is probably something like 14ft. Is this a bad way to run my skimmer? Also the drain runs right out of my gate valve to a downward position, should I have a T at that point? I get a ton of bubbles so I run the return into a filter sock to eliminate them.

Vic

elvictre · #**130** 11/30/2007, 12:33 PM

Also I forgot to add, I run the waste directly into a line plumbed to my drywell. Does this effect the performance of the skimmer?

Vic

drstupid · #**131** 12/01/2007, 09:59 PM

elvictre, it won't affect your performance if the waste runs to your sewage, but it will make it impossible to have the skimmer "shut off" if it experiences an overflow episode. you don't need one of the auto-shut off collectors, just have the skimmate drain line go into a bucket stopping a couple of inches from the bottom. when the skimmate in the bucket gets higher than the drain line, it essentially shuts off the air flow through the skimmer and it stops generating foam.

i defeated bubbles two ways on my wee little MR-1. a great mod you can read more about in this thread is to shove a 90 degree slip fitting onto the output of each becket (in the skimmer body) to redirect the flow to the tower instead of the drain line. i'm not sure how the recirculation affects this, someone else can chip in if this doesn't make sense with this configuration, but i don't think it'll make a difference. the other way was to have the output go to a 90 degree elbow at the waterline of the sump, having it under water creates backpressure and having it above the water creates more bubbles, so pretty much split the difference.

with a 14' drop to the sump, you may need to take some more extreme measures, like put a T after that 90 so air can vent from above.

MyReefCreations · #**132** 12/02/2007, 09:18 PM

I agree it is not a good idea to have the waste going into a drain. Best case scenario if it overflows the skimmer you burn a pump or two, worst case if you have a auto top off, well, you know...

Tim

rwessels · #**133** 12/04/2007, 12:58 PM

OK I have been struggleing with my MR-6R for 6 months now and hope someone can't give me some suggestions. I am feeding it with a Mag-7 and the recirc pump is a Baracudda Seq as recommended from the MRC website.

Initially I had one heck of a time trying to set the water level and bubbles as the instructions were pretty generic and did not tell me that I needed to set the water level much higher than recommended. I also had the air valves opened up all the way and turned back 1 turn (as recommended). I had a very hard time keeping the foam level consistant and most if not all of the skimate just sat on the walls of the upper portion of the skimmer.

A few weeks ago someone recommended that I open the air valves ONLY 1 turn instead of being almost all the way open. I had to raise the water level MUCH higher to do this, but the foam level became very stable and I was able to start getting some skimmate into the waste container. I started to think my problems were solved.

2 nights ago the power went off for a few hours due to a storm. I turned of the recirc pump so that when the power went back on I wouldn't have any sort of overflow as I know that turning on and off the recirc pump can cause some water to come out of the air values. What I didn't realize is that the water level in the skimmer was at least 6 inches ABOVE the air valves. When the recirc pump is running that does not matter. When the power came back on (3-4 hours before I woke up), apparently I had a nice steady stream of salt water flooding my room.

After playing with some settings, I have now come to the conclusion that it does not seem possible to have the correct air and water levels on this skimmer 'out of the box'. I think the only solution is to raise the level of the becketts. Can anyone that has an MR-6R confirm this or maybe help me find what I am overlooking?

-Randy

MyReefCreations · #**134** 12/04/2007, 08:03 PM

Randy, you have a PM

RGibson · #**135** 12/05/2007, 06:20 AM

The recirc pump is to large for two becketts,

newsalt · #**136** 12/05/2007, 06:58 AM

How do I keep the beckett on my MR2 from making a rattleing noise?

SDguy · #**137** 12/05/2007, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by newsalt
How do I keep the beckett on my MR2 from making a rattleing noise?

Open up the beckett housing. Remove the black backett. Slide off the small rubber gaskets from each end. Open the two halves. Dry everything really well. Then superglue the internal arrow thingie (actualy word

) to ONE SIDE ONLY (you'll see where it actually touches the beckett casing halh at only two points). Let dry. Replace the two halves together. Slide the gaskets back on, and place the beckett back into the housing.

hth

newsalt · #**138** 12/06/2007, 06:12 PM

Thanks. That problem is solved. The next problem I'm having is the water level in the main column changes from time to time. I usually keep the bubble/foam line at the top flange. That usually works great. After a few days, the bubble/foam line drops to middle of the main column. What could be causing this? The outlet of the skimmer is not submerged in the sump water. I find that I have to constantly adjust the gate valve to keep the level in the same place. You check out how the skimmer is piped up here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvj9aAJL-7s

Can anyone help me with this problem?

SDguy · #**139** 12/07/2007, 10:40 AM

The vid wouldn't work for me?

Anyways, a couple things could be happening. Your water could be "flushing" out your drain. So the water level will rise, rise, then flush, and drop, then repeat. Also, if the area from which your supply pump draws water has a fluctuating water level, this will in turn affect the water level in the skimmer somewhat, IME.

hth

rwessels · #**140** 12/07/2007, 01:49 PM

I think your bubbles are too big. Raise your water level and turn down the air to the becketts. Once I did that I had a much more stable foam column.

drstupid · #**141** 12/07/2007, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by newsalt
Thanks. That problem is solved. The next problem I'm having is the water level in the main column changes from time to time. I usually keep the bubble/foam line at the top flange. That usually works great. After a few days, the bubble/foam line drops to middle of the main column. What could be causing this? The outlet of the skimmer is not submerged in the sump water. I find that I have to constantly adjust the gate valve to keep the level in the same place. You check out how the skimmer is piped up here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvj9aAJL-7s

Can anyone help me with this problem?

next time you see this, can you try turning off the air and seeing if the water settles out at the same level you started with days ago? if it doesn't, your input to the pump may be getting clogged, or the becket getting dirty. when this happens to me, it generally means it's time to clean the becket.

SDguy · #**142** 12/07/2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by drstupid
next time you see this, can you try turning off the air and seeing if the water settles out at the same level you started with days ago? if it doesn't, your input to the pump may be getting clogged, or the becket getting dirty. when this happens to me, it generally means it's time to clean the becket.

Ditto on that here. I actually started using a filter sock in my sump just to keep my becketts and pump intake clear of debris.

newsalt · #**143** 12/07/2007, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SDguy
Your water could be "flushing" out your drain. So the water level will rise, rise, then flush, and drop, then repeat.
hth

I don't quite understand what you mean by "flushing". Could you explain that.

drstupid · #**144** 12/07/2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SDguy
Ditto on that here. I actually started using a filter sock in my sump just to keep my becketts and pump intake clear of debris.

i've found that using the gate valve to raise the water level back to where it was to be a very poor idea in these circumstances. if it is some debris in the line, it can work itself free and now your skimmer is operating at its previous flow. which means you risk a significant overlfow event which is probably not controllable by your waste shut off.

SDguy · #**145** 12/07/2007, 04:53 PM

I'm not sure why you quoted me on that

I agree, often debris does come loose, causing the water height to go back to where it was.

BTW, my waste collector has stopped overflows every time...no worries on that one, if anyone is doubting their effectiveness in this respect.

jjoos99 · #**146** 12/07/2007, 05:10 PM

I just received a used cr-2 reactor in the mail and the fitting that is in the bottem of the first chamber is broken off right at the chamber wall. Can anyone tell me if this is threaded into the chamber wall? Looks as if it has been epoxied to stop a leak. I am hoping it isnt epoxied into the acrylic.
Thanks
Jeff

newsalt · #**147** 12/08/2007, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by drstupid
your input to the pump may be getting clogged, or the becket getting dirty. when this happens to me, it generally means it's time to clean the becket.

I've checked the input to the pump. It's not clogged. The beckett was cleaned a few days ago.

Last night I was cleaning the display. I had my hands in the tank so the level of the foam dropped as I expected it to. This morning, 14 hours later, the foam has yet to rise again. I did nothing else. I only put my hands in the tank. After 14 hours it hasn't come back to normal? That to me means something is wrong. Please help. I'm getting so frustrated.

MRC please step in to help with this problem.

RGibson · #**148** 12/08/2007, 09:53 AM

What is that valve on the input to the beckett ?

newsalt · #**149** 12/08/2007, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RGibson
What is that valve on the input to the beckett ?

That feeds my Calcium Reactor.

rsteagall · #**150** 12/14/2007, 01:03 PM

First off... Merry Christmas!

Secondly... I'm getting ready to get a pump for my MR2. I'm wanting to go bigger than the bare minimum, so I'm looking at the Gen-X PCX-70 or the Pan World 200PS. Am I doing right by getting more than the bare minimum? Which pump is most suggested if my main concern is noise? Any other thoughts?

Lastly... This thread has been split 3-4 times. Has anyone developed a FAQ and How-to that consolidates all this information?