AquaC CLUB! - Page 6

beachroadbum · #**126** 11/05/2005, 03:01 PM

So head on over to the asm club my friend.

BrokeColoReefer · #**127** 11/28/2005, 01:06 PM

I just orderd a Aqua C EV400, My question is, can i put a t fitting on the JG valve and run both my calcium reactor and my ozone at the same time? I bought this skimmer for a 90 gallon show, 55 gal. grow out, and a 100 gallon sump. I hope i can get it to work, feeling a little nervous after reading all this stuff. My sump has auto top off so water flucuations shouldnt be a problem.

gcarroll · #**128** 11/28/2005, 01:27 PM

I would order it with a second JG fitting or install another before you install the skimmer. If you order it that way it will be easier. What pump are you using with the skimmer.

BrokeColoReefer · #**129** 11/28/2005, 02:08 PM

I orderd a mag 24. They make nylon t's for high pressure lines, cant i just tie them together instead of drilling the skimmer?Readind some of the forms, it seems that ozone helps with the foam collapsing issue. I bought the red sea 100mg unit (overkill) with the ORP controller. This gives me a little more faith in my buyind decision. I realy wanted to plumb the pump on the exterior of my sump. I hope this thing works for me.

moumda · #**130** 11/28/2005, 09:02 PM

I've talked to Aqua-C and they recommended installing another fitting for ozone. With the mag 24 you should be able to get enough air into the skimmer to produce wet foam if you want.

rdmpe · #**131** 01/28/2006, 02:05 PM

I have an EV-180 running with a mag 9.5 on a 180g tank. The tank is somewhat new and has a very light bioload right now. But I feel that I have the skimmer dialed in perfectly.

I got it approx. where I wanted it using the ball valve and air valve. Then I tweaked the air valve a little to get the bubble size nice and fine (too much air seemed to lead to more large bubbles coming up the tower). Then I made minor adjustments to the ouput gate valve as necessary to adjust the wet/dry skimming. Now I never touch it and it works great. I feed the output to a 1 gallon jug and haven't had any overflow problems. I shut it off for about an hour during feeding (reefkeeper "feed mode") and it seems to recover pretty quickly.

It is sensitive to water level. I have the pump and output in a chamber that stays at constant level so that is not a problem for my setup.

tito · #**132** 02/24/2006, 03:13 PM

For those who run their EV external, do you submerge the return pipe?

printedpaper · #**133** 02/25/2006, 01:43 AM

No, I have a 90 degree elbow dumping into a filter sock. I think that there can be no restriction on the return.

djtodd · #**134** 02/25/2006, 04:52 PM

Well, after 4 months of fighting with getting good skim out of my ASM G2, I've decided to give an EV-180 a try. Wish me luck!

CaptainCoral · #**135** 02/25/2006, 05:59 PM

djtodd... You'll be happy as long as you're not using the mag7 pump with it. I used a mag 9.5 with mine before I upgraded to a EV400. It's a work horse with that pump! It worked with the mag7, but it didn't blow me away until upgraded the pump.

I recommend to run the water height at the max recommended height, and then choke the air a little.

Oh, welcome to the club, and good luck!

djtodd · #**136** 02/25/2006, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaptainCoral
djtodd... You'll be happy as long as you're not using the mag7 pump with it. I used a mag 9.5 with mine before I upgraded to a EV400. It's a work horse with that pump! It worked with the mag7, but it didn't blow me away until upgraded the pump.

I recommend to run the water height at the max recommended height, and then choke the air a little.

Oh, welcome to the club, and good luck!

I picked it up used with a MAG7, I might upgrade but for now I'm just going to get used to it and become one with figuring out finding the sweet point I keep hearing about.

I'm not in any huge hurry or anything.

CaptainCoral · #**137** 02/25/2006, 07:26 PM

Ok, scratch my previous recommendations then, they were meant for mag9.5 or similar rated pump.

With the mag7, you'll want to run the air intake and water pump full bore. Then use your gate on the output for the sweet spot.

Well, since it's used, you shoulnd't have to worry about it's notorious break in time.

djtodd · #**138** 02/25/2006, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaptainCoral
Ok, scratch my previous recommendations then, they were meant for mag9.5 or similar rated pump. With the mag7, you'll want to run the air intake and water pump full bore. Then use your gate on the output for the sweet spot.

Well, since it's used, you shoulnd't have to worry about it's notorious break in time.

Thanks for the tip!

It'll probably take a week to break in anyhow. I cleaned it good. But at least there won't be any left over oils or whatever.

moumda · #**139** 02/25/2006, 10:26 PM

Good luck. I couldn't make mine work until; I put a mag 9.5 on it. Now it skims like crazy. JME.

Omar H · #**140** 02/25/2006, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tito
For those who run their EV external, do you submerge the return pipe?

You can do it either way, but you need to experiment and see what works best for you.

If you experience problems fine tuning your skimmer, then try it not submerged first. Taking the siphon created by submerging your return pipe out of the equation, takes away one more variable to deal with.

Omar

djtodd · #**141** 02/28/2006, 12:24 AM

I'm a convert. After running my new to me but used EV180 for 24 hours, I came home from work today to find it pulling out a great deal of nice thick foam.

This is without a doubt this best skimmer I've owned.

Blootang · #**142** 02/28/2006, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tito
For those who run their EV external, do you submerge the return pipe?

You can if you drill an air hole in the top of return pipe to break the siphon effect.

Twin outlets may help with back pressure to.

Jaffo_botz · #**143** 02/28/2006, 04:50 PM

Hello fellow EV users...I just sent this to AquaC looking for help on my new EV-400. Any suggestions, I'm all ears (i've read the 40page skimmer post and everything above...let me know what else I should be considering.)

Ok, upgraded to a EV-400 from your legacy EV-150 for my 230G tank.

The EV-150 did it's thing for five years on this tank, driven by a Mag12 (w/~2ft head added). Always knew it was undersized for my tank, but so what, all was well..got ~1 cup of skim a day.

Got a good deal through MarineDepot for the EV-400...recieved it two weeks ago, driving it with a Mag24 (~5yrs old, was my return pump)...since I've hooked up (outside a couple of floods..my fault-didn't heed the warning for first day to place overflow hose back into tank) ... I haven't gotten more than a few ounces of 'real' skimate in two weeks with the EV-400...this thing has a mind of it's own and I need any guidance before I give up.

My setup....Dual corner overflows in the tank flow into a 50 Gal sump (in basement)....gravity fed to a second 50Gal refuge tub, which then it is returned to the tank.

The first sump contains a loosely partitioned section, where both the Ev-400 and Mag24 driving it reside....The 400 is on an eggrate platform, sitting in approx. 5 inches of tank water...skimmer output is at least 6" above the water line. The water level stays the same in this sump ....give or take <1" due to evap.

On the EV-400 output, I have a 1 1/2" male PVC thread/slip, then a 1 1/2" PVC 90degree elbow, pointing down...and then approx. 2" of 1 1/2"PVC straight extension (slows the splashing)...there is approx. 1"-2" gap between the final PVC output and the water level.

Water level in the skimmer itself is 1/4"-1/2" below the internal platform....This is set with the output gate valve.

The air valve was wide open...but I cut it back slightly as the 'skimate' was overflowing way too wet...literally filled up a 5gal bucket in an hour.
Since then, it's like Jekyl and Hyde. ie. Today, the foam in the tube has not reached past the half way pt....and it appears the bubble size has increased..so I adjust the gate valve a bit and open the air valve slightly...(it's 4:30pm, I fed the tank this morning at 8am, so not sure what the cause is on the level).......

What am I doing wrong? any suggestions would be appreciated as I'm at wits end. I can't be adjusting this skimmer everyday.

Pump the right size? is the output with the elbow creating back pressure...should I do 2" PVC output to eliminate any possilbility of a backpressure ? (my original plan was a second 90 degree, delivering the output 'parallel' to the water level...but I immediately noticed this caused the skimmer level in the tube to vary up and down several inches so I removed the second elbow right away).

Should the whole skimmer be out of the water, doesn't make sense this would be a diff? Any ideas let me know.

rdmpe · #**144** 02/28/2006, 05:46 PM

What I like to do is this -

With the air valve wide open, I get it working in the ballpark of where I want it so that I am barely getting any foam to come up to the collection cup. Then I tweak the air valve back a little bit to get the bubbles really fine. This likely causes the bubble level in the tower to drop some due to the reduced air.

I tweak the gate valve so that the top of the bubbles are only about half way up the tower and let it sit like that while I go to bed or work or whatever. Then I check it and see if it has started producing anything. No feeding or doing anything to the tank during this time that might affect production! After I feel it is "stable" (may not be producing skimmate yet though) I adjust the gate valve a little bit to get the foam up where it needs to be.

The main thing I think is that you can't mess with it every hour. Have to let it sit overnight to build up some foam to see what it is doing. Then make an adjustment. And in order to find this baseline setting or sweet spot, you can't feed the tank or stick your hands in the water until you have it set. Otherwise it will not be at it's baseline condition...

HTH
Randy

Jaffo_botz · #**145** 02/28/2006, 06:44 PM

Thanks for the tips Randy..I'll give it a shot.

Also from Steve at AquaC (quick response)...more advice, I'll let know if they work out.:

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the message, I can help you out. Because the skimmer is overflowing with wet foam, it sounds like it might be reacting with something in the water - usually an additive, supplement or water conditioner. Let me know if you're using any of these.

As far as the skimmer's inconsistency, I think that there might be several factors involved. The pump you're using is a bit strong for that skimmer, and may need a valve to allow you to throttle back the flow. However, the water level within the skimmer sounds a bit low as well (we now recommend running the water level in the foam tower flush with the top of the black box - I've attached a copy of the updated manual). From your description, I think that water is siphoning from the skimmer, causing a lower level than what is expected with that pump. I think that there are a few different variables affecting the skimmer that are counteracting each other, which is why the skimmer is running so inconsistently.

The first thing I would do is to put a valve on the flow side - assuming that the pump hasn't lost any pressure over 5 years of use, it will deliver too much flow for optimum performance, and needs to be turned down a bit. On the skimmer output, I would either use a tee fitting (see attached diagram) or drill a 1/4 - 1/2" hole in the top of the elbow as a siphon break. Open the skimmer's gate valve completely, then use the valve on the intake side to set the water level in the foam tower. Our previous recommendation was to run the water level even with the internal platform, but we now recommend starting about an inch higher than that, or even with the top of the box. This is 1-1/2" to 1-1/4" higher than the water level you described. From this point, you can raise or lower the water level a bit, depending on the type of foam you want to produce (wet vs. dry).

For max performance, the air valve should be wide open. Also, make sure that the hose on your drain fitting isn't submerged - this will cause backpressure, preventing foam from rising. Try that out, and let me know if it helps!

CaptainCoral · #**146** 02/28/2006, 07:05 PM

Jaffo_botz....
I personally wouldn't gate the input. With a good strong pump, like you have, you can get lots of air with the air intake ball valve choked slightly. (just before the whistle sound)

It sounds to me like your water level is set too low. (marble sized bubbles at the top of riser at that setting, and ping pong ball sized burping bubbles) I run my height at the max level. (just out of sight in the riser) This will skim very wet like you described if the air is all the way open. Dialing the air back some will get those bubbles small all the way to the top of the riser and give a nice thick skimmate. There also are no burping bubbles when set like this.

Hope this helps.

djtodd....
Glad to hear the good news! Now you can update that signature line.

gcarroll · #**147** 02/28/2006, 09:40 PM

I'm not sure that Aqua C will recommend what I am about to tell you but this is what I did to my EV 400. I would put it up against almost any other skimmer on the market today.

One thing I noticed is that the EV 400 is recommended for use with several pumps. All of those pumps have a 1" output. Seems strange since the EV 400 has a 3/4" injector. For $10 I had Aqua C make me a 1" injector for my EV 400. OMG! This thing is now a beast. I now have to close my air valve approx 1/3 of the way just to skim wet. I close is 1/2 way to skim dry. I have over 30 fish in my 225 and feed heavily with no problems. I couldn't wait to see what a 1" injector could do with the air valve open all the way but my wish will finally come true since my new Aqua C EV 1000 will be delivered at the end of the week.

Illusion · #**148** 02/28/2006, 10:28 PM

Greg,

how did you modify the Bulkhead on the Skimmer to accept a 1" injector... I use the Ev400 myself and I love it... Cant go wrong with it... I put it up against a Eu model Deltec 1003 and IMO it kicked the crud out of it..

James

CaptainCoral · #**149** 02/28/2006, 10:31 PM

gcarroll....I'm jealous already! You can count me in on the "can't wait to see" thing. You know, to help share your anxiety burdens.

But I'll need some pics, of course, when you're able.

CaptainCoral · #**150** 02/28/2006, 10:40 PM

Quote:

I put it up against a Eu model Deltec 1003 and IMO it kicked the crud out of it..

Wow! Though, I shouldn't be suprized. IMO, needlewheel skimmers comprimise neck length for body height, leaving nowhere near enough space for foam to expand. This is where ev's excell. Contact time is achived in the mixing box and foam expands in the riser.

It's a flawless design!