AquaC CLUB!

[chris4869]

I have a smoker in the house too. I put something together to solve the smoke issue as well as muffle the air intake noise. I use a 1" PVC cap drilled with holes, a piece of 1" PVC pipe, and a 1" to 3/4" PVC elbow. I just shove some cotton at the bottom, fill the 1" PVC pipe with carbon, and cap it. I use a piece of vinyl tube to connect the thing to the skimmer. It works like a charm! I can actually hear the foaming sound.

I cleaned out my injector and replaced the vinyl tube. I cannot believe how clogged up they were. I thought I was going to overflow the skimmer when I plug in the pump, because the water level rose almost to the collection cup.

I installed an elbow to the end of the gate valve to channel the water into my refugium. I made a mistake of drilling a vent hole in the elbow. I think the manual recommend it, so the water would not drain out too fast, but it was introducing too much air into the skimmer (almost like an unplugged JG fitting). It was also making alots of gurgling noises too. Once I plugged it up, the water level in my skimmer dropped and the gurgling noises went away without having to restrict the water back with the ball valve. I was able to get really fine bubbles that you guys were talking about. Wooohoooo!!

Thanks for all the great ideas!! Keep them comming.

[Rizing]

just when i was ready to quit smoking for better skimate production... thanks alot great tip =)

[nightOwl]

Hi All,
I have an AquaC 180 and want to see how others have theirs set up. I don't think mine is skimming enough . I can not seem to get the right amount of skimate or it dialed in just right. I have seen pics of peoples collection cup but want to see how far in the tower is the water level. So a full picture of the skimmer would be good. I have a 90 gal tank with a 20 gal sump. I am running the skimmer with a Mag 9.5 so I was expecting to see it produce lots of bubbles and more skim. I have the pump on a ball valve by the way. After skimming this post I know my skimmer is not living up to its full potential. I changed a few things around so now the gate valve is out of the water, is not close to the sump wall and that has introduced another problem. Now I have a little peeing fountain . The water is rushing out and splashing everywhere. I saw a few pictures in this post with a moded gate valve but thought it was not supposed to have anything added to it. For those that have an AquaC 180 I would like to see pics or some details of the following:

1. How submerged the gate valve if any?
2. Which direction is the gate value pointed? IE close to a sump wall or pointed in the direction of the return pump?
3. How fine are the bubbles produced in the foam tower by your pump?
4. How far up in the foam tower/collection tower is the average water level?

Any tips on getting it to skim better would be greatly appreciated. I can post pics of what my fountain looks like later tonight if that would help. I want to be one of those with lots of stinky skimate too...lol.

Thanks in advance,

Henry

[CapnKick]

Your water level might be too high. Don't submerge the output gate valve or point it to a wall. If your skimmer is new, give it a few days. Then start adjusting the air valve so the water level us just at the top of the black box (below the tower). Also, make sure you have something going to the JG valve, or that it is closed; having this open will allow too much air into the skimmer.

[Waxxiemann]

finally got around to ordering my 1" injector for my EV240. I can't wait to get it, I'll let you guys know how it goes when I hook it up. I never did try the beckett mod although I still may.

Should I add a ball valve on my mag 18 again? I want thinking no.

Cheers,
Waxx

[CapnKick]

Follow carefully when setting up:

http://www.proteinskimmer.com/EV180.pdf

[Waxxiemann]

I ran it with a ball valve for quite some time but found I got better skim without any plumbing between the pump and injector.

[nightOwl]

Hey CapnKick,
I think I tried to follow the instructions to set it up but after seeing pictures of the bubbles in the tower of other users something is not right. I will make sure I plug the JG valve. Yea I think the water level is way too high. I built a stand for the skimmer to sit on so that it is no longer submerged. Which led to the fountain of youth over here...lol. So when looking at it is the whole column supposed to be filled with bubbles? When I cut it back far there seems to be a gap between the collection cup and the tower where I can see it making bubbles but then it gets the side of the tower messy instead of the uprise tube in the collection cup. Is that the way it is supposed to be? Seeing pictures of others its all continual . I will try that tonight when I get home.

Thanks,

Henry

[CapnKick]

My bubbles only rose about halfway in the column at first, but now they're all the way up. I was worried at first, but eventually the scummy bubbles rise up into the collection cup. Give it a day or two, these things take a little break-in period.

[nightOwl]

CapnKick,
Thanks for the info. I have had it for over 3 months or so, but when I did not see the bubbles making it all the way up the tower I was like this is not working so I kept adjusting it. I have been fighting nitrate issues on and off since switching over to the new skimmer. Looking back I never set up correctly the first time but now I will see what it does. This is promising information . I was starting to think my old TurboFlotor 1000 I gave my girlfriend was a better skimmer...lol. It is doing an amazing job on her 65 gallon tank but was not enough for my 90 gal. Thanks again for the speedy reply.

Thanks,

Henry

[CaptainCoral]

The bubbles in the foam tower behave differently if the water is disturbed; ex. some foods, hands in water, new plastics, filter sock changes, tobacco smoke, and so on. The trick is to set it where you want it (you know, however wet or dry you want to skim) when the system is least disturbed. I like mornings and after work to check up or make adjustments. That way I'm least likely to be getting "false readings" of bubble action.

I was very happy with my ev180 running with a Mag 9.5. I had the gate valve unscrewed from the back of the box because it was difficult to keep the water line out of the foam tower causing too much turbulence in it. Luckily it ran at the correct water height with the gate removed and with the air choked back where the blue valve points at the top corner of the air valve.

Here is an old pic of it doin' it's thing.


And a shot of her back side.

[CaptainCoral]

Scroll down this page, there are some good photos of bubbles reaction to different water heights.

[nightOwl]

CaptainCoral,
Thanks for the pic and link when I was skimming this thread I saw some of those and was wondering what had happened to the ball valve in the picture. After I saw some of the bubbles on the long neck one I confirmed mine was not doing something right...lol. I will take your advice and make adjustments only in the morning or evening. That is a good suggestion since I have my hands in the tank pretty much every day to feed my tang. Are those panty hose on over the air valve and what is that doing? I see the foam level on yours and that helps.

Thanks again,

Henry

[CaptainCoral]

If I remember correctly, the pantyhose with carbon in it was an attempt to see if it helped performance...it did not, and I wasn't smoking cig's then either.

Yeah, I think that old pic is a good shot for an example of what they look like when skimming dry. The foam tower is clear up until the last one and a quarter inches. Where that scum line is and how broad, exposes how dry it is set and how stable it forms. For instance, the broadness of that line in the pic of the modded 180 on page 39 shows how unstable the foam production is. This is because I'm not getting enough freash air to it, and the foam head lowers when I'm home and smoking. I'll have to fashion something like chris4869 has at the top of this page, and run the airhose line to that.

[nightOwl]

CaptainCoral,
Hopefully I can get mine dialed in and produce some good skimate after some of the tips i am getting today. Once I get it consistant I will be happy. Currently its pretty inconsistant and that does not make a happy nitrate reading...lol.

Thanks,

[Tennsquire]

Have been running an EV180 on my 75 reef for years. It's a good skimmer all in all, but it does need periodic attention like all equipment in this hobby. My injector gets clogged all the time with stuff that greatly hampers the ability of the unit. The air intake gets clogged with salt frequently, and needs to be cleaned every now and again. I also think it's a hassle to clean the riser tube, but part of that is due to the fact that the unit is jammed into my sump with very little room to work around it. Running the Mag 7 on it, but thinking of upping to the 9.5 to see how it does. I run an older EuroReef on my prop tank, and have been happy with that and with the ease of cleaning. Also just picked up a LifeReef SV2, and I have to say that this thing rocks. I now have 3 skimmers and two tank systems, and will probably be getting rid of one of the 3. Guess we'll see which one(s) win out.

[audioaddiction]

hey guys i've been thinking about what skimmer to use on my almost complete 90 heavy-bioload, 38 gallon sump. it seems i'll probably just go the AquaC route because they're highly regarded and they seem to give you more quality for your buck. anyway, what would be considered a good deal on a used but basically new condition EV-180 without a pump?

i'd like a good amount of return flow but i want to keep the electric to flow rate efficient. can you guys give some recommendations on which brand of pumps to use in regards to specs that aren't normally charted... such as noise, reliability, operational time until ill probably need a new one or part... etc. i can look up and compare all the other stats but i just can't figure the other stuff. thanks!

[tristanbloor]

audioaddiction, i would go with the eheim 1262 for the ev 180. I just bought one about a week ago, currently trying to adjust it but at the moment only can get wet skimmate. Others here seem to be over the moon about the eheims on these skimmers.

all eheim 1262/ev 180 owners is there any advice i'm missing on setting up the skimmer with the 1262. I bought it about a week ago on peoples comments on such a great pump. However can only really seem to get it to skim quite wet. The gate valve is off and have choked the air back quite a bit. I seem to be able to get lots a really wet skimmate, or when I run it really dry, only minimal bubbles make it up into the cup. The bubble size is also quite large for the amount the air is chocked back, also the bubbles are popping really early? any idea? I checked my salinity and realized it was nearly 1.020. could that be a problem? I'm in the process of raising it up to 1.025.
Thanks!

[tristanbloor]

sorry forgot to mention its on the 240 V version. I've read the whole thread, and tried most things.

[PVsPlayHouse]

Originally posted by Waxxiemann
finally got around to ordering my 1" injector for my EV240. I can't wait to get it, I'll let you guys know how it goes when I hook it up. I never did try the beckett mod although I still may.

Should I add a ball valve on my mag 18 again? I want thinking no.

Cheers,
Waxx

I have the EV 240 also and have been working with Steven at AquaC to get going right. I have it running with a GenX 40 and they think it mite be to strong of a pump. WHen at first they said it would be fine. My Question is does the 1" injector work better. Or will it make the skimmer over skim like my probable now.
I turn down my pump but then what happens is after I feed my fish it takes hours for it to start to skim again. Also what is the beckett mod?
Thanks
PV

[bureau13]

Its pretty normal for the foam tower to collapse a bit after feeding, or putting your hands in the tank, etc. That's true with most skimmers I think.

Its interesting that some of you are finding that the skimmer is skimming too wet...I wish mine would skim a bit wetter, actually. My EV-240 w/ Mag 18 seems to skim very dry....I rarely get liquid high enough in the cup to overflow into the extra waste canister....by the time the liquid is that high, everything else is so nasty with dry skimmate I have to clean it out in order to keep performance up. Not that this is necessarily bad, as my water has been pretty good.

jds

[tatoofr]

Originally posted by bureau13
Its pretty normal for the foam tower to collapse a bit after feeding, or putting your hands in the tank, etc. That's true with most skimmers I think.

Its interesting that some of you are finding that the skimmer is skimming too wet...I wish mine would skim a bit wetter, actually. My EV-240 w/ Mag 18 seems to skim very dry....I rarely get liquid high enough in the cup to overflow into the extra waste canister....by the time the liquid is that high, everything else is so nasty with dry skimmate I have to clean it out in order to keep performance up. Not that this is necessarily bad, as my water has been pretty good.

jds

Thats exactly what happens to my ev120 running on a mag 7.
I wish I could get it to skim wetter, but if I raise the water level anymore it chokes out the injecter.
Does anyone know if a smaller or larger injecter would make it skim more wet. I'd gladly buy a new injecter to have it skim wetter. My air valve is open all the way.
Frank

[PVsPlayHouse]

Originally posted by bureau13
Its pretty normal for the foam tower to collapse a bit after feeding, or putting your hands in the tank, etc. That's true with most skimmers I think.

Its interesting that some of you are finding that the skimmer is skimming too wet...I wish mine would skim a bit wetter, actually. My EV-240 w/ Mag 18 seems to skim very dry....I rarely get liquid high enough in the cup to overflow into the extra waste canister....by the time the liquid is that high, everything else is so nasty with dry skimmate I have to clean it out in order to keep performance up. Not that this is necessarily bad, as my water has been pretty good.

jds

I understand that it happens with all skimmer. But my EV 240 will shut down for hours and somtimes not recover for days. That is my problem. Makes no sence to me. AquaC sent me a new injector which is working better more water flow is getting into the skimmer. The one I had the injector it self was smaller. Its not an 1" one. I just want a dryer skimate and for it to skim all the time.
Anyhelp would be great. Can this pump I have be to big for the EV 240. Genx 40.
Thank you
Paul

[bureau13]

Hours is one thing..days? Yeah, that's not normal. There was a recommended Iwaki pump for the EV-240...how does it compare to the GenX? If the GenX is morepowerful then maybe that's the problem, you should be able to find flow graphs on the web to compare.

jds

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1067964