AquaC ev-120 skimmer Help

[markus0909]

I have tried everything......I think, to get my AquaC to work. I have it in my sump with a mag5. the mag 5 is used, but appears to be working fine??? I have done every adjustment I have heard of. Adjusting water level to where top of box meets first clear chamber. Done it with air on and closed. I've let it run for days and weeks....NOTHING! Not even a little color in the first chamber, let alone any kind of skimming.
The only thing I can think of now is the mag5 is putting out slightly less then desireable. I tested it's flow and came up with about 450 give or take 50 gph.
Any ideas....please help.

 

[coral head]

R U getting good aeration in the cyclinder? If not, adjust your air valve until you do. I have the same skimmer running on a Mag 5. Yours should run the skimmer just fine.
Do you have a large or small bioload? Do you have an algae problem? How are your parameters?
Maybe there's nothing to skim out.

 

[markus0909]

yes, it has plenty of bubbles, the air is wide open. I guess I'm not sure if it's enough or not, but you can see it boil with bubbles while your adjusting the level.
I know there is skimming to be had. I have a coralife skimmer now the pulls quite a bit out. I got the AquaC to replace it. (in sump). The CL is high maintenance as well.

 

[matt2364]

I have an Aqua C EV-120 so I might be able to help a bit. Here is my experience with the skimmer. I used to have a Quiet one 3,000 pump hooked up to it (700 gph) and it skimmed really well as long as the water level did not change. I did not have any problems using this pump, I just had to adjust the gate value so that the bubbles and such in the skimmer were just about flush with the bottom of the acrylic cylinder.
Next, through a long series of events I had to use the Quite one 3,000 as my return and use a Quite one 5,000 (1330gph) as my skimmer pump. I could not get my skimmer to work for a few days, I fugured that this was just too much flow for my skimmer. I read on the site that to overdrice the skimmer they recommend a mag7 or equivalent. I got the quiet one 5,000 to work on this skimmer by simply lowering the water level in the skimmer by opening the gate valve further. Take a flash light and make sure the the water level inside the skimmer is below the skimmer input from the pump. My input was underwater and thus there was no air mixing with the water.
I would check your levels, a mag 5 should put out enough gph to run this skimmer. How long is the hose to the skimmer? Maybe you are losing a lot of gph with high head or long hose?
If you cannot get it to work still I would recommend trying a higher output pump like a mag7 or quite one 3,000. Let me know how it goes.

 

[markus0909]

If my injection was under water, wouldn't I notice that there were a lack of bubbles? There appears to be plenty. How deep into the box is the injection? I can't really make it out through the dark box.
With the Mag 7 you say all you need to do is open the gate more? No need to ball valve?
Also, does the air valve need adjustment or is it just to tame it down. Mine is all the way open during different settings I have tried with the gate adjustments?

 

[coral head]

Originally Posted by markus0909
http:///forum/post/2927604
yes, it has plenty of bubbles, the air is wide open. I guess I'm not sure if it's enough or not, but you can see it boil with bubbles while your adjusting the level.
I know there is skimming to be had. I have a coralife skimmer now the pulls quite a bit out. I got the AquaC to replace it. (in sump). The CL is high maintenance as well.
I assume your outflow is above the water level in your sump. Your Mag 5 should be just fine unless, as Matt suggested, you have an unusually long run from the pump to the skimmer.
Aqua C does recommend a valve be added if you use a Mag 7. The Mag 7 is too much pump to run all out.
Doesn't your bubbles at least get a little thick?
How do you clean the cylinder? Do you simply wipe it out with a wet rag? Or are you using a brush to clean it?

 

[markus0909]

Originally Posted by Coral Head
http:///forum/post/2927658
I assume your outflow is above the water level in your sump. Your Mag 5 should be just fine unless, as Matt suggested, you have an unusually long run from the pump to the skimmer.
Aqua C does recommend a valve be added if you use a Mag 7. The Mag 7 is too much pump to run all out.
Doesn't your bubbles at least get a little thick?
How do you clean the cylinder? Do you simply wipe it out with a wet rag? Or are you using a brush to clean it?
Yes, outflow above water line in sump. I had to elevate skimmer. The tube is only about 12".
No, my bubbles don't get very thick. They are very numerous but don't appear to be getting even close to where they would start building on themselves to start the skimming process......like my coralife does.
As far as cleaning.......there's nothing to clean. The cylinder is still clear since the day I brought it home.

 

[coral head]

Originally Posted by markus0909
http:///forum/post/2927677
Yes, outflow above water line in sump. I had to elevate skimmer. The tube is only about 12".
No, my bubbles don't get very thick. They are very numerous but don't appear to be getting even close to where they would start building on themselves to start the skimming process......like my coralife does.
As far as cleaning.......there's nothing to clean. The cylinder is still clear since the day I brought it home.
I am out of ideas and now have a headache:

From the Company's website:
"It is our goal to provide the best customer support in the industry – before and after the sale. We work towards that goal by treating customers honestly and fairly, by answering questions as rapidly and thoroughly as possible, and by building a quality product line that we feel proud to stand behind.
If for any reason you feel that we have not lived up to this pledge, please contact Jason Kim (owner and founder of AquaC) at 858-689-1121."

 

[matt2364]

No, you do not need to use a ball valve with a mag7. I never used one with mine atleast and do not even use it with my quite one 5,000 (1330gph) I just open the gate valve more and it works fine. I think the injector is about 1/2 to an inch below the top of the skimmer. Yeah...I guess if you are getting bubbles than the input is not underwater. I must have an older version of this skimmer or something because mine does not have any valve to adjust air intake.

 

[markus0909]

Thanks Matt and Coral Head,
I guess the only thing left is to try a new pump. Maybe I will try the mag7 or rebuild my mag5 with a new impeller.
Any other ideas to try would be greatly appriciated.

 

[matt2364]

Sure thing, good luck markus.

 

[coral head]

Originally Posted by markus0909
http:///forum/post/2927805
Thanks Matt and Coral Head,
I guess the only thing left is to try a new pump. Maybe I will try the mag7 or rebuild my mag5 with a new impeller.
Any other ideas to try would be greatly appriciated.

Let us know how things turn out.

 

[markus0909]

I tore apart my mag 5 and discovered that it appears the part of the cap that holds the top part of the impeller has been sheered off. So that makes the impeller able to move side to side . I am really hoping that this is the problem. This could create unstable and lower water flow from the pump. I ordered a new cap, seal, and impeller. I will get it Fri. so this weekend I will have a report for you guys on the "AquaC Mystery"

markus