AquaC CLUB!

[evoracer]

Can Anyone give any input on this?

For those who run Urchins-
I am planning a 60g build, with 20g for a sump. I am doing this build using only equipment I already own. I have an Urchin and an EV-240 at my disposal. I plan on using the Urchin for this tank, along with a large refugium with chaeto and GFO/GAC reactors. I estimate less than the 75g rated capacity of the skimmer in water volume in this system, buy have no experience with this skimmer over about 25g (but it was on a heavily-packed frag tank). Anyone happy with the Urchin performance on a system this size? I really don't want to run the EV on this one, trying to stay more energy efficient.
Thanks.

[saltydog64]

thanks for the great suggestions, yes the skimmer is getting unfiltered water right from the tank. Its about 6 months old.. I had to change the design of the sump but before i was using it i never had it dialed in and finally decided to do somthing about it. the feed line to the skimmer is about 18 inches and the drain is 18 inch 1 inch pvc to the skimmer horizontal or slightly downward. heres a pic of it after letting it sit for a day....
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2791/dsc0102bz.jpg
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/5157/dsc0103au.jpg

07.........

I think you her..........u the man. The foam being produced in the pics looks like your're on your way....

To those who down play these skimmer's either don't know how to tune one or they just don't get it....but not you !!! once again good job and have a safe and happy New Year !!!:bounce1::bounce1:

Dick

[07mz3]

thanks!..yea it takes some adjustment but there great once you get them dialed in..... This one actually started to leak :eek1: so thanks again to steve he's sending me a replacement one, whoot

[saltydog64]

thanks!..yea it takes some adjustment but there great once you get them dialed in..... This one actually started to leak :eek1: so thanks again to steve he's sending me a replacement one, whoot

07....

You're very welcome..........leak...man I'm glad you caught that....not good to mess up momma's floor:bounce2:.

Steve and those guys and gals out there are the best.....which is the main reason in the first place that I bought one, to bad more folks don't realize the importance of GOOD cust. service..... continued good luck !!

[LouZ]

Can Anyone give any input on this?

I run a remora pro on my sump ....but I think the key is a larger pump(I run a mag 5) and the extended collector allows for dryer skimmate. Marinedepot has the extended collector. IMO it made a big difference.

[chuckreef]

Has anyone tried this combination?
I noticed this pump has the same head as the Iwaki RLT 55 and I'm thinking I could get simialr performance without the hum (fan noise). Has anyone tried it? If so, how did it work (or not)?

[ackee]

I think the performance and foam head on my modified EV180 with the Eheim 1103 is better than the pics above.

[MatthewLaw]

i run a mag5 on my remora pro and it has been excellent from day 1!!

i also run an ev-120 on the other end of my sump and it has admittiedly taken a good period of time to get it tuned in. I use a mag 9.5 with a ball valve so that adds another moneky wrench to the situation. getting proper flow, height in the column and air mixture was a test in patience but it has paid off. with the trusty remora pro on the other side of the sump, i was confident that i always getting more than adequate protein skimming.

interestingly when i put my hand in the tank, the height and skimmate in the ev-120 drops for about an hour (oils in hand, i get it), BUT the Remora Pro does not seem to be affected!

[wis_fishing_guy]

I have a 240 lined up with a mag 18 for my 75.

Do you guys think that is too much of a skimmer? I am not really worried about it over skimming. More that it will not skim at all.

[sabbath]

I had a EV120 with a mag 5 and it worked great. Fell trap to all the hype of the needles wheels, and my new octopus extreme 200 does not make nearly as much as the EV120 did in my heavly stocked 75g.

[wis_fishing_guy]

Any other in put?

[3djedi]

I have a 240 lined up with a mag 18 for my 75.

Do you guys think that is too much of a skimmer? I am not really worried about it over skimming. More that it will not skim at all.

i think you are asking for headaches with this combo. i just don't think you can get enough of a bioload from a 75g for the ev240 to function properly. no stable fom head or whatever.I have a 75 with the ev180 and am having lots of difficulty getting good foam. I think I should have gone with the 120.....

[Bernie_Mac]

hey guys i have an EV-180 on my 46 bow front reef tank with 10 gallon sump i have it hucked up outside the sump i've had the skimmer since Aug. and have'nt been able to get the thing to work right i am all out of ideas it skims good for a day and then wount skim at all for like 3-4 days i have it plumbed with 3/4 hose and 3/4 ball valve before entering the skimmer and a gate valve at the return. Also most of the gunk that it does get out gets stuck in the colum of the skimmer and just builds up there any suggestions would be awesome please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hal]

hey guys i have an EV-180 on my 46 bow front reef tank with 10 gallon sump i have it hucked up outside the sump i've had the skimmer since Aug. and have'nt been able to get the thing to work right i am all out of ideas it skims good for a day and then wount skim at all for like 3-4 days i have it plumbed with 3/4 hose and 3/4 ball valve before entering the skimmer and a gate valve at the return. Also most of the gunk that it does get out gets stuck in the colum of the skimmer and just builds up there any suggestions would be awesome please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, first of all, an EV-180 is probably overkill for a 46 gal tank. It may be skimming everything out in day one and then the waste has to build up to a certain point before it can skim again. Don't quote me on the physics/chemistry behind this, but know that this is not unheard of for oversized skimmers. The fact that the gunk gets caught in the skimmer's neck reinforces this likelihood.

You could raise the water level in the neck of the skimmer. That will force more gunk into the collection cup. Essentially what you have is that the bubbles are breaking too low in the skimmer's neck. Raising the water level so the bubbles have less distance to rise will give them less time to break before they are into the collection cup.

I assume that you check the injection nozzle and air inlets to make sure that they aren't clogged. You could also run some tests on days that it isn't skimming by adding a large amount of food. If the skimmer kicks in, then it probably didn't have anything to skim.

[Bernie_Mac]

thanks Hale for the info i will try to raise the water level in the skimmer to see if that help as for it getting all the skim out in a day i wish i have alot of detritus in my tank and fuge that the skimmer is not getting.....

[evoracer]

When I had my temporary 50G I used my EV240 on it, and it never performed. Like said above it would skim real well for a day or so, then nothing for a week. I put it on a timer, on for 36 hours, off for 48, with a cleaning while off. It still didn't do much, but there just isn't alot for a skimmer that large to remove out of that few gallons.

[MatthewLaw]

I have a question on proper height of the bubbles in the chamber. I am using an EV-120 and my water level is just at the bottom of the clear chamber, so basically bubbles go all the way up the clear chamber, up the collection cup tube and out. I am starting to develop a good amount of gunk in the clear chamber.

It took me about a month to finally tune the ball valve, air mixture and height of water in the skimmer's body.

Do you suggest raising the water level in the clear chamber? I know this will affect how wet the skimate is, BUT this will decrease the gunk buildup in the chamber. If I do this will I need to change the ball valve and air mixture?

Also on a separate but related note, what air intake level do you suggest? Should I have the air valve (blue lever) completely parallel (horizontal) to the skimmer body or perpendicular (blue lever straight down). Right now the lever is in the middle and everything is working fine. I know, I know, why mess with it if it ain't broke??

Thanks for your help!!

[ethank77]

I run my air at about 1/3 to 1/2 way on using the bubbles at the bottom of the reaction chamber as a mesuring device I like the small with as little turbulance as possible but still as much air as is allowed and still keep these factors. I produce about two full cups a week off black skimmate.

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for your response. so basically your bubbles start at the 'bottom' of the clear chamber? do you have that gunk build up in the clear chamber after the skimmer has been going for a few weeks?

[sabbath]

I have a question on proper height of the bubbles in the chamber. I am using an EV-120 and my water level is just at the bottom of the clear chamber, so basically bubbles go all the way up the clear chamber, up the collection cup tube and out. I am starting to develop a good amount of gunk in the clear chamber.

It took me about a month to finally tune the ball valve, air mixture and height of water in the skimmer's body.

Do you suggest raising the water level in the clear chamber? I know this will affect how wet the skimate is, BUT this will decrease the gunk buildup in the chamber. If I do this will I need to change the ball valve and air mixture?

Also on a separate but related note, what air intake level do you suggest? Should I have the air valve (blue lever) completely parallel (horizontal) to the skimmer body or perpendicular (blue lever straight down). Right now the lever is in the middle and everything is working fine. I know, I know, why mess with it if it ain't broke??

Thanks for your help!!


I ran mine with the water line right where i could just start to see it touching the round cylinder going out from the top of the box.

Then adjust the air from there. Easy.

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for your response. did you need to clean the round clear cylinder a lot too?

[sabbath]

thanks for your response. did you need to clean the round clear cylinder a lot too?

I did not clean the cylinder below where you remove the cup unless it looked really bad. This was maybe once a month or so. I cleaned the cup every time I emptied it. This did help it produce more for me

[tmgrash]

I love my ev240 on my 240 gal tank. My question is does everyones "foam tower" collapse everytime you even dip your finger in the tank? I have had other skimmers that did not collapse the foam after doing anykind of maintenance, this one however is another story takes about a day to rebuild the foam. On the other had this skimmer is very efficient, its pretty much overskimming. I know this because it will skim evverything out in one or two days after adding a big bio load, then back to the "light green" skimmate.

[MatthewLaw]

the foam tower on my ev-120 DOES collapse if i just dip my finger in. therefore if i choose to put my finger in, i might as well put my hand in and do all necessary tank maintenance at that time. the foam head usually reappears a few hours later.

interestingly, the foam tower on my aqua c remora pro DOES NOT disappear under any circumstance!!

[chuckreef]

I've been messing with a ev 240 a lot. To respond to fishing guy above, I did run it on a 55 and then a 100 and then a 240. It was never too much skimmer. My corals in the 55 grew out of the tank vertically and most had to be hacked out of the tank laterally too. (I have my 240 back on the 100 gal. now.) In my experiance, its not too much skimmer except for the amount of watts it uses.

On all tanks (and with three different pumps) it does "collpase" when you touch the tank or feed it. And, it takes a good amount of time to come back up after messing with the tank. Similarly, it takes a lot of time after adjusting the skimmer (even just a slight tweak on thre valve) to see what you've really done. For me, this is just one slight negative aspect of this otherwise great skimmer.

For MatthewLaw, I've found when you have too small a pump (i.e., specifically, low of a max head pressure) you have to clean the skimmer tube often and the collection cup does not get much gunk. If you are experienceing this (alwyas skimming baby **** in the riser tube and the cuip is empty), then your skimmer is actually not working and you need to step up to a higher pressure pump. Trust me its worth it - Its like a whole new experience in skimming when an AQUA C skimmer actually skims into its collection cup and you almost never have to clean the riser tube!!! A mag 18 was too little pump for my 240, so I suspect the mag 9.5 is too small a pump (not enough head pressure) for your skimmer.

[RedTC]

I have an EV-120 with a QuietOne 3000 pump. It is rated at 780 gph with a max hh of 10.50 ft. Has anyone used this combination? It is running on a 75g med stocked tank and never seems to pull much out, maybe a couple tablespoons a day. I have adjusted/messed around with it for a while to try and get producing more but nothing seems to help all that much. Anyone have advice on how to get it to perform better?

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for the help chuckreef. i am getting a good amount of foam head out of the skimmer cup as well as is in the clear cylinder. i chose to increase the height of the water column in the clear skimming cup so i am receiving a wetter skim. so basically now the foam needs to go up 2 inches in the clear cylinder before entering the collection cylinder tube.

[chuckreef]

Matthew,

I'm glad its working for you. But I infer form your verbal description that you have an area of clear water in the skimmer tube. My experience is these skimmers can (and do) run best when the entier column is small white bubbles about 1 to 2mm. It takes a pressure pump to get that many bubbles (i.e., that much air), but its worth finding the right pump.

[mike33]

I have a ev-120 with a quiet one 3000 combo. I needed to cut back the pump to about 80% and the air is at about 1/2. I'm sure you have read the threads...do not plug the drain tube into the waste, regularly clean the air intake and the plastic injector. Once dialed in it is great. I ran a mag 5 for a while without much results.

[MatthewLaw]

thank you all for your help. chuckreef, i am using an mag 9.5 so i have plenty of power and force for the bubble creation and skimming. my water level is about two inches from the top of the white clear cylinder (which connects to the collection cup). the water is very agitated and the bubbles are very fine as they go up the column. once dialed in, i never really had an issue producing fine bubbles. it was just that the fine bubbles in the white cylinder accumulated into a lot thick gunk which required cleaning every few weeks.

mike33-- i have run a mag5 too on my ev-120 and while it did produce some skimmate it wasn't what i expected and read about. so i really went overboard and bought a mag 9.5 with a ball valve that is working well.

[T1adler]

Running an EV-240 with a Mag 12 and just did the Free injector upgrade from 3/4 to 1 inch along with up sizing the plumbing from the pump to the injector. About 2 weeks into it, it appears the skim output is up about 25% or so from before. Well worth it and two thumbs up to Aqua C for the new injector!:bounce2: I don't know if too many other companies would do the same.

[Hal]

I don't know if too many other companies would do the same.

Agreed. I've had very good response from their customer service. Actually, "very good" is probably an understatement. :)

[Jason7504]

I'm using a AquaC remora nano on my 15g. i just started the skimmer about a week ago. how long does it take to break in and quiet down? its kind of loud now and i only run it during the day

[MatthewLaw]

did you call AquaC to get the upgrade?

[MatthewLaw]

whats your lifestock look like in the 15g? if its a brand new tank then there would not be any waste for it to pull out.

[T1adler]

did you call AquaC to get the upgrade?


I sent an email asking about the upgrade with my mailing address and they said they would send it out for free.

They did a similar deal for me when I needed a new O-ring fro my Remora Pro.

[MatthewLaw]

oh wow i need a new o-ring for my remora pro too!! i have been trying to think of creative ideas to make a new one.

is the upgrade available for the ev-120 too or just ev-240?

also did you email a specific person?

thanks!

[T1adler]

Not sure what models the upgrade is available for & I didn't send it to a specific person.

[Jason7504]

did you call AquaC to get the upgrade?

who me?

[Jason7504]

whats your lifestock look like in the 15g? if its a brand new tank then there would not be any waste for it to pull out.

well its been up for a year and it has pulled out quite a bit already lol its a seahorse tank

[MatthewLaw]

Jason7504- i did not have a break-in period for my aqua c skimmers. i am using a remora and remora pro and they started skimming very well from day 1. mine have not gotten any louder/quieter over time.

[Jason7504]

well mine is skimming but its kind of loud. are they usually pretty quiet?

[MatthewLaw]

not that i know of from other reviews and experiences. i constantly hear gurgling/commotion as the water moves through the chambers in the skimmer body

[Wheel of Time]

MatthewLaw: I agree w/ chuckreef. You should not have the water line above the black box (i.e several inches into the riser tube). I can understand what you are thinking with the water up that high, and getting the bubbles into the collection cup -- I tried that a long time ago as well, when I didnt try enough ways to get it dialed in. But honestly, it will perform much better, and more consistently if you can get it set with water level at top of black box. That is the thing most complain about with these skimmers is gettign them tuned for optimal performace.... have to try a ton of things, and DONT rush to keep tweaking settings. let each one run for a day before making other changes. Also, the tower should be cleaned every few days as gunk accumulates, weekly at the latest for best performance. letting a half inch of crud building up isnt a good idea (reduces efficiency). Set the water level lower and try changing the height of the skimmer in relation to the pump (so many good tips in this thread) but dont have the water that high

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for your help everyone!! once i got the skimmer properly tuned, I have not had any issues getting the bubbles to rise high enough and into the collection cup. i was just wondering if i would get a better skim by rising the water level so the bubbles have to travel less before being captured into the skimmer cup. i also developed a lot of gunk in the main clear chamber (between black and collection cup) and if water is in there the gunk really cant collect before water level.

[kracer1025]

I just picked up a ev-180 for MY 90 gal. mixed reef. I am running it with a rio 3100 at the moment but do not seem to be getting very much skim. Maybe a 1/4 inch in the cup a night that is very light colored. I tried running it with my mag 9.5 but it seemed to have too much turbulance and would produce evan less skim so I switched back to the rio. Any recommendations as to where I should go next.
I have 16" of 3/4" hose with a ball valve to the injector and the gate valve is full open. My air valve is about 3/4 open and the bubble size seems to be small but I feel like this pump may not be strong enough. do you thing an Eheim 1262 would be a better pump choice.

[dahenley]

Hello Aqua-C ers,
I just found a Used EV-400 for a super sweet deal.
I will say that it must be an older model, because it still have a 3/4 injector in it.
i currently dont have a pump for it, but i do have a BlueLine 70HD which is a little large for it, but will it work?
also, i have never had this style of skimmer, so if there is any insites or things that i need to do, shoot them my way.

[Hal]

Hello Aqua-C ers,
I just found a Used EV-400 for a super sweet deal.
I will say that it must be an older model, because it still have a 3/4 injector in it.
i currently dont have a pump for it, but i do have a BlueLine 70HD which is a little large for it, but will it work?
also, i have never had this style of skimmer, so if there is any insites or things that i need to do, shoot them my way.

#1 tip: don't undersize the pump. :) Check with AquaC about the Blueline. Their customer service is excellent.

#2 tip: get the 1" injector.

#3 tip: set the waterline at the bottom of the clear riser tube.

[dahenley]

they say to use a BlueLine/Iwaki 55, but i have a more powerfull BlueLine70HD.
the BlueLine 55 is a 1100gph
the BlueLine 70 is a 1750gph pump

also, how do you get a 1" injector and how much do they cost


Check on the water level!

[evoracer]

Email Aqua-C, they will likely send it to you free of charge. Put a valve on the pump to regulate the flow to the skimmer, with the larger injector a larger pump than recommended would be needed anyway.

[danhngo1]

I'd got a used Aqau C 240 last week, read all the issue people here are having and got it set up. It's hooked up to Mag 18. It's producing a lot of foam. The skimmate is dark. I appreciated every body input and advice.

Thanks,
Danh

[dahenley]

WOW, i just wanted to share my short experienc with Aqua-C

I picked up a Used EV-400, and it still had the original 3/4 injector. Following everyones advice to shoot Aqua-C an E-mail, Steve replyed to me and has helped my out with information, and is going to help me out by upgrading to the new 1" injector.

These guys are super cool and polite.
Just wanted to share my experience with everyone.
(customer service is great. even while helping the people that didnt buy their skimmer new. thats a company that stands behind their product and is confident.)

[tmgrash]

I have the aquac 240 with a mag 18. Question is I have to run everything wide open to get ANY skimmate (I do have the 1" injector), do I need to upgrade to a mag 24 to get anything more? I set the water level at the top of the box/bottom of the clear bubble tower, pump wide open, and air wide open, and barely get any skimmate on a 240gal tank.

[chuckreef]

Are you getting a thick scum layer on the wall of the tower, say weekly, but the stuff is just not reaching up to the cup?

[tmgrash]

Are you getting a thick scum layer on the wall of the tower, say weekly, but the stuff is just not reaching up to the cup?

Exactly, occasionally it gets into the cup.

[chuckreef]

Yes, you need a stronger pump, You need a pump with at least 25 psi max. head pressure. (You can think of the the max head pressure of the pump as a measure of how hard the pump can push the water.) A little more pressure does not nurt.
E.g.,
- Iwaki 55RLT (26.9' max head) or Pan World 150 PS.
- The Gen X PCX-100 (Mak 5) (29' max head).

The fact that the AquaC skimmers need these powerful pumps is the main reason they have fallen out of favor in the hobby.

[tmgrash]

The mag 18 was the biggest pump reccomended by them, they even sold it with a mag 12. I wonder why they wouldn't sell them with the the proper sized pumps?

[dahenley]

mag pumps are not pressure rated. they will make the skimmer work, but pressure pumps are what make this skimmer rock.

they explain spray injection like when you wash your car. if you have soap in a bucket, and you stick a water hose in full throttle, there will be some foam. if you cover half the hose with your thumb, the water sprays real hard, and you get a massive amount of bubbles. the mag pump will not pressure up, so you get the volume, but the pressure gets restricted so it doesnt spray like the theory.

[newtank]

Hello! I am curious to see if anyone has ran thier aqua-C externally, and also if they raised the skimmer above the sump? I have an EV-1000 and built a stand that raises the skimmer so that the effluent is distributed into multiple sumps flowing down into them from the top. I have done fresh water tests and it appears that this should work ok, I guess we will see. I am running a blueline 70 for the pressure pump but would like something more effecient that still provides the pressure, could anyone share the pump they use on thier EV-1000? I know too many questions for one post!
Thanks,
Andy

[wrassie86]

I like the 240 with no less than the gen-x pcx 40 and the 3/4 injector.I have a 1 inch injector, but think 1 inch line from the pump to the 3/4 injector is better.
For me it is no spray noise and better foam.

As of now, i'm using a iwaki MD 55 to my chiller, then the Skimmer and it still rocks.:)

[heatdissipation]

Hello! I am curious to see if anyone has ran thier aqua-C externally, and also if they raised the skimmer above the sump? I have an EV-1000 and built a stand that raises the skimmer so that the effluent is distributed into multiple sumps flowing down into them from the top. I have done fresh water tests and it appears that this should work ok, I guess we will see. I am running a blueline 70 for the pressure pump but would like something more effecient that still provides the pressure, could anyone share the pump they use on thier EV-1000? I know too many questions for one post!
Thanks,
Andy
I run my ev-1000 externally, I built a small stand also and it sits over my sump, I use an Iwaki 70rlt, I can barely keep up with the skimate, I have never seen a skimmer pull as much as my ev-1000.

As far as multiple sumps go, I dont know, but as long as you are not restricting the output of your skimmer, you should be fine.

[mr_bigl]

I just sent an email last night to ACUA C, they are shipping my 1" injector out today. Great customenr service. If eveyone was like this the world woul dbe such a better place.

[TheLEDBaron]

Thanks to everyone who's made this such an interesting and useful thread! I just moved to a 90 gallon tank from a 58, and couldn't get my EV-120 to foam nicely. After reading more than half the postings, my AquaC is now running well again! I can now tune it directly, rather than trial-and-error.

In post #828 (http://mail.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13919113&postcount=828), jeffrey_ropp noted loud splashing from the return back into the sump. As I only found this thread a few days ago, I can offer a slightly different solution to the same problem.

http://www.eldoradosoft.com/images/AquaC water baffle.png

I constructed a small, vertical box from egg crate supported by a minimal egg crate stand. It's filled with shaved PVC (such as CPR's Bio Bale). This virtually eliminates the splashing, regardless of the setting of the gate valve. It's so effective, I used it in the tank's overflow chamber to silence the waterfall there, too. Now I only hear a small trickle, whose volume is easily adjusted by the placement and packing of the Bio Bale.

I hope you find this tip helpful!

[gman107]

would there be a benifit to getting a 1" injector for a aquac 180 with a eheim 1262 running it ?????

[dahenley]

i personally dont think a 1in injector will help any skimmer or any pump unless that pump has a 1in out put.

if you have a pump with a 1in out put, then the 3/4in injector is very restrictive.
if you have a pump running your 180 with a 1in out put, then i would give it a try!!!

[moondoggy4]

TheLedBaron Welcome to Reef Central

[spamreefnew]

i have an aqua c urchin with a mag 5 on it and never have i gotten anything but very wet green tea water:( the quality and customer service are great but i am sorry to say that the skimmer skims about as much as a seaclone:(

[TheLEDBaron]

i have an aqua c urchin with a mag 5 on it and never have i gotten anything but very wet green tea water
Read through pages 30-43 of this thread, especialy CaptainCoral's suggestions. You'll find specific steps to set the water level properly, then the air content. I owned my EV-120 several years, yet still, this thread helped me learn how to set it quickly and accurately like never before. Look for the fellow who got "cheered" for getting it right, right away. The best step-by-step is there.

[jtma508]

Another major issue that is often overlooked but that has a HUGE impact on the skimmer performance is regularly cleaning the air valve. I mean unscrewing it from the body and chiseling out the rock salt plug that forms in it. Anyone who has done this knows exactly what I'm talking about.

[mr_bigl]

I agree with JTMA508. But i got the 1" injector for my ev240 and now its skimming like a beast with my mag 18. im much happier.

[Jacob D]

Hello fellow Aqua-C owners. Can anyone tell me if the collection cup o-ring on the Remora has any effect on performance other than keeping the cup at the set height? I have been running w/o the o-ring for a while now, it doesn't seem to make much difference so long as I don't need to use the cup in any position other than all the way down.

[chuckreef]

Another major issue that is often overlooked but that has a HUGE impact on the skimmer performance is regularly cleaning the air valve. I mean unscrewing it from the body and chiseling out the rock salt plug that forms in it. Anyone who has done this knows exactly what I'm talking about.

I cleaned mine twice. The third time it clogged, I blew through it, and then put it in my reef stuff junk drawer. - It has not clogged since!!!!!!!!

[Hal]

i personally dont think a 1in injector will help any skimmer or any pump unless that pump has a 1in out put.

if you have a pump with a 1in out put, then the 3/4in injector is very restrictive.
if you have a pump running your 180 with a 1in out put, then i would give it a try!!!

Actually, a 1 inch injector will help even if you have a 3/4 inch pump output.

The idea is to maximize the pump output, which occurs by minimizing the resistance to the output waterflow. Switching to a 1 inch injector will help with this. You'll also see a benefit if you put a 3/4 to 1 inch adapter on the output of your 3/4 pump, and then run 1 inch tubing to the 1 inch injector. I did this and saw a noticable improvement in the amount of skimmate.

[dahenley]

That does make perfect sense as well. Thanks

[wrassie86]

I,ve had my EV240 for a few years now, and my take on the 1inch injector is,if your using a mag 18/24 or what ever,for the most part those are flow pumps and there head pressure kinda sucks if there restricted.So i can see where the 1 inch would help alot.
Now for me i have never ran a Mag or like on mine,I have only ran pressure pumps.But the pumps are 3/4 so i adapt them to 1 inch hose.Plus i have a long run to the skimmer.
If i use the 1 inch injector, i find that the flow rate through the skimmer increases alot,thus reducing dwell time and more noise/ turbulence for me that equals less skimmate.

With my 3/4 injector, i adapted it to fit 1 inch hose by cutting a 3/4 inch hose to fit the barb then slide the 1 inch on it. and my skimmer works perfect.
I get way more skim this way with out the issues i listed above,Since its the pressure the skimmer wants at the injector is where it builds.
I will say if anybody try's this, 3/4 hoses are not all created equal in thickness make sure hoses fit tightly before clamping.

[newyorkstyles]

Ok, let me start out by telling you all that I have read every single post of this split thread which took me a few days to read if I may add. Being a proud owner of an EV 180 for almost three years, I, like many of you, ran my EV 180 with a mag 7 "initially" for about 2 years, and had trouble adjusting it properly due to the under powered mag 7 pump. I upgraded a few months ago to the mag 9.5 and the skimmer has worked great since. I have nasty scum collected in the cup, up to the drain elbow daily. I actually hated this skimmer up until I upgraded to the mag 9.5, but was in awe of the continuous scum that was produced with the pump upgrade. For those of you who would like to see a video of my skimmer in action, here is a link to my youtube channel with a short video of the skimmer in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeGCsCSm22Q I have many other videos in my channel and if you are a member of youtube, subscribe if you'd like as I add videos weekly. Anyways on to the main subject.

After reading all of the posts, I noticed that one key point was left out for those of you having trouble with this skimmer. My mag 9.5 is located in the first stage with nothing but the mag 9.5 in there, sucking up raw unfiltered water, while the skimmer itself is located on the second stage on top of my deep sand bed in the refugium stage. For those of you having trouble skimming properly and have tried everything posted on here with no results, here is a point to consider which happened to me. On several occasions I attempted to place some live rock in the first stage of my sump/refugium where the mag 9.5 is located, and by doing this, the skimmer would stop producing almost instantly. It appeared to me that the water splashing down on the first stage was hitting the live rock first, hence hindering the skimmer from producing foam altogether.

It is important to make sure that 1) the skimmer is receiving raw unfiltered water "first" without the water hitting anything else, and 2. this skimmer works best when the pump is located away from the skimmer itself, in an empty compartment, where the raw dirty water enters your sump. If by any chance your pump is pulling water that is hitting live rock first, or pulling water that is mixed with dirty water and water coming out of the skimmer, the skimmer will not produce as well as it should.

For those of you who visit my page and take a look a my system and some of my videos, you will see that my 90 gallon Tech Tank is overstocked like there is no tomorrow, with 17 fishes and some corals. I will soon be adding more LPS and SPS to the system. Initially, before the upgrade to the mag 9.5, I was considering getting a different skimmer altogether, possibly a cone skimmer but after seeing the results of the skimmer with a stronger pump, I now purchased the EV240 with Mag 18 from marine depot and it should arrive on Tuesday. I am anxious to get my hands on this beast which I suspect would more than double performance on my 90 gallon system. I will be making videos of the progress of the new skimmer as well as posting pictures here.

I am glad to be a proud owner of AquaC skimmers and believe they are amongst the best skimmers out there for their price range.

[newyorkstyles]

Check out this video from my YouTube Channel on this skimmer. Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoCXi7M1zbY

[jmoney]

is it worth it to buy one of these ? was looking at an ev120

[newyorkstyles]

Absolutely yes. Get it with the mag drive 7 and sit back and watch it foam like there is no tomorrow.

[jmoney]

mag drive 7 use the 3/4 hose that i need to connect? And im guessing I should do the auto waste container as well?

[Hal]

The auto-waste container is VERY nice to have. You can diy something similar (e.g. empty milk bottle) but without the ping-pong ball shutoff capability. Get the bigger one.

I'm not sure if they offer the 1" injector upgrade for the ev-120. If they do, BUY IT! Then upsize your feedline from the pump to the skimmer (if your pump doesn't have a 1" output, install an adapter) and you'll see a huge improvement in skimmate.

[mypepper]

I called Steve at Aqua C and he's sending me the 1" injector free of charge for my EV 180.

Hopefully running the 1" injector along with the 1" line from my Mag 9.5. will do the trick.

In talking to Steve, I said I had the water line set about 2" within the clear column, which is not correct. Steve said the water line must be set just at the base of the clear tower column to produce more bubbles. I've tried that for the past 5 hours and the bubbles do not rise in the column.

I'll give it a few days to see want happens.

As for the customer service, Steve was excellent and very knowledgeable at resolving my porblem.

Randy

[jmoney]

i will look into it, im trying to decide if the near 400 dollars total it will cost is worth it since im only keeping this tank for another year, I might just go with a bubble magus nac6

[newyorkstyles]

I called Steve at Aqua C and he's sending me the 1" injector free of charge for my EV 180.

Hopefully running the 1" injector along with the 1" line from my Mag 9.5. will do the trick.

In talking to Steve, I said I had the water line set about 2" within the clear column, which is not correct. Steve said the water line must be set just at the base of the clear tower column to produce more bubbles. I've tried that for the past 5 hours and the bubbles do not rise in the column.

I'll give it a few days to see want happens.

As for the customer service, Steve was excellent and very knowledgeable at resolving my porblem.

Randy

I previously spoke to Steve on this subject as well when I used to have this skimmer and he stated that it is OK for your water level to be up to an inch above the black box if you find it works better for you and as long as the skimmer does not overflow. This skimmer pulls in so much air and creates high quantities of bubbles, that it is not recommended for the water level to be above the black box or it may overflow, however, with a mag drive 7 on this skimmer I found I needed to raise the water level quite a bit to get the foam to rise. Once I upgraded to the mag 9.5 no more messing with the water level. The water level was right at the top of the box with the valve all the way opened. I now had to use the air valve to control whether i wanted wet or dry skim. These skimmers rock!

[mypepper]

Update....Thanks to Saltydogs64 advise on how to actually adjust the water level and then fine tune with the air valve, my EV 180 180 is now working right after one year.

I followed Saltydogs64 advise and now my EV 180 is producing bubbles within the entire neck of the column. All in all, I don't think I'll need to use the 1" injector that Aqua C is sending me.

I'll see how go it goes for the next week to see if the skim-mate is to my liking. If not, I'll use the 1" injector.

Thanks to all on the excellent forum for all your helpful tips,
Randy

[03sonicstang]

180EV owner with a Mag 9.5 here and pulling my hair out. My tank is new *(about 4 weeks now) and I'm getting just wet Skimate. I mean once the Pump and Air Valve is open all the way, i just get large wet bubbles and the cup fills in 30-60 seconds. I removed the Discharge Gate Valve and currently run a Tee with a quarter inch hole on the top for air.

From this picture I reversed everything because the Micro Bubbles but the Pump is now right next to the overflow discharges; lots of bubbles entering the 9.5 Mag....any thoughts? This Skimmer was kind of working but I changed the position because Bubbles...any thoughts?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/03sonicstang/IMG_5231.jpg

[carlso63]

I have a Remora running on my 37 Hex tank for maybe 6 - 9 months now. Up until recently, the collection cup would fill with about 2" of green tea every week. I know, not that much, but it's only a 37g tank with 5 small fish in it

Lately, I have noticed that it is not skimming AT ALL. I "stole" these pics from way back in this thread, but this is pretty much how mine looks like now, as far as the foam column height and all:


http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9780/p1010005mb6.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2460/p1010007ml5.png (http://imageshack.us)

I also noticed that the muffled "hiss" that used to be coming from under the collection cup is not quite as loud as it used to be. I was running it with an MJ 1200; I tried switching out to another MJ1200 (thinking maybe the original was not working 100% anymore) but a new pump has not made any difference. And the amount of water at the output still looks good.

I am thinking maybe the air injection part is either clogged with salt creep, or needs to be adjusted?

I bought this skimmer used, so I don't have any instruction manual or anything.

Do you adjust the air quantity by turning that screw in the input pipe? Does opening it (turning screw counterclockwise) mean more air or less air into the mix?

I tried to turn it with a screwdriver but it felt like it was stuck, and I didn't want to try forcing it and possibly break it. Could it be stuck due to salt buildup?

Like I said it used to "work" well enough for me; I just want to get it back to how it used to perform.

[nivram]

I have a Remora running on my 37 Hex tank for maybe 6 - 9 months now. Up until recently, the collection cup would fill with about 2" of green tea every week. I know, not that much, but it's only a 37g tank with 5 small fish in it

Lately, I have noticed that it is not skimming AT ALL. I "stole" these pics from way back in this thread, but this is pretty much how mine looks like now, as far as the foam column height and all:


I also noticed that the muffled "hiss" that used to be coming from under the collection cup is not quite as loud as it used to be. I was running it with an MJ 1200; I tried switching out to another MJ1200 (thinking maybe the original was not working 100% anymore) but a new pump has not made any difference. And the amount of water at the output still looks good.

I am thinking maybe the air injection part is either clogged with salt creep, or needs to be adjusted?

I bought this skimmer used, so I don't have any instruction manual or anything.

Do you adjust the air quantity by turning that screw in the input pipe? Does opening it (turning screw counterclockwise) mean more air or less air into the mix?

I tried to turn it with a screwdriver but it felt like it was stuck, and I didn't want to try forcing it and possibly break it. Could it be stuck due to salt buildup?

Like I said it used to "work" well enough for me; I just want to get it back to how it used to perform.

You need to clean it. I'm pretty sure that screw is not a adjustment but a cleaning port.

[newyorkstyles]

I have a Remora running on my 37 Hex tank for maybe 6 - 9 months now. Up until recently, the collection cup would fill with about 2" of green tea every week. I know, not that much, but it's only a 37g tank with 5 small fish in it

Lately, I have noticed that it is not skimming AT ALL. I "stole" these pics from way back in this thread, but this is pretty much how mine looks like now, as far as the foam column height and all:


http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9780/p1010005mb6.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2460/p1010007ml5.png (http://imageshack.us)

I also noticed that the muffled "hiss" that used to be coming from under the collection cup is not quite as loud as it used to be. I was running it with an MJ 1200; I tried switching out to another MJ1200 (thinking maybe the original was not working 100% anymore) but a new pump has not made any difference. And the amount of water at the output still looks good.

I am thinking maybe the air injection part is either clogged with salt creep, or needs to be adjusted?

I bought this skimmer used, so I don't have any instruction manual or anything.

Do you adjust the air quantity by turning that screw in the input pipe? Does opening it (turning screw counterclockwise) mean more air or less air into the mix?

I tried to turn it with a screwdriver but it felt like it was stuck, and I didn't want to try forcing it and possibly break it. Could it be stuck due to salt buildup?

Like I said it used to "work" well enough for me; I just want to get it back to how it used to perform.

I have the exact same skimmer you have and when I bought it new, it came with a skinny wired brush that is used to clean the injector when clogged. You have to unscrew the white screw located on top of the injector and clean the injector by using something that can fit in there and that has a brush on it. Your skimmer will begin collecting gunk almost immediately after cleaning the injector. You can also call AquaC customer service and they will lead you in the right direction. This skimmer does an awesome job on my 30 gallon nano.

[newyorkstyles]

180EV owner with a Mag 9.5 here and pulling my hair out. My tank is new *(about 4 weeks now) and I'm getting just wet Skimate. I mean once the Pump and Air Valve is open all the way, i just get large wet bubbles and the cup fills in 30-60 seconds. I removed the Discharge Gate Valve and currently run a Tee with a quarter inch hole on the top for air.

From this picture I reversed everything because the Micro Bubbles but the Pump is now right next to the overflow discharges; lots of bubbles entering the 9.5 Mag....any thoughts? This Skimmer was kind of working but I changed the position because Bubbles...any thoughts?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/03sonicstang/IMG_5231.jpg

All skimmers react the way yours is reacting when there are oils or substances that are added into the water such as stress coat and the such. Especially when the tank is new. I have found that with the use of activated carbon, skimmers perform way better because the carbon removes these oils. Try some carbon and let us know it works for you.

[03sonicstang]

All skimmers react the way yours is reacting when there are oils or substances that are added into the water such as stress coat and the such. Especially when the tank is new. I have found that with the use of activated carbon, skimmers perform way better because the carbon removes these oils. Try some carbon and let us know it works for you.

thank you for your reply; once I opened the Pump Ball Valve and adjusted using the air valve I now am pulling some dark skimmate. Its crazy as anytime I put my hand in the tank the bubble tower falls... So with Carbon, can I just fill a nylon sack and throw it in the sump?

Thanks again for your reply!!

[danel]

Anybody know what are the exact parts to make this silent mod?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD9LIrxJ1sE&feature=related

[sasharotty]

These skimmers rock!

You a rep or somethin lol. Have a ev 400, very inconsistant and plumbed externally.Has overflowed a few times on me.:furious: I wouldnt say these rock but thats jmo, but ok for the money i guess.

[Wheel of Time]

I have the ev 400 as well. It was a pain in the balls to set-up at first, but once you get it tweaked (and of course have read this thread from the begining) you will understand how to get your ev400 to perform as well.

Once fine-tuned it is a set and forget system...the only time I need to do anything is when bubbles dont go to the top of the riser anymore means the injector port needs to be cleaned-- then its back to a workhorse machine. And you have to clean the gunk out regularly too--if you dont do that then it will be inconsistent. Ive had mine for many many years. well worth the money in comparison to some of the very very expensive protein skimmers for large tanks.

[danel]

What pump would you guys reccomend for a EV-180, the mag 9.5 or the ehiem 1260 or 1262?

[newyorkstyles]

You a rep or somethin lol. Have a ev 400, very inconsistant and plumbed externally.Has overflowed a few times on me.:furious: I wouldnt say these rock but thats jmo, but ok for the money i guess.

Not a rep. I've just been around the block with different skimmers and have found these to be top of the line skimmers. Have you seen my YouTube channel? I think you would get a better understanding to my comments if you watch some of my videos. I review lot's of equipment on there. Here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/user/newyorksteelo?feature=mhum

[newyorkstyles]

What pump would you guys reccomend for a EV-180, the mag 9.5 or the ehiem 1260 or 1262?

Mag 9.5 or Eheim 1262 would work great.

[TomNeely]

Eheim 1262 is what I have on mine. Works great.

[SI_rEEfer]

I am so excited. I came home from work today and found my EV120 skimmer finally skimming. I have been reading through all the posts in this thread again for the past few days and I just felt like to sharing it.

Last weekend I finished replumbing my sump and skimmer and was waiting for it to kick in.

Thanks!

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/_Waveguide_/Fish%20Tank/Skimmer7.jpg

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/_Waveguide_/Fish%20Tank/Skimmer1.jpg

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/_Waveguide_/Fish%20Tank/Skimmer4.jpg

[fishgeeksrus]

Update....Thanks to Saltydogs64 advise on how to actually adjust the water level and then fine tune with the air valve, my EV 180 180 is now working right after one year.

I followed Saltydogs64 advise and now my EV 180 is producing bubbles within the entire neck of the column. All in all, I don't think I'll need to use the 1" injector that Aqua C is sending me.

I'll see how go it goes for the next week to see if the skim-mate is to my liking. If not, I'll use the 1" injector.

Thanks to all on the excellent forum for all your helpful tips,
Randy

Can you please re-post his advise? Can't seem to find it. Thanks

[fishgeeksrus]

Nevermind...I found it!!

[campos]

Hi, Mario and Dave. I have the remora with the 1200 on it also. I have had it for a year and at best all you will ever get is lite green tea. It went from on the tank to the sump, with the same results. I have cleaned it and played with it for sometime now and I think thats the best it is going to get. It skims a little and then nothing at all for the last 3 days. So, this is an up to date report on it. Good luck with yours and if you have any hints for better skim mate please let me know. Mike.

mine is a year old and i have the same issue. I'm thinking about switching over to a Bubble Magus.

[Tnwalker]

Just wanted to say to everyone that posted thanks. I have a ev 180 with a mag 7 that I never really liked. I'd see people with different skimmer getting all kinds of skimmate and I just couldn't get the Aquac dialed in to save my life. I stepped up to mag 9 because of all the people here, and I had one on hand, and it isn't the same skimmer. I now love this thing. It really is a monster! Once again thanks

[jtma508]

Tnwalker... if you haven't already get the 1" injector from AquaC. Together with the Mag 9 it makes alot of difference.

[Tnwalker]

Jtma508 I was reading about some changing the injector, and I'm wondering did it change the water level inside the box. I removed the gate valve, and my water level is between the inner box and the top of the outer box. I would guess it's about a 1/4" below the outer box. Also I didn't have to dial back my mag 9 so it is running open. Do u think it would still be worth the change? Also, how much does it help?

[03sonicstang]

Just wanted to say to everyone that posted thanks. I have a ev 180 with a mag 7 that I never really liked. I'd see people with different skimmer getting all kinds of skimmate and I just couldn't get the Aquac dialed in to save my life. I stepped up to mag 9 because of all the people here, and I had one on hand, and it isn't the same skimmer. I now love this thing. It really is a monster! Once again thanks

I have the same set up; one question for you.. How open is your air valve? with only (4) fish I'm getting about 1/2 cup of stinky skimmate, but it is pretty watery. I have to clean the collection cup just about every day (nasty stuff in the actual cap tube) to keep it producing. Just thought I would pick your brain...thanks Tom

[Tnwalker]

03sonicstang I have my air valve set to about 1/2 to 3/4 open. It is a very small adjustment between wet and dry skim mate. I've thought about trying to use a needle valve on it to make it easier to adjust the air flow. Btw when I took the gate valve off I added a t to stop the noise and splashing. I know everyone like different skimmate. I like the real dark wet stuff. When I started I had the air off, and just kept opening the air valve a little every day till I got it to what I like. Hope it helps.

[03sonicstang]

thanks tnwalker, It does help. i added a T as well. My Skimmate is dark, wet and does smell pretty nasty...so i assume its working. I also have my air valve about half open... Great skimmer IMO

[MrKite24]

mine is a year old and i have the same issue. I'm thinking about switching over to a Bubble Magus.

Have you tried using a Mag 3 or 5? I've had an AquaC Urchin Pro running with a Mag 3 for 6 years on a 29 gallon and now on a 40 gallon and it has worked great. The bigger pump the better the skimmer performs. You also have to make sure to clean the neck when you dump the skimmate. You also need to clean the inside of the body of the skimmer at least once a year. You wouldn't believe what accumulates at the bottom of those.

If it is a HOB verson you may want to try to get a surface skimmer to get the better performance. If it is in the sump, try to put the skimmer pump as close to the overflow as possible. I created a bubble trap chamber where the skimmer pulls water from directly so it isn't mixed with clean water before entering the skimmer.

[jtma508]

Tnwalker... I also removed the gatevalve and replaced it with a 90deg street el drilled at the top. my sump water level is right at the lower lip of where my gatevalve would have been; my operating water level (the water level inside the skimmer when it's running) is right about at the top of the black box. I found the 1" injector made a big difference.

[Tnwalker]

jtma508 Thanks for the answer, for I was worried that it might push my water level up into my tower, so I was thinking why buy the injector, and then have to get a gate valve to back the flow down on my mag 9. My water level is the same, in the sump, as yours. I'm going to order the 1" injector this weekend. Thanks for info!

[markster33139]

I am using a 180EV with the 1 inch injector/Mag 9.5, and I have also removed the gate valve, and replaced it with a 90 deg elbow. I am pretty sure I have read this entire thread twice, but I can't remember where some have mentioned drilling a hole in the elbow. Can someone comment on why this is done, and also what size hole to drill/where to place hole on a 90 deg elbow. Thanks.

[jtma508]

markster... the elbow should face downward into the water (eliminates splash noise). You want to drill a ~1/4 siphon hole on the top of the elbow centered (more-or-less) right above the downturned opening. My understanding is that this allows any captured air to vent, helps keep water levels stable and helps maximize outflow.

[03sonicstang]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v673/03sonicstang/IMG_5232.jpg

Correct; here's a picture. BTW I eliminated the Ball Value on the discharge. Did not end up needing it....

[markster33139]

Ok thanks the picture makes it very clear

[alsteezy1st]

Right now I'm running my ev240 with an iwaki 40rlxt, but I just ordered the 1'' injector from AquaC, hopefully it makes my skimmer run even better.

[cassklar]

hello all i have just purchased an aquac urchin pro with a mag 3 pump used i cleaned it and the injector the issue i have is it is only skimming light green liquid stuff out of my tank i have 37 gallon reef with 4 fish and assorted coral i dont know if my bioo load is light i am new to this so insight would be great thanks

[Tnwalker]

Cassklar I don't have any exp with the Urchin, but I'm sure someone will jump in with advise. I got the 1" injector for the ev 180 with the mag 9. To everyone. Thanks!

[sabazerehi]

hi guys!

i have an aqua c ev 180 that came with my 135g i just bought, and i'm having trouble getting it tuned in right. i left the water at the bottom of the neck, right where the black box ends and the spray injector all the way open. i think that's what the manual was saying to do to break it in. it's been about a week and i tried raising the water level so the skimmer can actually start skimming, but when i raise it, it stops making bubbles.

i'm running it with a mag7. what do you guys suggest i do?? i would really love to get this thing working properly, i've read really good things about it :)

here's a pic of where it is in the sump, if that helps.

<a href="http://s840.photobucket.com/albums/zz330/sabazerehi/?action=view&amp;current=DSC06006-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz330/sabazerehi/DSC06006-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[ExFOWLR]

Get a mag nine or equivalent.

[Rook]

Hi all, just purchased an AquaC EV-120, used. Unfortunately, the seller did not give me a gate valve with it and I just read the instruction manual online showing the gate valve. Is this necessary to run the skimmer correctly, thus do I need to go buy one? It has a Mag 5, I'm not overly inclined to buy a new pump for it. Its plumbed externally with the output flowing over the side of the sump, into the sump chamber with my return pump. The output is a 90 elbow with a 6 inch pipe down (no air hole currently).

I did turn it on and it kicks a crazy amount of bubbles into the output. Its not really skimming anything right now, but it was very clean (like new clean) when I got it.

Thoughts, suggestions? I started reading this thread and will continue, but I want to get it working soon (its current turned off) and I need to know if I need a gate value, if so any special type?

[jtma508]

The Mag 5 is a bit weak for the 120. Seriously consider moving up to a 7. You don't need a gate valve. Most EV users will eventually remove theirs anayways. Instead, replace it with a 90deg elbow pointed down into the water with a ~1/4 vent hole drilled on top of the elbow (directly over the downward facing opening). Sump water level should be just about where the lower lip of the outlet port opening is (where you have either the elbow or gate valve installed). make sure to periodically check both the injector (small bits of shell/sand/debris WILL get stuck there and drastically impede performance) and the air valve (it will slowly build-up a salt clog over time and essentially choke off the air). Make REALLY small air adjustments as you tune it in and let it stabilize. Go slowly with this step and you'll be rewarded with a stable, productive skimmer.

[Rook]

I am running it external thus cannot set the water level like that. What about the massive amount of air bubbles released into the sump from the output?

Also, how do you remove the intake valve? The hose on the valve barb is really on there and it will be a big
Pita to constantly remove it to remove the valve. Is the a way to mod a quick disconnect?

[jtma508]

There are all manner of quick connects available. Check US Plastics website. But there's no need to have it assembled in a way that makes it that much of a PIA. That's why God created hose clamps.

I've had no problem with bubbles. The 90deg 'street el' at the output is turned down into the water. The vent hole drilled on the top allows alot of the trapped air to be released.

[MrKite24]

hello all i have just purchased an aquac urchin pro with a mag 3 pump used i cleaned it and the injector the issue i have is it is only skimming light green liquid stuff out of my tank i have 37 gallon reef with 4 fish and assorted coral i dont know if my bioo load is light i am new to this so insight would be great thanks

You could try raising your collection cup a little. I've been running this skimmer on a 40 gallon sps tank for years and I always get light colored & wet skimmate, but I've never had an algae problem at all. You'll get a lot of buildup inside the cup and on the neck of the skimmer that you should clean often, but the skimmate is never very dark. Like you, I could never tell if it was because of a small bio-load or the skimmer. As long as you don't have any unwanted algae growing, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Tnwalker]

Sabazerehi I was running a mag 7 and it worked but I was never happy with it, so I put on a mag 9 and it was a great improvement. As some other people have said, make sure your water level is below your output, gate valve. Your water level should be between the lower black box and no higher than the outer black box. I always run my level with the outer black box. When I was using the mag 7, I always had the air valve set wide open. From the picture I couldnt tell if the ev 180 is sitting in a chamber or baffle, but make sure the water level stays the same where the skimmer sit. If u have a JG fitting make sure u close it off if not in use. U stated that it's only been running a week it might not be broke in yet. I think it took mine a week or two to start skimming.
I would really advise as others said of putting a mag 9 or equivalent pump on this skimmer.
BTW nice tank I really liked the LED lights.

[Rook]

Okay, I now have my Ev-120 with Mag 5 operating. Again, its used about 43 months but was cleaned well before I purchased it. I'm going to try it on a Mag 5 to see how it works, and at least until I can find a very good deal on a Mag 7. Couple of questions.

1. For the break in period it states to have the gate value 100 open and the air valve open; then adjust the gate valve until the water line is at the top of the box. Is this correct? If I close off the gate valve a bit and get the water line to the top of the top of the box with the air valve open 100%, the thing bubbles over like crazy. Does it mean to leave the air valve closed 100%? If I close the gate valve until the water line is at the top of the box, with the air valve closed, and then slowly open the air valve, I seems to foam up fairly nicely and I can set it at about half way up the riser with what appears to be fairly small bubbles.

2. I have the output drain from the gate valve going horizontal about 10", then a 90 elbow down, then about 6" tube down, then a T at the end; the final output is under the water in the sump. The instructions state to drill a siphon hole in the 90 elbow down. Is this necessary and beneficial? As a note, the drain line from the output drains into the chamber in my sump that is before the chamber with the Mag 5 (ie. that chamber drains in to the return pump / Mag 5 chamber.

Sorry for the remedial questions.

[Rook]

Here are a couple of pics. His is roughly two days of skimmate, skimmer has been running about five days total. Note the large bubbles. I set the water level to the top of the box or a bit under and turned the air down a bit to get drier skimmate. Any suggestions?



http://184.72.239.143/mu/4cce2e4d-7fa2-5539.jpg

http://184.72.239.143/mu/4cce2e4d-7fb2-fd8d.jpg

[Shard]

I have a question for anyone running an EV-180 with a 1" injector and a Mag 9.5.

Do you use a gate valve on the pump? My Mag 9.5 just came in and the 1" injector is on the way. I am upgrading from a Mag 7. I am not sure yet if I need to install a gate valve on the pump to restrict the flow. Does anyone find this necessary?

Landon

[Tnwalker]

Shard I'm running the same setup and I didn't put a gate valve on the pump, but I've read on this thread that some do.

[03sonicstang]

Running the standard injector on my 180EV with a 9.5 MAG; had a gate valve but removed it and just adjust the level with my Air valve. Pulls some nasty stuff everyday!!!

[newyorkstyles]

Here is my most recent build process which is being documented on YouTube and will be build with a custom sump and AquaC EV240 with Mag 18 and 1" injector. Once the new custom sump arrives, i will post more videos. Love these skimmers. Awesome to say the least.

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/45FMM72-SRM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/45FMM72-SRM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rO94NPETuiQ?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rO94NPETuiQ?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OKuIwKQzwj0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OKuIwKQzwj0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

[eweinig]

Running an AquaC-1000 here. Seems like I have a lot of catching up to do before I ask some questions....

EW

[ExFOWLR]

Has anyone ever tried modding a EV skimmer with a pin/meshwheel pump?

[Mad.Reefer]

Just picked up an AquaC EV 180. Looking for deal on a Mag 9.5 but was wondering if a mag 12 is overkill?

Also, I'd like to run the skimmer output through a chiller. Any problems with that?

[Mad.Reefer]

OK, so i read the whole thread. even the archive. In case someone else looks at my post and wonders. I ordered a mag 9. and it looks like the running a chiller off the output is probably a bad idea. the back pressure will drive the water level down in the skimmer further than the mag 9 can compensate for wide open. but i'll try it out anyway and let you know

[jim.l]

I have a question for anyone running an EV-180 with a 1" injector and a Mag 9.5.

Do you use a gate valve on the pump? My Mag 9.5 just came in and the 1" injector is on the way. I am upgrading from a Mag 7. I am not sure yet if I need to install a gate valve on the pump to restrict the flow. Does anyone find this necessary?

Landon
I ran it with an eheim 1262.... almost the same output. I removed the output gate valve from the skimmer and ran no valve off the pump. Adjusted with the air valve only. Worked great. Keep the air valve clean!

[cas1069]

ok i'm looking at some of the new pumps out like the sicce pumps, has anyone tryed one yet? thinking about it on a ev-240 any ideas

[BrooklynSteelo]

I have an AquaC EV180 w/ MAG 9 and purchased the Tunze speed control pump. Im testing the mag 9 with 2ft 3/4" unrestricted black tubing. This is making wonderful foam in the cylinder and I feel confident that that skim will be the texture I'm looking for, which is dry skim instead of wet. Been running this way for an hour or so.
I'll play with it more and keep posting any info.
BTW, the tubing I had was shorter, it was 18" long, imo very difficult to tune.
Tank you

[Clownin Aroun]

I have a very well stocked 120 gallon tank and i would love to run the ev 240 however i only have a height of 25 inches to work with. Is the 180 not enough for this tank? even if i do the 1 inch injector mod and use a mag 9i think it will still not be enough right???

[markster33139]

I think it will be just fine with the mag 9.5/injector upgrade. I am using the same on my 150g no issues almost a year now.

[Clownin Aroun]

I am currently using a coral life 125 skimmer so anything would be an upgrade almost but if i am going to spend the money i would like to do it once and keep it for a long time.

[mypepper]

Just picked up an AquaC EV 180. Looking for deal on a Mag 9.5 but was wondering if a mag 12 is overkill?

Also, I'd like to run the skimmer output through a chiller. Any problems with that?

A Mag 12 is overkill. If you ran a Mag 12 would would have to adjust your flow rate, plus your spending more money then you should.

I run my EV-180 on a Mag 9.5 with a 1" injector valve, works just great.

Randy

[Clownin Aroun]

A Mag 12 is overkill. If you ran a Mag 12 would would have to adjust your flow rate, plus your spending more money then you should.

I run my EV-180 on a Mag 9.5 with a 1" injector valve, works just great.

Randy

How long of a hose are you running from the mag 9.5 to the aquac?

[muttley000]

Just wanted to get subscribed so I could watch this thread, EV120 owner with a mag 5 here, working great for the year I have had it.

[shackman]

I run mine with 4ft of black hose

[krkqm2008]

I have a 55 gallon tank, with a 15 gallon sump, was running a rio 2500 for almost 1 year with 4 foot 3/4 inch tubing to my aqua c ev 180, which is out side my sump, just recently upgraded to mag 9.5, waiting on the 1 inch injector which I ordered today, took off the gate valve completely and put in a 1inch by 1-1/4 plastic PVC thing, made a T and drilled a quarter inch hole on top, so no gurgling sound and it's running smooth for now. My question is do I open the air valve immediately and set the water line where the black box meets the cylinder or open it very very slightly every few hours? I see the bubbles in the white cylinder about 2 inches high, but don't see the water level line yet,that's the line which I have read on here that has to be where the black box meets the cylinder. Suggestions please, will post pics if someone can get a better idea of what I am talking about.

[krkqm2008]

so i read the entire 80 plus pages of the aqua c forum.
this is what i did, my aqua c ev 180 is outside of the sump on a stand, just switched over to a mag 9.5, its connected to the skimmer with a 3/4 inch hose, which is 4 feet in length, ordered the 1 inch injector a few days ago, should be getting it soon, took off the red gate valve completely, used a 1 inch thread with a 1 and quarter inch slip pvc, about 5 inches in length, then connected a T also 1 quarter inch, put a pvc on top with a cap with a 1/4 inch drilled hole in it, to let air in and out, the bottom of the T is submerged in the sump about 6 inches, so no gurgling or back siphon, cause i made the 1/4 inch on top of the T. turned on the pump, had the air valve completely closed, the water settled right where the black box meets the riser tube, remember i took the gate valve completely off, slowly opened the air valve, and i mean very very slowly, until i saw some bubbles appear, left it like that for an hour or so, did the same thing again, slowly very slowly opened the air valve a bit again, waited another hour. and so on and so forth, i got it dialed in at a point where it was skimming very good, and foam was being collected in the cup, i got this in about a 24 hour period, of very slowly opening the air valve, fed the tank this morning, only pellet food, sorry if that is spelled wrong, the foam collapsed, which is a given, waited 3 hours and nothing was happening, i looked at the foam and it looked like rapid boiling water, big bubbles and nothing more, waited another 2 hours, nothing happened, same big bubbles, turned the air valve off again and repeated the whole slowly opening the air valve thing again, got it back to where i had it before i fed my tank, my question is do i have to this every time i fedd? i have read on here where people say once you set it, you are good to go, but it didn't happen for me, i had to reset it again, since i wasn't getting the same bubbles, what am i doing wrong? should i set it to where i like it, and leave it there for a 2 or so days, with out feeding the fish and not touching the tank at all. i really don't wanna feed the tank, and reset the whole skimmer again and again, that be a pain. if you guys like i can attach pics, on how it is working before and after feeding, and o yea, the skim i was collecting is dark green and nasty. looking forward to your suggestions, thanks everyone.

[krkqm2008]

O by the way my injector and air valve are very clean.

[jtma508]

You shouldn't need to reset it. If there are DOCs in the water the skimmer will skim. I pause my skimmer when I feed for about 30min. But if you're pateint the skim will return once the water chemistry stbilizes.

[fatoldsun]

Running a 1" upgrade off a 3/4" Mag
I just borrowed a 180 EV from a friend - his upgrade out grew the skimmer. I picked up a 9.5 and ordered the 1" injector. What have people done to go from the Mag 9.5 which is 3/4" to the 1" upgrade? I got a 3/4" female to barb adapter and the a 3/4" to 1" barb coupler with a small piece of 3/4" hose connecting. Just seems that there are unnecessary extra restrictions. Anyone have luck with modding or finding something off the shelf? Thanks!

[cas1069]

Running a 1" upgrade off a 3/4" Mag
I just borrowed a 180 EV from a friend - his upgrade out grew the skimmer. I picked up a 9.5 and ordered the 1" injector. What have people done to go from the Mag 9.5 which is 3/4" to the 1" upgrade? I got a 3/4" female to barb adapter and the a 3/4" to 1" barb coupler with a small piece of 3/4" hose connecting. Just seems that there are unnecessary extra restrictions. Anyone have luck with modding or finding something off the shelf? Thanks!

pvc 3/4 thred female to 1 male slip works i might be off on the thred size but thats what i did for one of my mag pumps

[fatoldsun]

pvc 3/4 thred female to 1 male slip works i might be off on the thred size but thats what i did for one of my mag pumps

not sure I follow - did you just use a 3/4 female thread coupler and a 3/4x1 coupler and then glue in a small piece of 1" pipe to run the hose to? why do I feel like I'm over complicating this?

[cas1069]

not sure I follow - did you just use a 3/4 female thread coupler and a 3/4x1 coupler and then glue in a small piece of 1" pipe to run the hose to? why do I feel like I'm over complicating this?

i got a threded female that i connected to the pump that had a 1" slip on the other end from that you can add pipe if you want or a hose fitting or just heat the hose and slip it over the fitting and add clamp. you may want to take your pump to a plumbing/hardware store and find what your looking for

[Marcel33]

Hi there,

I've got some questions about the maintenance side of these skimmers:

Can the EV-skimmer be taken apart for cleaning?
Are there already 'self cleaning heads' available for the EV-skimmers?

Kind Regards.
marcel

[Tat2demon]

Hi there,

I've got some questions about the maintenance side of these skimmers:

Can the EV-skimmer be taken apart for cleaning?
Are there already 'self cleaning heads' available for the EV-skimmers?

Kind Regards.
marcel

They cant really be taken apart but the tube is easily cleanable with a brush. I use a bottle brush. For the inside of the chamber you could turn it upside down and spray it out with a hose if you have anything collecting in the bottom.

The Avast Swabbie comes is many sizes. You just need to measure the neck diameter and get the corresponding swabbie. You can call Avast to make sure its the correct one.

[Tat2demon]

I just joined the club this week. I picked up a used EV 400 and Blueline 55 for my 240.

This thing is a skimming beast. It had no break in time and had a full tower of thick foam about 20 minutes after the first start up.

The only thing I didnt like about it was the noise of the water mixing and how loud the air intake was. I built a silencer for it right away so the intake is taken care of.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/Tat2demon/20120308_214300.jpg

This is about 10 minutes after the first start up-

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/Tat2demon/20120311_035658.jpg

I just fed the tank and killed the foam so pay no attention to that. Silencer -

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/Tat2demon/20120313_170824.jpg

[GeorgeMonnatJr]

I've got a 125 gal w/ 33 gal sump that's a few months old with a relatively light bioload, and I added an EV-180 with a Mag 9.5 three days ago. I didn't think I needed it yet, but I wanted to prepare for getting coral in a 3-4 more months. Either I've got the worst nutrient load for a reef tank, or the EV-180 is awesome. I didn't need to do much tweaking other than adding a ball valve to the 9.5, and it's been skimming like crazy.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb16/GeorgeMon/Pets/AquaC_EV180_49hours_25MAR2012.jpg

My temporary collection "bucket" is 5L, so that's a lot more skimmate than I expected in the first 49 hours of setting up and running the skimmer! Man my tank must have been nasty (although water parameters are good, no algae problems and no deaths, including turbo snails, ornamental shrimp and BTA).

[jjcancel]

Hello I joined the AquaC club but no good results so far!!!

I have the EV-120 with a mag 7 pump outside my sump. Air valve is fully open also the water valve fully open it seems the water level in the EV is where is suppose to be. Everything looks like it should. I have spoke with Steve @ AquaC and he is been great he has always answer my emails and phone. But he is as puzzle as I am is been a little over 2 weeks and i get no foam forming at all on the foam tower. Any help will be appreciated here is a like of the video of what is currently doing. BTW I have check and cleaned the injector, air valve and the ozone valve is sealed. I got this skimmer used and when I got it, it was very clean. I installed and after 2 days its skimmed i guess pretty well for3 days then its stopped and has never skimmed again.


<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2hL1KQmhYWs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


http://youtu.be/2hL1KQmhYWs

My tanks is a 120g tall over 150lbs of live rock some corals and
2 yellow tang (med)
1 sailfin tang (large)
3 clown fish
1 cardinal
1 fox face (med)
3 anemones

On my sump I have:
phosphate reactor
carbon reactor


my water parameters are
Temp 79
NO3:10
NO2: 0
PH 8.3
Ca:480
Phosphates 0.5

[RotaryGeek]

Anybody using a mag12 on an EV-180?

[cherubfish pair]

Can you see into the black box on the EV skimmers?

[GeorgeMonnatJr]

Can you see into the black box on the EV skimmers?

Sort of, with a flashlight.

[GeorgeMonnatJr]

Hello I joined the AquaC club but no good results so far!!!

I have the EV-120 with a mag 7 pump outside my sump. Air valve is fully open also the water valve fully open it seems the water level in the EV is where is suppose to be. Everything looks like it should. I have spoke with Steve @ AquaC and he is been great he has always answer my emails and phone. But he is as puzzle as I am is been a little over 2 weeks and i get no foam forming at all on the foam tower. Any help will be appreciated here is a like of the video of what is currently doing. BTW I have check and cleaned the injector, air valve and the ozone valve is sealed. I got this skimmer used and when I got it, it was very clean. I installed and after 2 days its skimmed i guess pretty well for3 days then its stopped and has never skimmed again.

Do you have a hose on the outlet port? It's the black, right-angle barb for a 5/8" ID hose off the collection cup. My EV-180 wasn't working as well, then I found this in the manual (highlights are mine):

Collection Cup Drain

The collection cup drain is a convenience feature that some people choose to use, while others do not. All of the air that flows through the skimmer must exit through the collection cup drain! If the drain fitting is subjected to any backpressure, the skimmer will not work. Therefore, it is important that you do not plug this fitting, even if you choose not to hook the skimmer up to a waste vessel. The drain fitting accepts 5/8” ID flexible hose, and it is important to keep the drain line clean and free of any obstructions. Do not submerge the end of the drain line in skimmer gunk, as this added backpressure will prevent the skimmer from working normally.

My drain hose was submerged in my collection bucket causing back pressure and keeping the skimmer from working properly. Once I cut the hose shorter, it started working again.

Once you fix it, please let us know what you found.

[cherubfish pair]

Although I've never owned an EV skimmer, on all my skimmers I make a point to clean build-up in the reaction chamber and most importantly in the collection cup neck. It makes a heck of a difference and I try to do it every other day.

[s4chico]

jjcancel.....any update on your skimmer issues? :strange:

[GeorgeMonnatJr]

I apologize for the long-winded post, but it's how I process and share things. I hope it helps at least one person in the future. If you don't want to or can't read through it, just go to the results for the last case ;)

I got an EV-180 with a Mag 9.5 a couple of weeks ago. I installed it in my sump with a ball valve on the outlet of the pump, and after three days it was working awesomely (see my post above (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20059628&postcount=1158)).

A couple of days after I posted that picture, I realized that I was a complete idiot - I had installed a brass ball valve, and my tank is mostly ornamental shrimp that could be killed by the copper leeching from the brass. So about a week ago I did four things:

1) replaced the "collector bucket" with a disposable, recycled gallon jug
2) cleaned out the collection cup real well (1st time)
3) replaced the brass ball valve with a PVC ball valve
4) installed a PVC 90deg elbow on the skimmer outlet gate valve (to direct the output water flow down instead of over my sump wall to reduce all of the micro-bubbles that were getting back into my DT).

For the last week the skimmer has not been working good at all. The PVC ball valve is much harder to tweak than the PVC, but it looked like it was at the same level in the column (water level at top of dark box or bottom of clear column).

Actions for 1) As I mentioned a couple of posts up (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20110860&postcount=1163), I discovered from the EV-180 user manual that back pressure caused by the collection hose being submerged was a bad thing. So three days ago I cut the hose into the bucket to make sure the end wasn't submerged and the hose was all downhill (no back pressure at all).

Results for 1) It made more bubbles but not enough to consistently get them up into the collection cup, so that didn't fix it.


Actions for 2) I could think of two possible issues from this:
2a) chemical - I thought maybe the tap water or my body oil or something else introduced into the collection cup when I cleaned it was inhibiting bubble formation and skimmer operation. I opened the pump ball valve and washed some really wet skimmate through to try and flush it, but other than that there was nothing I could think of doing but wait and see.
2b) mechanical - I thought maybe I had gunked up or nicked the gaskets for the collection cup (either end) and maybe air was escaping thus preventing the skimmer from forcing the bubbles up and into the collection hose. I tried re-tightening, holding it down, feeling for leaks, etc. but didn't find any. I didn't want to spray soap or anything on to check for leaks since it went right into my sump. I figured I could do plastic wrap as a final solution.

Results for 2)
2a) chemical - After running for a week it was about the same -> not working well.
2b) mechanical - Nothing I did improved it -> not working well.


Actions for 3) As I mentioned, the new PVC ball valve was much more difficult to tweak. Whereas the brass ball valve turned smoothly and evenly, the PVC valve took significant torque to break it to turn. I spent too much time trying to get it perfect. Basically I could get it level with the top of dark box/bottom of clear column like before or with 1/2" increments of "50/50 aerated water" up into the column. I tried different settings, including about 2.5" of "50/50 aerated water" up into the column.

Results for 3) Nothing really worked. When I went full bore with 2.5" of "50/50 aerated water" up into the column, it worked, but the skimmate was extremely wet pumping about 1/2 gallon of water into my collection bucket in 30 minutes. I didn't like that, so I dialed it back down. Basically I couldn't fix it, or get it to operate correctly, by adjusting the pump's ball valve.


Actions for 4) Just a little while ago I ran home from work for lunch. I removed the 90deg PVC elbow from the skimmer water output gate valve. The water level was even with the top of dark box/bottom of clear column before removal and dropped to about a 1/2" below the top of dark box/bottom of clear column when I removed the elbow, so I opened the pump ball valve and got it back even (original setting/level when it was working good).

Results for 4) Shazzam! It started pumping out the bubbles and a great, dry skimmate like before (in the picture above). All I had to do to get it working great again was remove the elbow on the outlet gate valve.

That seemed a little counter-intuitive to me. I would expect the elbow to create back-pressure on the water out flow, thus making the water level in the column higher. But removing it made the water level in the column lower - and more importantly made it start working again. I guess I'll live with the micro-bubbles being pumped into my sump.

[bikeboss11]

@ jjcancel

I had that same problem and it turned out that my spraybar was the problem even though it arreared to be in perfect condition.... To diagnose to problem I took the spraybar off another skimmer that was working perfectly and I swapped it into my skimmer and the thing worked like a horse almost immediately... I then send a picture for Steve and he agreed that it had to be the spray bar and mailed one out to me.... Good luck

[bigtslape]

look for a ev 240 to up grade from my ev 120 if ny 1 has 1 pm me please

[cherubfish pair]

Can someone show some pictures of an EV plumbed external; outside of a sump? What are your thoughts on this?

[EthanKyle]

Just subscribed to this thread but been a long time AquaC homer. I started out with an EV120 on my 65 and now have a 240 for a new 140 custom. Have always used it as an in sump application though.

[Miyagi570]

I'm looking for a acrylic risers stand for my ev180. Can anyone tell me where I can get one at?

[saltymix]

I have a aqua c 180 with a mag9 pump that's been running great for about six months now. The collection cup has developed stress like fractures all over it and I've never dropped it. It doesn't effect it yet but I was wondering what could cause this. I do run my calcium reactor into to burn off co2 maybe that has something to do with it?

[GeorgeMonnatJr]

I have a aqua c 180 with a mag9 pump that's been running great for about six months now. The collection cup has developed stress like fractures all over it and I've never dropped it. It doesn't effect it yet but I was wondering what could cause this. I do run my calcium reactor into to burn off co2 maybe that has something to do with it?

I also have an AquaC 180 w/ Mag9 that I've been running for about 9 months. It shows the same hairline fractures on the collection cup, and I don't have a calcium reactor (I bolus dose limewater).

[cherubfish pair]

Could it be air pressure from popping effluent bubbles?

[saltymix]

If it were air pressure than the skimmer wouldn't be able to function. I know that running ozone can mess up plastics but I'm not running it. Maybe this is a flaw in the castings process? I wonder how many people have this issue?

[coltreef]

Hello,

I am setting up a 120 reef and have a AquaC EV-120. I am looking for suggestions on what pump I should use MAG 5 that came with it or MAG 9.5?

Thanks
:idea:

[steve9]

Get a trition 5 deepblue.....runs under 100.00
Will only pull 40/50 watts and really works fantastic
with a aqua-c /or etss skimmer.
Only reason to run a mag for me is in the winter it
heats the water pretty good and i dont need a heater
but the trition is a beast.......way better then the mag.

[rvales]

I would like to retract anything negative I said about my AquaC EV-180. I made a new discovery that changed my prospective. The instructions included with the skimmer suggest that the “Initial water level should be a bit lower than the top of the box”.
Forget what the instructions say. The water level should be above the top of the box. I would say about half inch, so you can see the water just in the first chamber. This is done by using the output valve. The adjustment would have to be done slowly starting with the valve opened all the way. Then lower the air valve so that you get dry foam coming up the top to the collection cup. The air would have to be adjusted until the foam is thick. The next step is to mark the air valve, so that the next time the valve is closed to clean the cup the valve could be put back to the same spot.
Since I made those adjustments that I just suggested I get a thick dark green almost black skim. It works great. For those having difficulties with the AquaC EV-180 instead of changing out your pump try what I suggested first.

[steve9]

Adding a carbon air filter really helps them out.
If you need to raise the water level above the box
you are using a small pump which makes it tricky
to setup......great skimmer if setup right.

[rvales]

I agree Steve these are great skimmers. I empty and clean out my cup and waste container once a week. It is dark green and stinky skim.

[LorenzoDM]

How does everyone silence the water exiting their AquaC EV skimmer? I am running an EV240 with a Mag 18. The skimmer is in my sump and the sump water level is right at the bottom of the output pipe. This way the water doesn’t have far to fall coming out but it still makes more noise than any other part of my tank. I have tried having the water drain into a shower pouf, and this does help a little, but I’m worried that this could become a nitrate factory. What can I do?

[keithhays]

How does everyone silence the water exiting their AquaC EV skimmer? I am running an EV240 with a Mag 18. The skimmer is in my sump and the sump water level is right at the bottom of the output pipe. This way the water doesn’t have far to fall coming out but it still makes more noise than any other part of my tank. I have tried having the water drain into a shower pouf, and this does help a little, but I’m worried that this could become a nitrate factory. What can I do?

I am not sure you will be able to replicate this, but I have a 2" section of the perforated durso inlet filter I just stuck the bottom. You could accomplish the same thing with a Tee, with one side up and the other side beneath the water slightly.

[sabbath]

I have the output just slightly below the water level and it is fairly quiet.

[ethank77]

aqua c lovers like me if you are looking for one check out the used equip forum
there is an ev180 there

[Saltwater_Biker]

After getting the mag 7 with the ev180, I was disappointed. I got the mag 9 and kept the water lever at 1/2" above the black box. The results are great!! Love the skimmer.

[heatdissipation]

Yeah these skimmers are great for anyone who takes the time to set them up properly. I have the ev1000 and it skims like crazy.

[yangabanga]

Hey folks I just started up and cycled my 90 gal tank and got the cleanup crew working. Yesterday put in the first 2 fish so have started up the AquaC EV120. It's hooked up to a mag 7 sitting in my sump.

you guessed it. no foam. I've read this thread and so have tried having the water level about 3/4" above the box. and played with the air valve. no love. blowing into the valve produces nice bubbles so I think everything is clean and good (bought the AquaC used).

help!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8058&pictureid=54810

[03sonicstang]

What position is the outlet valve in?

[heatdissipation]

Are you using the John guest fitting. If not you need to plug it someway. A small piece of tubing sealed at the other end works good.


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[yangabanga]

Are you using the John guest fitting. If not you need to plug it someway. A small piece of tubing sealed at the other end works good.


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forgive my noobness but not sure where a john guest fitting would go?

it's a little blurry from the pic but the outlet valve opens right into the sump, nothing in between. are you saying to put something in between to partially restrict water flow? I thought that's what adjusting the knob did?

[yangabanga]

What position is the outlet valve in?

it's mostly open, about a half turn closed so the water is up about 3/4" inch.

[heatdissipation]

It's the little grey hole where a 1/4 inch airline tubing would fit in. I have the ev1000 and it has two of them. I run my bio pellet reactor into them, but to seal yours you just have to take a small airline tubing and seal off one end and stick it in the John guest fitting Best way to seal it is burning the end with a lighter and then squeezing it shut. Hope that makes sense. That hole will draw to much air into it without this and then it won't skim properly.


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[yangabanga]

It's the little grey hole where a 1/4 inch airline tubing would fit in. I have the ev1000 and it has two of them. I run my bio pellet reactor into them, but to seal yours you just have to take a small airline tubing and seal off one end and stick it in the John guest fitting Best way to seal it is burning the end with a lighter and then squeezing it shut. Hope that makes sense. That hole will draw to much air into it without this and then it won't skim properly.


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ok so you are saying put some tubing into air inlet #4 on this diagram? the manual says john guest but to me it looks just like a regular threaded hole. or else I'm just not seeing where you speaking of

http://www.proteinskimmer.com/User%27s%20Manuals/EV-120.pdf

[yangabanga]

ahh ok I found this picture. I do not have the JG fitting.

http://www.aquacave.com/GetImage.ashx?Path=%7e%2fAssets%2fProductImages%2fPS-AquaC-EV120+1.jpg&maintainAspectRatio=true&maxHeight=300&maxWidth=300

ok so you are saying put some tubing into air inlet #4 on this diagram? the manual says john guest but to me it looks just like a regular threaded hole. or else I'm just not seeing where you speaking of

http://www.proteinskimmer.com/User%27s%20Manuals/EV-120.pdf

[heatdissipation]

Hmmmm. Well the best thing to do is set your water level and air intake and let it run for a while. Maybe someone cleaned it with soap or some other cleaner. It should start skimming soon enough.


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[yangabanga]

been running for days and no luck. today borrowed some protein skimmed gunk from a friend to test out if the tank was too clean. nothing. really frustrating.

Hmmmm. Well the best thing to do is set your water level and air intake and let it run for a while. Maybe someone cleaned it with soap or some other cleaner. It should start skimming soon enough.


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[03sonicstang]

Is there anyway you can post a picture of your set up? Have you tried opening the gate valve completely? I've eliminated the gate valve and have a tee of the output with a hole drilled on the top. my 180 skims like crazy! LEt me know...

[Saltwater_Biker]

been running for days and no luck. today borrowed some protein skimmed gunk from a friend to test out if the tank was too clean. nothing. really frustrating.

I kind of did it backwards, try this:

1) adjust gate valve open all the way with air valve close. Get the level of water level with top of black box where it meet cylinder

2) open air valve all the way till the bubbles barely meet the bottom of collection cup. Make sure cup drain drains back into the sump. Give it a few days until the foam collection and overflows back to sump.

3) Trim back air valve very little increments until it stops overflowing. Leave it alone and adjust the next day.

Mine took a few weeks to break in. They are very sensitive to oils, maybe he used something to clean skimmer.
Be patient, you will love the skimmer when it starts to work.

Also is you mag 7 connected straight to the pump with no valve restricted it? it should not be one.

[yangabanga]

thanks for tips all. I actually put a valve on the input from the mag 7 to lower the flow a bit and that did the trick. otherwise there was no way I could get the water below .5" above the black box. now the water level is just a little below and it's foaming now. saltwater_biker will definitely use your methodology to dial it in from here.

[Saltwater_Biker]

just be patient, i was getting frustrated also. Let us know how it is doing.

[Tmartwo]

I have cv180 with a mag 9.5.. 3 feet of 3/4" tubing off the mag...gate valve removed...2" of 1" PVC with a T at the end where the gate valve was...a modified filter sock hanging on the T to help with bubbles and noise..air valve wide open....I never touch anything...it loses foam for the usual reasons..hand in sump...greasy cooking..feeding time but always bounces back...I'm getting Max air and max flow doing it this way..my skim is perfect...make sure you have the pipe for the outflow of water above the sumps waterline and the skimmer cup drain tube unobstructed in your vessel with plenty of breathing room for air flow...a lot of air comes out of that tube so make sure it can breathe. I started with 4' of tubing but the skim was to dry so I came down 2" at a time till I was happy..I only do the weekly cup and neck cleaning and bi weekly air valve cleaning...other than that I don't touch anything. I chose not to put a gate valve on my pump line cause I don't want to stress the pump by dialing it back. If I plug the air valve my water line is right at the top of the black box..when I open it up all the way the water line comes up a little but when the skimmer starts skimming the bubbles get real tiny any the waterline goes back down even with the black box. It took me a few days of disconnecting the pump tubing and shortening it but now that I have the proper length its tinkering free...good luck

[yangabanga]

This morning I woke up to water all over the floor. The pvc tube leading to the ball valve I was using to control input flow had popped out!

So I'm going to try going straight from the mag7 into the skimmer and see how that works. No foam / totally clear now thanks to the unintended water change...

[Tmartwo]

Make sure you use zip ties on all your joints...big ones and tighten them real good

[dlondono]

Question for anyone with a EV400

I purchased a EV400 without doing complete research, I read it was good, rated high and the tank is going to be a 200 gallon so the skimmer was adequate.

Now I find articles that the internal spray bar clogs easily and one has to clean it and other sorts of negative stuff.

Anyone using the EV400 that can help me out with a question or two?

[dlondono]

Hello? is this not the Aquac thread?

[Tmartwo]

Hey Diego...this thread dried up. I don't personally have that skimmer so I cant help you. You'll have to try a different forum or site even. Good luck.

[rhinonm]

I thought the only aqua c's left were in museums...

[cas1069]

Question for anyone with a EV400

I purchased a EV400 without doing complete research, I read it was good, rated high and the tank is going to be a 200 gallon so the skimmer was adequate.

Now I find articles that the internal spray bar clogs easily and one has to clean it and other sorts of negative stuff.

Anyone using the EV400 that can help me out with a question or two?

i have not had that problem but anyting and everything needs cleaning form time to time

[alton]

I don't have an evo, but my urchin pro is 10 years old and the spray bar has never got clogged

[saltynash76]

Ev120 owner for 2yrs never got good results unit I read this thread. Subscribed even if it is dead.

[heatdissipation]

I get great results from my ev1000. I can't really compare it to anything, but mine pulls out gallons of dark nasty skimmate Sometimes I get the bug to try a different kind if skimmer but have never actually made the decision to actually do it. These are great skimmers. Mostly for larger tanks, people who try to put these on a small tank never get good results.

[zachts]

After much fiddling around I finally broke down and bought a new 1260 pump for my EV120 and now it acutally works like it's supposed to.......

now I just have to wonder why on earth do they sell them with anything else, or recommend smaller pumps (the mag 5 was a waste of money on this skimmer). 3 years and I never got as good of results as I had with the old turboflotor hang on skimmer that it replaced.

I don't even have the 1260 throttled back at all, just a needle valve on the air intake. wondering if an even bigger pump might have been in order as there are very few skimmers I can fit in my sump due to short stand height, so I'm kind of stuck with it. But it works now :)

[zachts]

After much fiddling around I finally broke down and bought a new 1260 pump for my EV120 and now it acutally works like it's supposed to.......

now I just have to wonder why on earth do they sell them with anything else, or recommend smaller pumps (the mag 5 was a waste of money on this skimmer). 3 years and I never got as good of results as I had with the old turboflotor hang on skimmer that it replaced.

I don't even have the 1260 throttled back at all, just a needle valve on the air intake. wondering if an even bigger pump might have been in order as there are very few skimmers I can fit in my sump due to short stand height, so I'm kind of stuck with it. But it works now :)

[yangabanga]

I have a mag7 on my ev120. Does a good but not spectacular job. Get about halfway to the collector output valve each week but then again I don't have huge bioload in my 90 and do regular water chgs

I toy with the idea of another pump but doesn't seem worth the cash.

[Hal]

i have not had that problem but anyting and everything needs cleaning form time to time
The aqua c's create their bubbles by constricting the flow path to create high velocity streams. Those choke points can clog if your feed pump sends a small shell, rock, or critter through and it hits the constriction. It's not a big deal. It doesn't happen all that often and cleaning the nozzle is very easy. Just remove the feed hose and unscrew the nozzle. Tap it gently or back flush it in your sink. As said above, everything needs cleaning every now and then. You'll notice the clog by seeing fewer bubbles in your skimmer.

[yangabanga]

Spoke too soon. I added fish but skimmer has been putting out nothing for weeks.... maybe needs cleaning in the injector?

[Quick_Ben]

Unscrew the intake injector and clean that out. I found cerith snails in there each time my flow decreased in the collection tube. Check the air intake valve too. Any foam filters on the pump intake? Once I cleaned everything out the flow went back to normal quickly, assuming the water level is where it should be inside the dark box. These skimmers are simple to fix once you decide there's a problem. That's the issue for me - noticing that the water isn't moving around like it should in the bottom of the clear tube. Good luck!

[yangabanga]

No dice. I've heard I should change out my pump for something that bubbles on its own. Any ideas? Really frustrating!

[zachts]

Ehiem 1260 was the ticket for me. I've got it now dialed in to produce a 1/4 inch of coffee looking skimate in the bottom of my gallon jug each week, but can have it cranked up to skim off a gallon a week of thin yellow looking water if I wanted, or anywhere in between. I'ts simply a vastly superior pump for pressurized use which subsequently justifies the higher price tag, but it's worth it for me as I couldn't fit many other skimmers in my sump.

[yangabanga]

ok so actually I use a 1260 for my sump return and a mag 7 for the skimmer. this w/e I'll swap em and see if I can make the skimmer hum. also did I read right that you have an intake into the eheim somewhere? right now I have nothing going into the ev120 other than the water intake.

[zachts]

I replaced the stock ball valve on the air intake with a plastic needle valve from US Plastics to get finer control over the air when running the pump full throttle and added a silencer to the intake for noise.

The pump has a union ball valve on the output for adjustments/maintenance.

Only unusually thing I may have mentioned somewhere is I have the pump running external and used a siphon tube on the intake as I couldn't drill my sump so it probably has slightly reduced performance than if it had unrestricted flow directly from a sump but I can't tell the difference, it's just a PITA to prime after cleaning.

Just be patient and follow the recommendations for dialing in the skimmer, it takes a few hours between adjustments so don't expect to get it perfectly dialed in, in one weekend, but I had an immediately noticeable improvement as now when I feed or put my hand in the tank it no longer stops foaming completely like with the old Mag 5 pump!

I don't have the pump running full throttle any longer BTW, dialed back about to 75% if I had to guess. But I think I will turn it up a little next time I clean as it seems to stay cleaner when producing wetter foam.

[yangabanga]

So I hoped up my eheim 1260 and still didn't see any froth or foam. Just moved the water higher than my mag7 but clear clear clear! couple of people have looked at it and they all say that the issue seems to be no air coming in but I know that for these supposedly no air intake is needed between pump and skimmer unlike other models. But I'm at my wits end here!!

[zachts]

So I hoped up my eheim 1260 and still didn't see any froth or foam. Just moved the water higher than my mag7 but clear clear clear! couple of people have looked at it and they all say that the issue seems to be no air coming in but I know that for these supposedly no air intake is needed between pump and skimmer unlike other models. But I'm at my wits end here!!

Check that your air intake valve is not clogged with calcium build up. I have to clean that part rather often in a vinegar bath. Also is the gate valve exiting the skimmer fully open? You should have a ton of bubbles even if no foam is being produced. If not the injector is not getting air. Just unscrew the air valve and if it starts bubbling that was your problem. Also could be that the skimmer sits to low in the water but mine has the bottom of the gate only 1" or less above water level. Also if the outlet elbow on the cup is clogged or not open to air on the end of the drain hose that can stop foam production all together.

[Yodeling]

Hey folks, just got a used ev180 (came with a complete setup). It just bubbles at the bottom of the clear tube, but no skimmate is going up. it's been like that for about 10 hours now.

I cleaned it up good and applied new teflon tape to all connections. It's elevated so the outlet is about an inch above sump water level. I'm using a Quiet One 3000 (about 800gph). I also have a mag 9.5 but thought it might be too strong.

Any advice on how to make this skimmer work? I'm not seeing any action.

[Quick_Ben]

It'll take a few days for the thing to settle down and start working depending on bio-load. They're really picky on the height in the sump. I have mine on a plastic stand that gets the water to the top of the inner box. As long as you have turbulent flow in the box it'll skim. They tend to like strong flow and a clean injector to be happy. I have had no issues other than the clogged injector which is pretty easy to spot because the top of the bubbles can't be seen when it's clogged. These are love em or hate em, once set up and kept clean they just work. They also answer their phone if you call with a question as I did in the beginning.

[Yodeling]

Ben, thanks for the reply. Mine is also sitting on top of a tupperware tub. I was wondering if the break-in still applied even though I bought it used, but it makes sense since I cleaned it. The injector is definitely clean of debris. I'm seeing lots of bubbles maybe an inch up the tube, just no foam yet. I'm used to needle-wheels now, but now I'm recalling my first skimmer long time ago which was a Remora Pro and it took a while to break in as well (also bought it used). I'll wait and see as you suggested.

[Quick_Ben]

Sounds like you have it under control. I think it's easier if you leave it alone and let it do its thing. The only variables are height, flow and air volume. As the unit gets increasingly grungy it seems to slow down production but a good wipe and wash of the cup restores it back to normal. There's really very little to tinker with. When I called AquaC they felt the air valve should be wide open and the height in the chamber adjusted with the output gate valve. I did it and haven't touched it since. I clean it once a week and check the bubbles at that time. If they look low, I shut down and check the injector for debris or snails. That's about it. I know it's a strange design but the lack of a skimmer pump makes it less prone to disaster, imo. Pulls the gunk so I can't complain. I'm no expert but it seems to just work, pretty boring otherwise.

[Yodeling]

You were right. This morning the skimmer was producing massive amounts of skimmate. I couldn't believe how much it pulled in a few hours of actually skimming!!! The only downside is that stopped again for hours after I fed the fish.

[FastUno]

Are people still actually running these older AquaC skimmer (EV120/EV180/EV240)? I did see SteeloNY's tank on youtube & his water is crystal clear with the 180.

Has anyone moved on to another skimmer, if so which one & what are your thoughts on the comparison.

I am torn between the EV180 & the SWC Xtreme 160. The added electricity & heat of running a bigger pump has me somewhat concerned.

[desjardinii]

Yes, I went from an EV180/Eheim 1262 to a RLSS R8i and there was a huge difference in skimmate production. The AquaC spent half it's time recovering from feeding or hands in the tank etc., also used twice the power and was noisier.

[FastUno]

Nice one! I just saw your video on youtube.

Are those bubbles in your skimmer or did you pour milk in there....haha.

[Yodeling]

My experience is completely opposite. I've used a few needle wheel skimmers (still using one on one of my tanks), and while they have good performance, the AquaC is in another league. Also, I now believe that this notion that EV series is unstable and recovering half the time is perhaps misplaced. All skimmers do need to recover from oils being introduced (no exceptions!), but in the AquaC skimmers you can tell very easilly whether it's producting foam because "foam chamber" is so tall, while with most needle wheels, the water comes up much higher and you can't tell whether it's recovering or skimming. Once you get a hang of the AquaC, it's very predictable. Mine fills consistently to the drain and another inch in collection cup every day. With some of the needle wheels, sometimes they would skim well, sometimes not, sometimes overflow, etc. I found them much more finicky. Also, keep in mind the reason people still use these "old" EV skimmers is because they are good. As for power consumption, if that is a huge deal than AquaC is not for you. I run mine on QuietOne 3000 (55 watt), while most needle wheels are around 20-30. Noise depends on the pump you run, but needle-wheels can also be noisy because of their mixing action. Just my experiences.

[cas1069]

with all the new DC pumps out on the market we now can get bigger flow pumps that are using less watts to run the aqua c's just need to find one with gph and the head to match the pumps for the size of aqua c

[zachts]

with all the new DC pumps out on the market we now can get bigger flow pumps that are using less watts to run the aqua c's just need to find one with gph and the head to match the pumps for the size of aqua c

That right there is the tricky part. almost everyone swears by the ehiem pumps for their AquaC. After switching to one I really regret the years where I struggled along with a Mag pump, their is no comparison for performance between the eheim and mag pumps, even though the mag pump supposedly has higher gph, it does not produce as high of pressure which is what this skimmer series needs.

So if your going to try a DC pump get one that is oversized in both flow and pressure and dial it back if needed.

[cas1069]

That right there is the tricky part. almost everyone swears by the ehiem pumps for their AquaC. After switching to one I really regret the years where I struggled along with a Mag pump, their is no comparison for performance between the eheim and mag pumps, even though the mag pump supposedly has higher gph, it does not produce as high of pressure which is what this skimmer series needs.

So if your going to try a DC pump get one that is oversized in both flow and pressure and dial it back if needed.

that's the idea ;)

[zachts]

Pressure is the most important on these skimmers as the Mag 7 supposedly out performes the Ehiem I'm using in flow but not in reality...... The Ehiem kicks butt on the acutal delivered pressure and flow rate for this skimmer, even dialed back 2/3 of the way on my EV120.

I still can't fathom why these are even offered for sale with the MAG pumps, what a waste of money, spend the extra $50 and get the Ehiem. Great skimmer, best I've every used for it's size.

[lockus]

What is the smallest tank that you would put a 240 on. Have one lying around from my days when I had a 180 sps setup....

[cas1069]

What is the smallest tank that you would put a 240 on. Have one lying around from my days when I had a 180 sps setup....

it would come down to sump size, if you have a sump that will fit that bad boy than the DT size doesnt really matter it will just be a very clean tank if its on the small size and you may not pull much skim out. that being said i would't go smaller than a 90 or 75

[cas1069]

271803

the new DC pump is working great, just neding a little fine adjustements and to clean it again

[gcarroll]

Glad to see people are still having great success with AquaC's EV line. I have strongly considered returning to AquaC for my new tank build. After owning several Needlewheel skimmers, Nothing has ever performed as well as my AquaC EV's!

[cas1069]

they are old but still the best for pulling out alot of crap

[zachts]

The biggest and really only problem is the patience to dial them in and knowing that you need to pick the right pump that probably will need dialed back for optimum performance. I haven't even bothered cleaning mine in the last couple months and I'm still getting a nice thick sludge collecting in my gallon jug container. It was just a mater of dialing it in right, though regular maintenance is still good, I'm just lazy and like that now I don't have to clean it several times a week to keep it working......;

[cas1069]

i just need to clean out the top of the bubble tower from when i was setting that
"sweetspot"

[Bolo101673]

Help-
My 240 has been up for 6 months and pulls a lot of skim but very little makes it to the cup most builds up in neck and stays there.... Any suggestions?

[zachts]

Adjust the skimmer to produce a wetter skim.

[Minkota]

Pressure is the most important on these skimmers as the Mag 7 supposedly out performes the Ehiem I'm using in flow but not in reality...... The Ehiem kicks butt on the acutal delivered pressure and flow rate for this skimmer, even dialed back 2/3 of the way on my EV120.

I still can't fathom why these are even offered for sale with the MAG pumps, what a waste of money, spend the extra $50 and get the Ehiem. Great skimmer, best I've every used for it's size.

I have the EV120, and running it with MAG 7, it seems to do ok, but it is undersized for my 150G tank with 40G Breeder sump. I had to use the 120 do to space limitations. what Ehiem pump would you recommend?

[zachts]

I have the EV120, and running it with MAG 7, it seems to do ok, but it is undersized for my 150G tank with 40G Breeder sump. I had to use the 120 do to space limitations. what Ehiem pump would you recommend?

The 1260 is what I'm using. never used the mag 7 on it but supposedly the 1260 works better. I have to keep it dialed back a bit on my tank, but I have only about 70 gallons or so and a pretty light bio load fish wise, wall to wall coral though. supposedly the 1260 is the preffered best pump for the EV120. I bought mine with a mag 5 and wish I would have just sprung for the ehiem 1260 from the get go. but on your tank it still may be under sized, but depends on bioload and if you use algea etc. to help remove nutrients.

[Dave & Monica]

Just to let everyone know, I recently bought an AquaMaxx ConeS - CO3, and to be honest, it skims the same amount as my AquaC EV180. Don't fall for the hype that new = better. If you're considering picking up one of these skimmers, you can get them at a steal since they are viewed often as 'old'. I'm not wanting to start a debate, but just to learn from me, that these are still REALLY good skimmers.

[Dave & Monica]

So I ended up picking up a cheap Eheim 1262 and hooked it up to my ev180. Holy crap is it quiet, same as my ConeS co3. After running both for a few weeks now, they complement eachother... I think I'll leave both in service.

[AdamNC]

I used the same model AquaC Remora HOB 8-9 years ago with great success and just recently bought another one for my new tank. Whats that old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". The stuff these skimmers pull out is just nasty.