MTC MVX Skimmer review

crny1 · Dec 26, 2018

I considered putting a external rec needle wheel pump in the bottom of it to produce more bubbles but thats just another pump running. Would this idea even work?
Or if I was to remove the air chamber and put a venturi on it which one would suit the pump that I already have the best?

Aquius · Jan 2, 2019

Looky what came in

MTC HSA-3000. Less than $450 and in used, but top notch condition.

It came in a few weeks ago and I just now got around to cleaning it up. The vertical tubes were spotless, but the bottom reservoir was pretty dirty. I wanted to clean it up a bit before I posted.

Like I said, I think I have more than enough capacity

I will be running a Jebao DCP-8000. You think that will be enough?

Saveafish · Jan 2, 2019

Harder you push it the better it does. I'd run a jebao 18000 on it. You can always idle it back.

Aquius · Jan 2, 2019

Good point... I have not yet bought the pump, so thanks for the tip. Once I get it running, I will post an update.

BTW, cleaning the reservoir was a pain!!! It was not hard to disassemble, but rather the corners inside the "box" were not deburred very much and I sliced the hell out of my hand. Looks like I ran it over a cheese-grater.

Saveafish · Jan 2, 2019

That's the draw back. Cleaning it.

ca1ore · Jan 2, 2019

Excellent skimmer. Never used the 3000 but ran (and have) a 1000 for many years. The Beckett injectors are amazing foam producers but they need flow and pressure to be at their best. Experiment with a Jebao, but it’s not really designed to handle pressure well so you many find it underwhelming. I used a PanWorld 150 on mine, and the 200 would probably be better still. Either way, will be interested to see what you find with the Jebao.

I wonder why the prior owner put a ball valve on one of the down pipes?

Aquius · Jan 2, 2019

I am totally not going to deny that an external AC pump can handle head much better, but wasn't there a guy who ran a Jebao on an MVX skimmer with good results? I will have to look for the thread...

About the ball valve...

The best I can come up with is that he might have been thinking about a double block valve setup so he could clean the injectors without shutting down the skimmer. Got halfway through and gave up...

smoothmove · Jan 3, 2019

Aquius: I gotta see that thing running. I'm having protein skimmer envy now.

jason2459 · Jan 6, 2019

Aquius said:
I am totally not going to deny that an external AC pump can handle head much better, but wasn't there a guy who ran a Jebao on an MVX skimmer with good results? I will have to look for the thread...

About the ball valve... The best I can come up with is that he might have been thinking about a double block valve setup so he could clean the injectors without shutting down the skimmer. Got halfway through and gave up...

I'm still running my mvx on a jebao 18000 I think it is. It's also supposed to have around 30-32' head. Higher the head pressure the better on a venturi.

But that guy shouldn't be hard to find. That guy made this thread.

jason2459 · Jan 6, 2019

Fyi, I have yet to clean out that venturi in over a year. The multiple times a day of shutting down, getting submerged in water, and sucking it out seems to keep it clean.

Between that, the neck cleaner, and Davey Jones locker I haven't touched the skimmer in that long.

jason2459 · Jan 6, 2019

I'd have to look back how long it's been since I touched this skimmer but it's been over a year. The avast neck cleaner has been doing a decent job.

I just flip a switch in the apex interface to turn a pump on in the davey jones locker and it gets emptied.

Aquius · Jan 7, 2019

jason2459 said:
I'm still running my mvx on a jebao 18000 I think it is. It's also supposed to have around 30-32' head. Higher the head pressure the better on a venturi.

But that guy shouldn't be hard to find. That guy made this thread.

Poor attempt at humor on my part.

ca1ore · Jan 7, 2019

jason2459 said:
just flip a switch in the apex interface to turn a pump on in the davey jones locker and it gets emptied.

Did you just drop a powerhead into the bucket? I thought about this but figured the pump would get all gummed up and stop working.

jason2459 · Jan 7, 2019

ca1ore said:
Did you just drop a powerhead into the bucket? I thought about this but figured the pump would get all gummed up and stop working.

Yeah, it's a maxijet 1200 I think. Ran a tube up and over into the next room into a floor drain. I've been waiting for it to fail but it hasn't. I turn it on for a couple seconds and back off. A siphon forms and sucks the rest out of the bucket.

The black tube going up into the ceiling tile

Saveafish · Jan 7, 2019

3/8 inside to 1/2 outside bushing to 1/2" inside threaded elbo 90deg. Running 1/2" I'd hose. Gave me a bit more air draw.

ca1ore · Jan 7, 2019

Yes, that's a worthwhile 'mod'; particularly if you up-size the mazzei. The supplied black neoprene tubing doesn't help either. Put a union on it though.

ca1ore · Jan 21, 2019

Am picking up an HSA3000 next week. Just not convinced that my power pro is big enough anymore. Thinking of converting the HSA3000 to a re-circulator.

Saveafish · Jan 21, 2019

ca1ore said:
Am picking up an HSA3000 next week. Just not convinced that my power pro is big enough anymore. Thinking of converting the HSA3000 to a re-circulator.

Where you find that beast at. That wasn't the one on ebay was it?
Use one tower and the other tower config it to recirc.

ca1ore · Jan 21, 2019

Yes, it was local to me so I made him an offer. It’s actually a more recent one. They did away with the dual towers in favor of a single, larger one. Quite easy to convert. I’ve got a PanWorld 200 sitting idle that I can use.