skimmer question about aqua c ev xxx

[jimmybling31]

how are these skimmers? they look like they would be very powerful and from what I have read they are. does anyone have any experiences with them? I am looking at a combo with an ev240 and a mag 18. does this sound like a pretty powerful setup? what do some of they people out there with larger tanks think of them or do yall have expericenes with this skimmer.

 

[aquarius77]

I have a small tank and an ev 150. At first i thought it was mediocre but then once the plumbing slimed over and the skimmer broke in a bit, im in love with it. The best way i have seen them described is when someone compared them to a "foam conveyor belt" the foam head just keeps comming.
I have 2 friends with aquaC skimmers, one with the ev 1000 and one with the ev 2000 and both like their skimmers.
I will be up front and honest about mine tho, its finiky bigtime, you smoke a cig too close to it and your gonna lose all bubble production, if you stick your hand in the tank or feed heavy, you lose all bubble production. But once broken in the time it takes the foam conveyor belt to kick back in shortens and you are once again smiling. I lucked out and got mine used for some good trades and made a good friend out of the deal as well. I am very happy with my skimmer and i can also say first hand that the support AquaC offers on their products is TOP NOTCH! I told them outright i had a used skimmer and they were very willing to offer me anything i needed to get running. Very good people, good skimmer(imo) and quiet operation. Just a hair finiky, keep your hands off the gate valve and let the skimmer break in if you decide to go with one.

 

[jimmybling31]

i have read a bunch saying that you have to let it break in. I lie the idea behind the design. how big is your tank? I will be set up on something with around a 200g total volume.

 

[aquarius77]

I have about 40 gallons total now. The ev 1000 is on about 600 gallons and the 2000 is on about 400g. They both run their skimmers with mag36's
AquaC will help you chose wich pump is best and get ya set up and going in no time. Id say you dont even have to own one of their skimmers and they would still help ya out with advice if you called em.

 

[roshi719]

Got the EV 2000 on the coral system in the store and it is quite nice. Like aquarius said tho keep your hands off of the gate valve for a while til it breaks in.

 

[TritonsGarden]

I would have to give it a thumbs down. I had the EV-240 with mag 18 and never could get it to perform the way it should.
It had to be kept clean and the nossle would get blocked regularly.

Could have been me but I did not care for it.

Jack

 

[jimmybling31]

I am reading a lot of good things about these skimmers. I am thinking about getting the 240 or 400. just depends on the deal I can find on one. I really like the idea behind them though. the break in period seems to be the worst part about it.

 

[Silveradositn]

They Are Great Starter Skimmers I Had A Ev 120 Ev 180 Remora And A Remora Pro I Liked Them All For The Plug And Play But They Dont Get As Much Out As Other Skimmers

 

[jimmybling31]

They Are Great Starter Skimmers I Had A Ev 120 Ev 180 Remora And A Remora Pro I Liked Them All For The Plug And Play But They Dont Get As Much Out As Other Skimmers

well what gets more out?

 

[Silveradositn]

Well Euro Reefs Work Great Deltec Work Very Good
Honeslty For The Money Reef Octopuss Skimmer Work Really Well My Father Bought One For His 90 And It Pulls Out More Then The Ev180 I Had On My 120 Did. But I Was Running A Mag 7 On The Ev180 People Say You Can Put A Mag 9 On It With A Ball Valve And They Work Great

 

[jimmybling31]

Well Euro Reefs Work Great Deltec Work Very Good
Honeslty For The Money Reef Octopuss Skimmer Work Really Well My Father Bought One For His 90 And It Pulls Out More Then The Ev180 I Had On My 120 Did. But I Was Running A Mag 7 On The Ev180 People Say You Can Put A Mag 9 On It With A Ball Valve And They Work Great

well you have to compare 2 skimmers on the same setup to do a good comparison, but I am looking at an octopus too. I like the ev400 too though. I am looking at the 400 instead of the 240 or 180 now though.

 

[Silveradositn]

if you contact aqua c they will tell you a pump that kinda over kill for the skimmer but wil make it work better using a ball valve

 

[Natclanwy]

I have an EV-180 on my tank and I love it, it is by far the best skimmer I have owned. The best part about the aquaC design is its lack of a venturi, never have to worry about a venturi clogging up and its not effected by varying water levels in your sump like venturi skimmers are. As long as you use a strainer on the intake of your pump to keep any large debri out of the injection nozzle you can go several months without cleaning the injector.

 

[jimmybling31]

I have an EV-180 on my tank and I love it, it is by far the best skimmer I have owned. The best part about the aquaC design is its lack of a venturi, never have to worry about a venturi clogging up and its not effected by varying water levels in your sump like venturi skimmers are. As long as you use a strainer on the intake of your pump to keep any large debri out of the injection nozzle you can go several months without cleaning the injector.

what size tank do you have?

 

[Natclanwy]

what size tank do you have?

I have a 55g with a 29g sump, probably 70g of water.

 

[john hill]

i have the 240 and am not inpressed with it at all i have tryed everything from mag 7 to mag24 and
on my other tank i have a g3 with a mesh mod that will make 3 times the skim as the aquaC the g3 is on a 224g tank with 5 fish
the aquaC is on a 240g with 10 fish and i would not even worrie about haveing to clean it for to weaks if i didnt want to maybe it is just me but i cant get it to work like other do

 

[Natclanwy]

I've never had an issue getting skimmate with my AquaC its been more of an issue to not get so much water in the skimmate my EV180 with a mag 9 will literally skim all of the water out of my sump if I let it. I have to adjust the air intake to limit the bubbles so that the skimmate will dry out before it goes into the cup.

 

[aquarius77]

Patience is something you will need with a aquac ev, once you find the spot its on like donkey kong. Listen to their support, they will give you solid advice.
Natclanwy, it sounds like you ned to open up that gate valve a bit and let the air valve rip, more air = more skim. opening the gate will allow more water to escape giving you a dryer skim. Closing the air valve will make it wetter.

 

[mak060]

Hello. I use an aquaC 240 with a mag 12 on about 200 gallons, not including sump, relatively light on fish. Foam production is great, but as others have said, mine took about five days to break in. Once going, you set it and forget it. I think I'm repeating what others have said, but in addition to a great product, you are buying phone service perhaps second to none, by the owner himself, a very friendly man who returns calls right away.

 

[Natclanwy]

Patience is something you will need with a aquac ev, once you find the spot its on like donkey kong. Listen to their support, they will give you solid advice.
Natclanwy, it sounds like you ned to open up that gate valve a bit and let the air valve rip, more air = more skim. opening the gate will allow more water to escape giving you a dryer skim. Closing the air valve will make it wetter.

I have a mag 9 and I have got my gate valve wide open but my skimmer is mounted externally so I have to use PVC on the return to the sump. I used 1" and I think I need to go to 1.25" and see if that allows the water to drain faster. I still get plenty of skimmate with the air valve partially closed, it fills the cup and about a 1/4 of a gallon in the external reservoir every 2-3 days with very dark skimmate. If I skim any dryer it builds up on the throat of the collection cup and I don't get nearly as much skimmate.

In my experience closing the air valve makes the skimmate dryer, less air in the body of the skimmer lowers the water level. It also makes the bubbles much smaller.