anyone have a aqua c ev series skimmer?

[fatboyjoe]

my aqua c ev120 makes millions of micro bubbles.It's 16 mounths old so it's broken in. I have baffles in my sump but they only stop the bigger bubbles.i also have a prefilter sponge on my return but still millions of micro bubbles.what gives?

[Jimm]

I have the Remora. I't s been running for about 6-7 months now. At first it made a lot of bubbles but not anymore. I guess it's finally broken in. Not sure why your ev120 is taking so long.

[pham411]

could be something in the water.....
the skimmer i used to cure my live rock was bubling and never made any skimate for 3 days. the type of bubbles that would just pop with no nothing foaming to the top, untill i did a massive waterchange and changed the bucket the rock was sitting in. then instant skimate. dont know if that will help

[cheng21tang]

how high is the water level where skimmer is sitting. i know that you need it at most 9" inches in water. try making a skimmer stand and raise the skimmer up higher.

[JR Aquatics]

I have a 120 and sits in about 4 inches of water I only had a problem with micro bubble the first week it ran. I don't have baffles or anything else for that matter to disipate them. I would contact aquac through there web site proteinskimmer.com they have awsome customer support. You could also try to face the output of the skimmer towards your sump wall if all else fails, but you should not get any micro bubbles from this skimmer. Pham411 could also be right, it could have something to do with your water. You should not exceed the output on your skimmer so 9 inches is way to much for the new Aquac ev models, it states that in the owners manual.

[poppin_fresh]

What is the turnover in your sump? I had a fairly small sump, a 20 long and I used to run my sump @ over 600gph. The water moved through it so fast that microbubbles and everything else ended up back in the display.

Mabey you need to throttle back the turnover and let the bubbles dissapate. Plus, the skimmer will have a better chance to process wastes at slower speeds.

[JR Aquatics]

The design of the Aquac 120 keeps it from releasing micro bubbles.

[fatboyjoe]

your right, i throttled the return back and my most of the bubbles are gone. my return is a mag 7. I hope that's enough flow.

[JR Aquatics]

You still shouldn't be getting any micro bubbles from this model skimmer after the breakin period. I tested mine out this morning and placed the output directly over the return pump Mag9 with no micro bubbles to be seen within the tank. Dialing down your flow is only a bandaid and is not addressing the real problem, that is a great and expensive skimmer and it should work for you as stated. If you are still having issues I would send a complaint to Aquac they respond quickly and can really help you get the most out of your skimmer.

[fatboyjoe]

You are right. The few bubbles are coming from my return not my skimmer. in fact, the skimmer is working better with the reduced flow. thanks

[poppin_fresh]

Any skimmer will work better when you have lower flow, allowing more contact time. I always recommend people running a lower sump turnover (4x-6x per hour). Flow in the tank is good, but throught the sump it will cause problems.

I have been there/done that with a high turnover, it was not good.

[Rob]

Any skimmer will work better when you have lower flow, allowing more contact time. I always recommend people running a lower sump turnover (4x-6x per hour). Flow in the tank is good, but throught the sump it will cause problems.

I have been there/done that with a high turnover, it was not good.
not always true.
if you do not shoot water through at a minimal flow rate the bubbles will not be properly generated properly. venturi skimmers generate bubbles through he air valve, and if water does not move fast enough, they wont get created properly.
same with downdraft skimmers. if the water is not shot into the compartments right, they wont create bubbles properly either

[poppin_fresh]

Sorry... Rob is correct.

I was speaking generally about traditional pump fed needlewheel/ spray inject types (like my G2 and Remora). Those both performed better for me when the raw tank water was not moving past the skimmer at 600+ gph.

[Rob]

yes, and in general the longer dwell time you can get the better, hence the "tall/wide" skimmers. but you just have to keep an eye out for the minimum flow ratings... that's all.. :)