AquaC EV-240 Adjustment Questions

[alm502]

I have an EV-240C with the Iwaki 60 upgrade that I have had running on a 210-gal for almost a year. It has been getting a little skimmate out, maybe a 1/2 cup or so a week max. I thought that was maybe because of the light bio load (5 chromis and a few corals, plus snails and crabs. But even after adding in a few anthias, not much skimmate. The skimmer is outside the sump with the return above the water level, unimpeded. The hose from the pump to the skimmer is about 4 feet long (gonna shorten this tomorrow)

So, I think I figured out I had the water level too high. But....

Yesterday I lowered the water level to about 1/2 inch below the platform per the instructions (with the airvalve closed, and then opened the air valve all the way, plus removed a small plug I had plugging the speed-airlift valve (a suggestion from AquaC to try when I set it up). So now, I have foam again, but pretty much only up to the bottom of the tower (bottom of the tower, not the collection cup). THis morning the foam is a little below half way up the tower.

Does this sound normal and the foam will rise over the next several days up to the collection cup, or does something sound wrong?

Before, with the water level up a couple of inches into the tower, I would get a foam at the top of the tower and up into the collection cup, and I would get a fat ring of thick gunk around the inside top of the tower. But the simmate I would get into the collection cup wasn't much at all. Rarely did I get enough to reach the collection cup overflow outlet.

I hear great things about this skimmer and how it should be producing "cups of skimmate" a week. But mine has never done that. Am I set up right now and just need to wait, or should the foam and water level be up higher nto the tower?

Tnx,
Rick

[Doug1]

Bump,
CHris has a 180 I do believe, maybe he can help

Sounds like a really light bioload in a 210, that may be why

[ChrisPrusha]

I like to run my EV-240 as "wet" as possible, so I have the air valve all of the way open, and I have the water level fairly high, too. I have a Sen 900 pump on it, with about 2 feet of hose. I would say I get about a cup twice a week, with a "fat ring of thick gunk around the inside top of the tower", too. Your bioload, even with the anthias, is low imo, so I don't think you are going to get much skimmate regardless of what you do. I have 10 fish in my 180, as a comparison.

Jason Kim at www.proteinskimmer.com has always been very responsive to my questions, if you have any more. Or feel free to PM me, too.

[robsmith32]

I don't buy the low bio load jazz anymore.... If you do a water change, you have nutrients that can be skimmed.....I've experience this with my QT tank with my Remora PRO and 1 fish.
Also, on my 150 with the G3, there are only 4 fish in it right now, 4"kole, 3.5" rusty angel, 4" cleaner wrasse, 1.5" pajama cardinal. and it produces, granted it didnt' produce much until I got the flow in the tank working good, and the skimmer in its own stable section of sump, before sump reconfig i got about 1/8" of skimmate in 2 days. Now that amount is a few hours.