I finally decided on a Euro-reef CS8-3 best of both worlds, tall and wide. It will be here on monday so I will post my review w/ pics. I finally decided on this skimmer because like Iron said this skimmer is what I think will be best for "my system". I wanted a lower flow longer dwell time skimmer because I am only moving 750 GPH through my sump and a faster higher water processing skimmer would move the water in the sump to fast IMO. Also escobals longer dwell time arguement is a good one. This is an email I got from Jason at Aqua-C, and a responce about the euro -reef web site from Marine depot. For any one interested I got this skimmer for 594$ after 2 day shipping direct from euroreef as Marine depot was out of stock.
Ben,
Thanks for the message, I apologize for the delayed response (I am currently
traveling and have been away from the office for several days, but will be
checking email as often as possible.
If you have followed any of the messageboards you'll know that there is
always a "hot-selling" skimmer that is promoted at any one time. AquaC was
the rage about a year or two ago, then came Precision Marine, now Euroreef.
These things seem to cycle and who knows why one brand suddenly falls out of
favor to be replaced by the next... One thing for certain, all the models
you are considering are built to high standards and you probably can't go
wrong. Of course, you want the best of the best so I will try and answer
your questions!
The question of dark vs. light skimmate is a tricky one... a lot of people
(inappropriately) link a skimmer's effiiciency or performance to the
darkness of the skimmate collected. This isn't always a good measure of
performance. If your Remora Pro consistently pulls out a light yellowish
liquid I would say that it is working well, and it is important to remember
that if you raised the cup to collect a darker froth, you would also be
collecting less. In other words, lighter skimmate is often just darker
skimmate diluted with water - the actual proteins/wastes being removed are
the same, regardless.
I would definitely recommend keeping the cup cleaned (at least twice a week,
if not every day for best results). As gunk builds up along the side of the
foam tower, this will make it harder for foam to spill into the cup and you
end up with a thick layer of crud on the skimmer walls. Again, this doesn't
mean that the skimmer isn't working since it is obviously very, very
concentrated waste that is being removed from the system. As a rule of
thumb, however, it is important to keep the cup clean in order to maximize
performance.
I would clean the cup out and get the skimmer to produce the yellowish
liquid again, and then from there slowly raise the cup up higher until you
are collecting a thicker froth that is darker or to your satisfaction...
That is probably where you will be getting best performance along with the
least mainteance.
All that being said, it is important to note that the EV-240 is really in a
completely different class than the Remora Pro, and you'll be skimming close
to 50 times the waste with this unit (no exaggeration). I just wrote a
lengthy reply to another potential customer today who was trying to decide
between the Bullet 2 and EV-180 or 240. I will paste my message at the end
of this message since it is pertinent to your questions (and to save my
fingers from too much typing!) In terms of ease of use and performance I
definitely feel confident that the EV-240 will meet and exceed your demands.
This skimmer can be set to pull out a VERY dark crud if you desire and this
will not be a problem. The Euroreef is a very nice skimmer and easy to
operate, I think that they attract a lot of people because they are so user
friendly and dummy proof. I don't mean that negatively, and I am definitely
not calling Euroreef owners dummies, I am just saying that a great skimmer
should be easy to use! Since the Bullet and the AquaC EV skimmers require a
bit more dialing in, they do need some extra attention during installation.
The EV-240 does, however, have a raised gate valve and once it is installed
you should be getting very consistent results without any fiddling or fuss
over time. Although it isn't really advertised, some of the internal
baffling changes in the new EV's are actually extremely noteworthy (most
people just aren't interested in baffles, however). The new skimmers
produce nearly twice the amount of foam and the foam is very, very stable
now when compared to the previous style units. The new EV-240 runs off the
same pump as the EV-200, yet we increased the height by several inches and
the diameter of the reaction column to 6" tube from 5" tube. All of that is
due to the increased efficiency developed in the new design. The air valve,
raised gate valve, twist-off flanges, and calcium reactor fitting are really
more like icing on the cake.
It is also important to note that the Euroreef and the AquaC EV-240 are two
entirely different skimmers when it comes to the science of foam
fractionation. I don't mean that they work by a different process, but they
accomplish "efficient" skimming in different ways. The Euroreef has a
relatively low water pass through rate and features extended contact bubble
dwell time (if you have read Escobal's book, these are good). The AquaC has
a relatively high pass through rate and lower contact time, but it also
features a much higher air flow through rate. Just look at the foam
production on a EV-240 compared to the Euro - there is no comparison. There
are a lot of variables that influence the effiiciency and ability of a
skimmer to perform, and these two models go about it in two different ways.
My preference has always been for high amounts of air flow and what is
sometimes referred to as "power skimming". The jury is still out, however,
as to which type of skimmer is the best... and I have a feeling it always
will be.
Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will be happy to
answer them. Happy holidays!
<message regarding EV vs. Bullet 2>
<Doug,
Thanks for the message, I am glad to hear that you are considering one of
the new EV's for your system. As you can imagine, it is difficult for me to
answer the question of "which is better" without coming off as biased, but I
will try and give you the most unbiased and accurate answer that I can.
I do own a Bullet 2 and have used it for several months on my own 225 gallon
SPS system - this is the primary system that I use to test most of our
larger skimmers designed for tanks in the 100-300 gallon range. I also own
most of the "competition skimmers" on the market in order to test their
performance vs. AquaC units. The Bullet 2 is a strong skimmer, and in truth
I don't have many complaints about its performance or function. The three
negative attributes I would call attention to would be the high noise level,
large pump requirement, and difficulty in cleaning/maintenance.
I have run both the EV-180 and EV-240 against the Bullet 2 head to head, and
then also alone to get a sense of their performance and function. The EV's
are, without a doubt, quieter in operation and easier to clean/maintain.
The spray injector does not produce the sucking noise characteristic of
Beckett type units, and it is also a snap to clean if it ever becomes
clogged (you can unscrew and acccess the injector in a matter of seconds).
The Bullet injector is completely enclosed and requires an acid bath for
cleaning, and I do not know how one would remove a snail shell or piece of
sand if it ever become lodged inside. To be fair, however, this has never
happened in my experience. I also am aware that a sound silencing device
can be rigged up to the Bullet to greatly reduce the noise.
The Bullet has threaded flanges with screws that require several minutes to
undo for cleaning, a hassle I have never been particularly fond of in
higher-end skimmers. The EV's feature EPDM gaskets just like the Bullet,
however our skimmers use a unique "twist lock" flange that locks in place
with a simple turn. Much easier and faster to clean.
Now down to the nitty gritty, which is performance. The EV-180 performs
very similarly to the Bullet 2 in my experience, and when I ran them head to
head they both removed approximately the same amount of fluid waste (also
the same color and consistency). The primary drawback the EV-180 has when
compared to this skimmer is that it is unable to handle a much larger pump
to increase performance even higher. The Bullet 2 can handle a broad range
of pumps and one could theoretically power it with a much larger pump in
order to beef up the performance. I have always designed our skimmers with
a certain tank size and power level in mind, and build the skimmers around a
flow rate that will maximize efficiency. The main advantage is that the
EV-180 can produce the same results that the Bullet 2 can while being run on
a pump nearly half its size. Where the Bullet requires a Mak 4 (large
external pump) the EV-180 can match its performance while running off of a
Mag 7, Sen 700, or Rio 3100. The reason you cannot overpower the EV-180
with a larger pump is due to the raised gate valve. This is a game of
trade-offs, you see... in my opinion it is important that a skimmer be
consistent in any sump depth (most people do not use float switches), a
major drawback of most other sump skimmers.
The EV-240 is in a whole different league than either the EV-180 or Bullet
2, and I consider this skimmer to be one of the best values on the market
today. When I ran this skimmer head to head with the Bullet 2 it easily
outperformed the skimmer by a factor of five to one. In terms of real life
performance, I would say that the EV-240 generates approximately twice the
amount of air flow and foam production, and the nice thing is that it is
still running off of a pump that is no more powerful than that which the
Bullet requires. The EV-240 is simply a much more powerful skimmer while
running off of a Mak 4 or Sen 900 than the Bullet 2 is while running off
something even larger.
Other nice features you'll find on the EV-240 would be the John Guest
fitting for ozone or calcium reactor hook-up, a precision air valve, and
larger collection cup drain. Let me know if you have any other questions
about the skimmers and I will be happy to help out.>
-------------
Jason Kim
President
AquaC, Inc.
7965 Silverton Ave. Ste. 1314
San Diego, CA 92126
858-689-1121 sales desk
858-564-3419 fax
www.proteinskimmer.com
AquaC Spray Injection Skimmers
U.S. Patent # 6,156,209
----- Original Message -----
From: <
[email protected]>
To: <
[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2001 10:35 AM
Subject: Please clear this up for me
> Jason,
>
> I really cant decide on a skimmer. Euroreef CS8-2, Bullet 2, or Aqua-C
> EV240.
> Everyone at reefs seems to think I should go for the Euroreef.
> Marinedepot seems to think your skimmer is the best. There is a few
> reasons why I am worried about your skimmer. I own a Remora Pro w/ rio
> pump on my 40. I feel this skimmer doesnt pull out a thick dark skum but
> a lighter watery skum at any cup level. I want a skimmer that pulls out
> black skimmate. I emailed you about this awhile ago and you suggested to
> clean the injector through the screw with the provided brush. I did this
> but the skimmer really never improved. I havent cleaned the cup for 3
> weeks now and only have about 1/4" of skimmate with the cup pretty low. I
> usually clean it every week but wanted to see how much it would collect
> leaving it dirty.
>
> My second concern is with the EV240 model when using larger pumps the
> ozone inlet hole can pull in air messing up the bubble size, also all the
> areas on this skimmer arnt accessable for cleaning. Let me know ehat
> you think?
>
> Also maybe you could chime in on this thead,
>
http://www.reefs.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=032284
>
> Thanks Ben
>
>
Hi Ben,
Euro-Reef is definitely still in business: we just picked up a few skimmers
from them on Friday. I believe they are simply having some difficulties with
their ISP.
