My new monster!

[Dominican]

Spent the last two days plumbing it up. Orca 250! :)

[LoneStar]

Very nice. Those are really nice skimmers!

[JeffCo]

Nice. You'll love it. I've had mine for about 8 months now. They work great, just keep the neck and cup clean.

[mikedelgado]

nice!!!!!

[fjr_wertheimber]

****, that thing is almost as big as your tank... LOL

[ErikH]

very nice, I have read some good things about them!

[CoryDude]

I think you just doubled your system's total volume capacity w/that thing. It's an asolute beast. Is the pump or air-mixture sound loud?

[Dominican]

Thanks all! I'll post any updates on how it performs to this thread. Since I cranked it up this morning, it's pulled out some crazy funk. The plumbing was tricky 'cause I'm gravity feeding from dual drilled overflows, but for now it's tuned and humming. Jeffco I might ask you a few questions down the line, if that's ok. Cory, the pump is big and I'm still amazed at how quiet it is. It literally makes 1/5 the noise of the mak-4s. Now to build a cabinet!

[Kyle46N]

Nice. You're gonna have some reeeeeallly clean water.

[JeffCo]

Yes, let me know if you have any questions. I have mine plumbed the same way, straight from one of my overflow drains into the skimmer. You may want to test a power outage with it, mine will overflow sometimes when the power comes back on.

[Dominican]

Nice. You're gonna have some reeeeeallly clean water.

I can't wait!! :D

Cory the air mixture whines a bit if I open the valve up all the way, but I can't open it far enough for that to be an issue, since it causes the water level to overflow into the cup (and out). Where I have it now it's barely audible.

Jeffco - myfirst Q regarding plumbing: Did you plumb it up to only one overflow so that you could optimize (in this case reduce) the skimmer flow-thru rate, while keeping the overall tank turnover high? I'm currently pushing way too much water through the skimmer; there's a gen-x pcx-40 on the return. I think what I'll need to do is plumb a purge valve after the union of the two overflow drains, creating a "skimmer bypass loop" that runs directly into the sump. That way I can reduce skimmer flow-thru by half, without affecting overall turnover through the sump/biofiltration. What do you think?

Second question, also plumbing, for anyone: The flow-rate from that overflow on the left side of the tank (visible in the pic) is much higher than the flow from the right overflow. Since the sump and skimmer are on that left side, the water from the left overflow comes almost straight down via PVC, but the water from the right overflow comes down and has to flow all the way ACROSS the tank length via a horizontal PVC to get to the union point. Could that be the reason the flow rate is less from the right? Does the horizontal pipe need a downward slope?? Each overflow has its own ball valve, so I tried resticting the flow on the left side to see if the right would compensate, but it didn't and the display level rose to the lip before I realized it. I'm at a loss.. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the left overflow inlet sits slightly lower than the right. I'm gonna check when I get home. Meanwhile, any ideas??? This is driving me crazy.

Special thanks to whomever read this whole post. :)

[Dominican]

Anyone?.. Bueller? ......... Bueller?

[JeffCo]

Jeffco - myfirst Q regarding plumbing: Did you plumb it up to only one overflow so that you could optimize (in this case reduce) the skimmer flow-thru rate, while keeping the overall tank turnover high? I'm currently pushing way too much water through the skimmer; there's a gen-x pcx-40 on the return. I think what I'll need to do is plumb a purge valve after the union of the two overflow drains, creating a "skimmer bypass loop" that runs directly into the sump. That way I can reduce skimmer flow-thru by half, without affecting overall turnover through the sump/biofiltration. What do you think?:)

I have 2 2" overflow drains, 1 of them is dedicated to the skimmer and the other is dedicated to overflow into the sump. I have a ball valve hooked up before the skimmer so I can control the flow going into it. If your's is overflowing without the air valve opened all the way up, then you need to reduce the flow going through your skimmer. A good metric on the flow, is to have the pump on, air valve off, and level control pipe all the way open, adjust the flow rate, (by turning the ball valve), until the water level is right where the main body meets the cone shape, (right above the reeflo lettering). Then close the water level pipe until the water level is right at the black union of the cup and body. Turn the air on all the way and adjust the pipe slightly depending on how wet/dry you like your skimmate. Hope this helps. The by-pass sounds like it could work as long as it can handle the flow.

[rotti71]

Wow!! Very nice! And you will be set up already if you get a bigger tank!

[Dominican]

Jeff what size tank do you have it on?

Thanks, that helps. I have a ball valve at the skimmer-in too. Unfortunately since I have both returns going through it, and I only have 1" overflows and a strong return pump, restricting it even a little will cause the display level to rise and flood (more flow in than the overflows can handle). So I'll try the purge valve and your tuning method this weekend and will post an update. I want to know the rules before I start breaking them. :)

Luckily it's running great in the meantime. The skimmate is harsh and begins about 3.5 inches from the top of the neck. Will post more pics tomorrow..

[JeffCo]

Let us know how it goes.

My tank is 375 gallons and I have about 100 gallons in my sump. So about 475 gallons total.

[tate1]

AWESOME!!!

[oscart604]

wow!!! :applause: impresive work


oscar

[Dominican]

So I got the updates done yesterday..

To reduce the flow through the skimmer without reducing the flow-out-volume from the display - installed a 1/2" purge valve after the union of the two overflows

To create more draw from the right overflow - raised the right overflow's elbow so there's a decline in the long PVC pipe that runs from the right overflow across the tank to the union, AND removed a snail shell from the overflow pipe. Turns out this was the problem all along! oops. :D

Jeff the setup procedure you provided helped a lot. Before I did this stuff I was able to open the air valve all the way without reducing the skimmer in-flow. It seems the foam settles down after a few days. So right now the air valve is open most of the way, but I imagine i'll be able to open it up the rest of the way in a couple of days.

Thanks everybody. Here are some more pics.... Like milk.

[JeffCo]

Looks like it's working good!

[Dominican]

Thanks a ton Jeff. The air valve is now all the way open, and I can control the water level with the new purge valve. ;)

Let me know if you have any tank pics I can check out. I haven't seen too many 375g setups. It's always good to have something to aspire to! Gotta love being a reef-head...

[JeffCo]

Nice, with the air valve all the way open, you should get some really massive fine bubbles.

Here's a link to the Jan TOTM thread that has a few pictures:
http://maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40305&highlight=jan+TOTM&page=2

Here's a link to the original build thread I did on the tank awhile ago:
http://maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=27114

The tank has changed quite a bit since these pics, i just recently went through a big overhaul on the reef structure.

[Dominican]

I needed a bib for the drool! Your set up especially.. The plumbing made me giddy - particularly the fact that you can dump water directly out of the house. I love it. I'd like to see the new pics when you get some posted.. OH, by the way, can you direct me to that MACO acrylics course? Thanks...

[justahobby]

WoW! I am amazed, impressed and stunned. I can't wait to afford and own a tank big enough to house a skimmer that size. The plumbing looks extremely technical.....is it??... For a guy who has only used back pack filters and skimmers?

[subsailor]

mmm yummy skim

[Dominican]

Thanks, but it's not very complex, just looks that way cause it's all bunched up in a small space. The pipe coming from the left is from the left overflow. It has its ball valve. The pipe coming from the right is coming from the right overflow. Its ball valve is not in the pic. They meet in the middle and go out to the skimmer. On the way out is the 1/2" purge valve I added as a result of this thread. The line below that is return from the skimmer into the sump's sock. The line coming in and up on the middle/right is the line coming from the chiller and going up into the return. Others have much more complex and clever set-ups. See Jeff's build link above...