Skimmer Problem MRC 2

[msargius]

I just bought an MRC 2 skimmer, running it externally. My question is when you adjust the height of the water in the column, do you close the air in take, then adjust the water level, then you open the air intake fully...
If I do that the water rise very rapidly, and come out of the cup, or I get this wet skimming....also the return of the skimmer is it better to have it inside the water, or above it, I see that it does make a difference in water level inside the skimmer....If anybody can run the sequence of setup and installation for external pump ..will be great....I was thinking in installing it above my sump (not inside as I have external pump)...so the pump is hooked to the side of the sump and then up with the pipe to skimmer....your input id much appreciated.

 

[MichaelJ]

I just bought an MRC 2 skimmer, running it externally. My question is when you adjust the height of the water in the column, do you close the air in take, then adjust the water level, then you open the air intake fully...
If I do that the water rise very rapidly, and come out of the cup, or I get this wet skimming....also the return of the skimmer is it better to have it inside the water, or above it, I see that it does make a difference in water level inside the skimmer....If anybody can run the sequence of setup and installation for external pump ..will be great....I was thinking in installing it above my sump (not inside as I have external pump)...so the pump is hooked to the side of the sump and then up with the pipe to skimmer....your input id much appreciated.

I believe you are suppose to have it above the water line when out of the sump..and when you are adjusting the water level, leave the air intake fully open... adjust your water level then mess with the air intake.. but I don't think you'll have to mess with it too much. (a little help)

 

[JohnK]

The MRC skimmers are very similar to PM bullet skimmers (which is what I've been using for quite a while).

You want the outlet above the water line, or if slightly submerged the water level NEEDS to be constant.

Dialing in can be finicky especially if the pump is on the smaller/lower pressure side. I'd suggest closing the air inlet and adjusting the water level so that it's about 1/2 - 2/3 up the larger part of the reaction chamber. Then crack the air open a bit and let it run for a day or so and fiddle from there. Keep in mind that each adjustment you make can take quite a while to settle in, if you tune it so it's foaming to near the collection cup, usually the next morning the cup will have totally overflowed (meaning full, or full cup and waste collector).

In the end you want to find a balance so that the air inlet is closed enough to get nice tiny bubbles, but not closed so much that your seeing clear water in the lower reaction chamber. Basically closed as much as you can without choking the skimmer. If you get the air adjusted right and it's not producing much skimmate, try raising the water level slowly and slightly.

FWIW, the beefier the pump the easier the tuning will be (to a point). Something in the 1000GPH pressure rated category is probably ideal. My bullet is running MUCH better on a 1080 GPH pump than it was on a 750GPH pump (but I did JUST do this pump change).