Trying to dial in a Via Aqua skimmer, nothing but problems

[SaltyMist]

Im trying to adjust my new Via Aqua skimmer (yes I know.....), anyway, its either producing too much bubbles and producing clear water, or not producing enough bubbles by the height of the stem.

 

So Im trying to find some other people that have the Via Aqua skimmer to see what they have done.

 

It seems if I produce too much bubble action in the cup (and thus too much clear water) then the microbubbles in the tank are almost negligble, but if I decrease the bubbles in the tube, then the microbubbles in the tank are all over the place.

 

Any help appreciated.

[ravenlot]

Are you talking about the ViaAqua Multi-Skimmer with optional UV? If so ... Wow, there's actually another person on this board that has one of these things. I'm in the L.A. area too. It seems like all the LFS in my area has these skimmers. How do you like the noise it makes? X)

 

I've had mine since I set up my tank nearly two months ago. I bought it because I thought I needed a skimmer and it seemed to be the only skimmer that fit well behind a 10g tank. I was fiddling with it for the longest time when I first got it. I thought I might have been ripped off. But I get the impression from several posts that you have have to do this with all venturi skimmers and that it takes some time to break in. Don't know if that's necessarily true; maybe it just takes a while to find the best setting for one's setup. Still, I haven't had to mess with it too much lately.

 

Here's the settings I have it on my 10g. The dial that regulates the amount of water going through the intake tube it is set about 1/2 way. If I get microbubbles that won't go away, I'll nudge it a tiny bit to a more closed position. I might get microbubbles or extra foam if I'm messing with the contents of the tank with my hands (moving or adding stuff). I used to put a piece of foam media in the area of the middle section of the skimmer, below and to the side of the collection cup to help reduce bubbles but what I do now works well enough. I have that venturi regulator thing (the tube that goes up and down) pulled up so that the bottom end is about 1/2" above the pump.

 

If your system is new, don't worry too much if nothing seems to be collecting in the cup. You likely don't have enough of a bioload. That's how mine acted. Early on, I could get foam but it would be wet and rising up too much. If I adjusted it, I would get no foam.

 

I have several corals now but still don't think it's much of a load since I don't have any fish. I'm getting a little bit of dry foam action with gunk in it but it doesn't fill up the collection cup much at all. I empty the cup every week but there's a lot of room to go longer. The foam doesn't rise all the time, just once in a while. But I'm not worried at all nowadays. The water seems clean, the corals look fine, and I've seen tanks that have a lot more algae than I get. I don't get any of that surface scum that some people without skimmers get either. So basically, I think it's working correctly despite the fact it only foams a little bit.

[SaltyMist]

Thanks for the info,

 

The noise is terrible (it's louder than my old Lee's airstone driven skimmer with the airpump X) )

 

My old Lee's seemed to pull out more gunk than this Via Aqua does, which seems strange to me.

 

I found that when I put in the carbon filter pad in the chamber, it stopped the microbubbles from reaching the tank, which is a shame since that means changing out that filter at least every month (more expenses).

 

Im not sure how to dial it in really, the manufacturer responded to an email asking them how to quiet it down and get it to function properly.

 

He informed me that because of it's design it will be slightly loud because of the venturi system, and that they believe that they work best if the venturi stem is raised 3/4" up. What Im finding at 3/4" up is that the bubbles never really rise high enough in the tube to put anything in the cup, and putting it up even higher seems to stall the systems syphon and it has to be restarted.

 

I tried to baffle the powerhead by stuffing toilet paper into the powerheads chamber, it may have helped a little, but I would be concerend about overheating the pump, I figure they must have a reason why they put the vents on the side of that chamber.

 

I also dont use the little plunger, but opted for a length of airline hosing with a little cotton filter doodad at the open end of it to try and quiet it down, which also seemed to help. Was my LFS owners idea for my telling him that I think it is too loud.

 

Im thinking of getting the remora skimmer at this point, but I'd really like to find a store that has one operating so I can listen to it. It's not like the tanks in my bedroom but it's just down the hall and can be quite loud in the middle of the night.

 

It also doesnt seem like it's pushing all that much water through the skimmer at all, I dont know what they are actually supposed to have for flow, but it seems very lacking.

 

Oh well..... If it dosnt start producing skimmate in the next week, then I'll have to look for a different brand and try to sell this off on ebay.

 

I should have a load in my system,

It's a 20 gallon tank been running maybe 2 months at most with a dwarf lionfish, green serpent star, chocolate chip star, 2 hermit crabs, multiple snails.

 

Again thanks for the reply.

[ravenlot]

I think another reason it's loud is that the pump is kind of cheap. Plus, it's mounted outside the tank so the water can't muffle it.

 

My tank is in my bedroom. Boy did I have hard time with it at first. However, I've either gotten used to it or it doesn't make as much noise as before ... probably a little of both. I think there's less annoying noise now but it's still loud.

 

I'd like to get a Remora too. But the problem with trying to compare the noise skimmers make is that there's already a lot of noise at the LFS. I've seen these ViaAqua skimmers at a couple stores and I never noticed how loud they were due to the background noise. I have heard though that Remora is on the quiet side as far as skimmers go. After using the ViaAqua, I have a feeling that a Remora will seem near silent. Plus, they've got legendary performance with their injection system.

 

If you find a better price locally than online (about $163), let me know where I can get one.

[SaltyMist]

That was the best price I could find and I hear that Marinedepot.com is actually local to us So. Cali people, so I sent them an email and asked if I could do a will call pickup instead of having them ship it to me since Im only about 45 min to an hour from where I think they are, so it would be worth my spending the time to go and pick it up.

 

I emailed AquaC, or whomever is the company that makes them, and got back a response that basically they dont have anyone in our area that carries them, but they can be gotten from reefgeek.com which is in Los Angeles somewhere, but I dont know if they ahve a will call window too. I'll email them later this morning and see.

[ravenlot]

Just found out Marinedepot is in the 714 area code. I'll call to find out where they are exactly. I also noticed that right now they have free shipping (UPS ground) for certain orders over $175; don't know if it applies to this though. If you can find an extra $15 of stuff you need, that might be something to consider.

[SaltyMist]

I dont mind making the drive down there to avoid a 5 day or more delay in getting the product. Im one of those people that when I want something, I want it now, I hate to wait for things to be shipped to me. I'd rather spend an extra couple bucks getting something I want today, then save a few bucks and have to wait a week or so to get what Im looking for.

 

Im going to call them when they open since their email could be backed up and take them a day or more to respond and since I have the day off from work today, it would be nice to go for a drive.

[SaltyMist]

Okay, got a response from MarineDepot, here it is:

 

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Thanks for your interest in purchasing from us. We do have a will call window where you can pick up your orders. We are located at 1300 East Gene Autry Way in Anaheim. Our will call window is open from Tuesdays through Fridays between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All that we ask if that you give us a call at least an hour before you wish to pick up your order so we can check our stock and prepare your order. Through will call, we do accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover as well as cash. Tax is charged on all orders picked up at our location.