Remora Pro Skimmer Questions

[slapshot16]

I just bought the Remora Pro Skimmer and Skimmer box with a Mag 3 pump. The cup is adjustable, but the instructions were not helpful. I have the cup adjusted about half way up. When it produces foam it is rather wet. The cup this morning was about a quarter full with green water. Is the cup supposed to accumulate water or foam? I have read some stuff that "dry" foam is what you want. I know it takes some time for the skimmer to break in. If anyone has experience with this skimmer, please respond with your comments and any other Remora observations. Thanks all.

55 Gallon Aquarium. 45 pounds live rock. 40 pounds crushed coral. 6 fish and two zoos and various inverts.

 

[Anonymous]

I have that skimmer

I don't have the skimmer box.

I have found after having it for 2 years that wet skimmate is the only kind you can really get. You can actually set it a lot higher and it will be dry but what happens is the skimmate collects in the tube leading up to the collection cup. It makes it a lot harder to clean the collection cup this way.

So I let it fill up with green water, after a week its actually a lot darker and has chunky stuff at the bottom.

I only really clean the actual skimmer about 3 times a year. The collection cup gets emptied every 3-4 days and washed about every 2 weeks.

I found that it always takes a bit of time to get it skimming after washing it so I let it go.

I also wore out the mag 3's cover, and impeller, they lasted about a year and a half. I am not sure if that is due to back pressure from the nozzle or whether my pump got sand in it or what.


Also the pump came with a sponge filter thing, I don't use that, I want the gunk going to the skimmer not collecting in a sponge that I would have to clean.


Last thing, the guys that make the skimmer have really great customer service, very helpful. In case you don't have it I think the website is www.proteinskimmer.com

Hope that helps.

 

[slapshot16]

Good information. Exactly what I was looking for.

 

[MartinE]

I have the regular Remora with the 1200 MJ pump and it also has nasty water in the cup. I think the foam just settles and turns into nasy green water. Mine to has some trouble getting restarted producing foam when cleaned both ways (just the cup) and (the whole skimmer) usually only a few hours though.

 

[Gaffes]

I have one, too and also have the skimmer box.

I've heard that if you give it a final rinse with _warm_ water after cleaning it will start collecting faster.

My skimmate is also watery, but I still needed to fine tune the height of the adjustment cup. I wanted to take as little water out and as much gunk as possible.

As mentioned previously, you only need to clean the skimmer itself about three times a year, but make sure you clean the walls of the square hole that the collection cup fits into every time you clean the collection cup. (If that makes any sense)

 

[slapshot16]

Regarding the skimmer box. It seems like it is barely being held in place with the srews that put pressure on the pump. I took a suction cup and slid it under the skimmer box to help hold it in place. The skimmer box seems "loose" if that makes sense.

Regarding the skimmer sup. I think the O ring is set at the half way mark. Is the following true? The lower the cup is set the more water you get in the cup. The higher it is set, the less skimmate in the cup but potentially more skiimate if it makes it up the tube?

 

[Gaffes]

Regarding the skimmer box. It seems like it is barely being held in place with the srews that put pressure on the pump. I took a suction cup and slid it under the skimmer box to help hold it in place. The skimmer box seems "loose" if that makes sense.

Yeah, the skimmer box can be tough to get set up right. Also, if you don't have automatic topoff, be careful about evaporation lowering the water level. You want to avoid running that pump dry.

Regarding the skimmer sup. I think the O ring is set at the half way mark. Is the following true? The lower the cup is set the more water you get in the cup. The higher it is set, the less skimmate in the cup but potentially more skiimate if it makes it up the tube?

The lower you set the cup, the more bad stuff you will take out of your tank. If you set it too low, you will get alot of organic matter but also alot of water. If you set it too high, the organic matter will not make it all the way up into the collection cup.

You have to find the level that works best for getting the tank clean, but not removing alot of water from the tank. My O ring is set at about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, but your results may very. If anything, I would err on setting the O ring too high (hence the collection cup too low) The worst thing that will happen is that you get excess water in there and have to empty it more often. And it you're not careful, it might overflow. I had that happen a few times when I was experimenting.

Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

The collection cup on the Remora Pro can't really overflow, if too much water is getting pushed into it it will just go right back down the tube it comes up.

It is possible for foam to make it out around the lid, although that has been rare for me.

If you do the mod where you have the skimmate running into a bucket you want to be careful you don't set the cup to low, it could empty the tank into that bucket...