Help tuning an Aeraqua Duo

[arking_mark]

Hello fellow reefers-

I just got an Aeraqua Duo and would like to better understand how to tune it for a tank.

My basic assumptions are (which may or may not be true):
1. Foam head needs to break at or above the collar (base of the cup)
2. For wetter skimmate raise the foam head
3. Needle wheel venturi generally perform best when air is restricted to the pump as this actually increases pump speed and air draw.

Controls on the skimmer:
1. Exit gate valve - closing the gate raises water level in skimmer
2. Pump speed - increases water and air draw
3. Left right external/recirculation control - pulls mix of internal and external water

Note: there is no air valve to control air restriction, but the silencer has much smaller holes that may appropriately optimize air intake.

Instructions have recommended settings for tanks that is based on left/right external/recirculation. Low bioload, %80 / 0% to high bioload ,100% / 100%.

Questions:
1. Should the pump be at 100% for each of the recommended settings? So tuning would consist of setting the left and right external/recirculation controls, putting the pump at 100%, and adjusting the gate valve to get the right foam height?

2. For the recommended setting it also shows a water level. Are these levels for internal or external water level?

3. What's the theory on recirculation and bioload? Just adjusting external/recirculation controls reduces or increases internal skimmer water height and the amount of water going through a skimmer. However, the water in the skimmer gets foamed much more as you increase recirculation.

4. If you are not running your skimmer at 100%, it would seem that an air control valve would be needed to optimize performance at that speed. Is this correct?

5. When hooking up a CO2 scrubber, the air intake restriction may no longer be optimized. In fact, when I hooked up my scrubber, it wasn't till I reduced the air intake to 1/4 tubing that I got better skimming. Is there a recommended way to hook up a CO2 scrubber?

6. If you are mostly using the skimmer for aeration and pH via CO2 scrubbing, would it be most effective to maximize external water flow vs recirculation?

 

[csmaxspect]

Hello fellow reefers-

I just got an Aeraqua Duo and would like to better understand how to tune it for a tank.

My basic assumptions are (which may or may not be true):
1. Foam head needs to break at or above the collar (base of the cup)
2. For wetter skimmate raise the foam head
3. Needle wheel venturi generally perform best when air is restricted to the pump as this actually increases pump speed and air draw.

Controls on the skimmer:
1. Exit gate valve - closing the gate raises water level in skimmer
2. Pump speed - increases water and air draw
3. Left right external/recirculation control - pulls mix of internal and external water

Note: there is no air valve to control air restriction, but the silencer has much smaller holes that may appropriately optimize air intake.

Instructions have recommended settings for tanks that is based on left/right external/recirculation. Low bioload, %80 / 0% to high bioload ,100% / 100%.

Questions:
1. Should the pump be at 100% for each of the recommended settings? So tuning would consist of setting the left and right external/recirculation controls, putting the pump at 100%, and adjusting the gate valve to get the right foam height?

2. For the recommended setting it also shows a water level. Are these levels for internal or external water level?

3. What's the theory on recirculation and bioload? Just adjusting external/recirculation controls reduces or increases internal skimmer water height and the amount of water going through a skimmer. However, the water in the skimmer gets foamed much more as you increase recirculation.

4. If you are not running your skimmer at 100%, it would seem that an air control valve would be needed to optimize performance at that speed. Is this correct?

5. When hooking up a CO2 scrubber, the air intake restriction may no longer be optimized. In fact, when I hooked up my scrubber, it wasn't till I reduced the air intake to 1/4 tubing that I got better skimming. Is there a recommended way to hook up a CO2 scrubber?

6. If you are mostly using the skimmer for aeration and pH via CO2 scrubbing, would it be most effective to maximize external water flow vs recirculation?

Well it's a long post. Anyway, we will answer the questions one by one:
1. Should the pump be at 100% for each of the recommended settings? So tuning would consist of setting the left and right external/recirculation controls, putting the pump at 100%, and adjusting the gate valve to get the right foam height?
Answer: It doesn't have to be 100%. Normally, we would advise to put the controller at 80% firstly, then adjust the external/recirculation controls and the gate valve to get the ideal foam height, and if you have done these settings but still cannot get the ideal foam height, then you could continue turning up or down the controller percentage.

2. For the recommended setting it also shows a water level. Are these levels for internal or external water level?
Answer: It's external water level.

3. What's the theory on recirculation and bioload? Just adjusting external/recirculation controls reduces or increases internal skimmer water height and the amount of water going through a skimmer. However, the water in the skimmer gets foamed much more as you increase recirculation.
Answer: It's hard to answer. Normally speaking, with the higher bioload, we would advise to do more external circuilation of the water, rather than recirculation, to get rid of more waste with water circuilating faster. If it's lower bioload, then it's better to increase the recirculation, to get rid of the waste more completely.

4. If you are not running your skimmer at 100%, it would seem that an air control valve would be needed to optimize performance at that speed. Is this correct?
Answer: It doesn't need to adjust air intake, you could adjust the water Inlets/outlets to optimize performance to get the right foam height. Even if the controller is not running at 100%, it's not necessary to adjust air intake.

5. When hooking up a CO2 scrubber, the air intake restriction may no longer be optimized. In fact, when I hooked up my scrubber, it wasn't till I reduced the air intake to 1/4 tubing that I got better skimming. Is there a recommended way to hook up a CO2 scrubber?
Answer: Hi as there are different CO2 scrubbers, there are different air connectors, there's not any standard way we could advise to connect the CO2 scrubber to our skimmer. We would advise to remove the air intake pipes to connect, but Normally, our customers would DIY their own way to connect them.

6. If you are mostly using the skimmer for aeration and pH via CO2 scrubbing, would it be most effective to maximize external water flow vs recirculation?
Answer: Actually CO2 Scrubbing has little to do with external/recirculation. The external/recirculation selection depends on the water quality, bioloads and the wet or dry status of the skimmates etc.

 

[arking_mark]

Well it's a long post. Anyway, we will answer the questions one by one:
1. Should the pump be at 100% for each of the recommended settings? So tuning would consist of setting the left and right external/recirculation controls, putting the pump at 100%, and adjusting the gate valve to get the right foam height?
Answer: It doesn't have to be 100%. Normally, we would advise to put the controller at 80% firstly, then adjust the external/recirculation controls and the gate valve to get the ideal foam height, and if you have done these settings but still cannot get the ideal foam height, then you could continue turning up or down the controller percentage.

2. For the recommended setting it also shows a water level. Are these levels for internal or external water level?
Answer: It's external water level.

3. What's the theory on recirculation and bioload? Just adjusting external/recirculation controls reduces or increases internal skimmer water height and the amount of water going through a skimmer. However, the water in the skimmer gets foamed much more as you increase recirculation.
Answer: It's hard to answer. Normally speaking, with the higher bioload, we would advise to do more external circuilation of the water, rather than recirculation, to get rid of more waste with water circuilating faster. If it's lower bioload, then it's better to increase the recirculation, to get rid of the waste more completely.

4. If you are not running your skimmer at 100%, it would seem that an air control valve would be needed to optimize performance at that speed. Is this correct?
Answer: It doesn't need to adjust air intake, you could adjust the water Inlets/outlets to optimize performance to get the right foam height. Even if the controller is not running at 100%, it's not necessary to adjust air intake.

5. When hooking up a CO2 scrubber, the air intake restriction may no longer be optimized. In fact, when I hooked up my scrubber, it wasn't till I reduced the air intake to 1/4 tubing that I got better skimming. Is there a recommended way to hook up a CO2 scrubber?
Answer: Hi as there are different CO2 scrubbers, there are different air connectors, there's not any standard way we could advise to connect the CO2 scrubber to our skimmer. We would advise to remove the air intake pipes to connect, but Normally, our customers would DIY their own way to connect them.

6. If you are mostly using the skimmer for aeration and pH via CO2 scrubbing, would it be most effective to maximize external water flow vs recirculation?
Answer: Actually CO2 Scrubbing has little to do with external/recirculation. The external/recirculation selection depends on the water quality, bioloads and the wet or dry status of the skimmates etc.

Thanks for the answers!