AquaC Remora PRESKIMMER for Maxi-Jet 1200

Has anyone used this Preskimmer for their Maxi-Jet 1200? How does it work? Pretty good or not worth the money?

It says that the return outflow flows into the media chamber and through a sponge. If this portion is underneath the water, won't this cause the water to drain back into the tank by overflowing over the sides of the preskimmer?

My AquaC Remora is performing pretty well, have to empty the cup everyday because of tea colored water. But my primary interest in buying the preskimmer is that it says it eliminates the microbubbles that escape into the tank. Anyone with any experience or advice? Thanks!

 

i have the same remora (w/mj 1200) and decided to purchase the pre-skimmer. you are correct in stating that the return water from the protein skimmer enters a chamber, goes through a sponge located at the bottom, then returning to the tank. if the height of your water level falls below the top of the pre-skimmer, the water won't overflow over the top......just make sure you clean the sponge (which is removeable) every few days to prevent clogging. if the sponge becomes clogged, it willl overflow over the top. from personal experience the pre-skimmer works well...i have no surface film or micro bubbles....hth.

 

Jonathan, do you have an automatic top off running on your system? If the water would evaporate even a little bit, and no water drains through the overflow, the 1200 pump would run dry right? Do you have any pictures of your set up? I don't have an auto top off or a sump so I'm afraid (especially now during the summer) that if I use the preskimmer, it might run dry easily.

 

i don't have a top off (i wish i did) but if you neglect the water level and don't take care of the evaporation.....yes, it would run dry. one way you could solve that would be to drill a hole on the left side of the pre-skimmer or don't use one of the tightening screws (which would leave a hole) which would allow water to enter and stay at the same level as the rest of the tank (exactly the same way the right side works with the sponge at the bottom). you can check out a pic of my set-up under my pictures and/or profile....if you like, i can take a close up picture of the skimmer although i don't think it would give you a better idea. i basically top off about 1/2 gallon per day to resolve my evap issues...hth.

 

I would like to see some pics.. I am contemplating getting the preskimmer because of all the bubbles that are getting in my tank.. do you think 1 month is enough to break it in?

 

1 month is plenty of break in. The bubble trap box is pretty cool but, yes the issue with having to really stay on top of your top off gets annoying.

 

I have heard that it is a waste of money and you still will get bubbles. It takes up alot of room as well and if your water level drops it causes problems. Tighten the clamps on the intake of the skimmer to the pump and this reduces the bubbles. I had a ton of bubbles from my remora and when I cleaned it I retightened the clamps and my problem was gone.

Also anytime you feed or put your hands in the tank it causes the remora to bubble as well as any fake decoration.

 

If you are having tea colored water that means you are skimming too wet unless that is how you want it. You need to lower the rubber ring a bit to get more of a dry skim with just bubbles. You will have a little water but it shouldn't fill up in one day. You will have to adjust it a while to get it where you like.
I have a preskimmer but never hooked it up because I moved the skimmer in the sump and put a 400 gph powerhead on it so it would skim more then the 296 gph of the MJ1200.

 

If you already have the remora and no prefilter don't worry about it, once it breaks in all of the microbubbles will dissapear either way, the bubble trap side definately helps but there were still microbubbles until the skimmer finished breaking in. The surface skimmer side does make a huge difference though, if you have any surface film it will be gone but the need to top-off constantly is overwhelming. I probably evaporate 32oz every 6-8 hours, so if I miss a topoff after 8 hours the mj starts sucking air. Vacation is tricky, I took my box off of my tank this weekend when I left town and am leaving it off, I'm going to use it in my refugium instead, and run the skimmer in sump with a stronger pump.

 

I have been patiently waiting for this stupid thing to "break in" .. its been 1 month.. am I supposed to be cleaning it?? I do clean the cup when necessary, but other than that, are you supposed to clean the body of it?