A Quick Guide To The Aqua C Remora Protein Skimmer

NUHTTY · 04-22-2005, 02:18 PM

I have owned several of these skimmers and enjoy their performance, small size and ease of operation.

There are 2 problems that people often complain about with these skimmers, though...some noise and microbubbles in the tank.

Well, there are few skimmers under $400 that dont have these minor issues, but luckily there are a few simple modifications you can make to the remora to help with this and hopefully enhance its performance.

First and foremost, there are 2 Remoras...the regular Remora and the Remora Pro. The Remora runs great on a Maxijett 1200 pump, but I have found exceptional performance with a Mag 3 pump as well. It all depends on what sort of room you want to use up in your tank. The Remora Pro runs great with a Mag 3 but can handle up to a Mag 7! I tried a Mag 9, but the water level is too high in the skimmer to get adequate foam.

There is a pre filter box available for these skimmers as well and it works to decrease microbubbles in the tank. I never used them only because I found them clunky and bulky and never found them to enhance the performance of the skimmer as much as I felt was worth the additional tank space.

You will see that most of the noise from this skimmer comes from the spray injector on the left hand side of the skimmer. An easy fix to this would be to get a piece of 2" thick foam about the size of the rectangular slot above the injector and slide it in there. You can easily cut a "U" shape to fit around the injector, as long as the foam is not interfering with the spray of water through the hole. This should cut the noise down considerably.

As far as the microbubbles go, you can place another piece of foam on the right hand side of the skimmer just behind the waterfall outlet. This will trap microbubbles before they have a chance to enter your tank. Make sure you clean this piece of foam every time you empty the collection cup.

Speaking of the collection cup...empty it OFTEN and clean the neck well. This will insure the optimal performance of the skimmer. It is not necessary to clean the entire skimmer more than once every 2 months, but when you do a 1/4 mixture of vinegar and water works well. Just dont be worried if the skimmer wont skim properly for a few days after a thorough cleaning...this is normal.

Keep the pump, whatever the model, clean and running smoothly to help with the performance of the remora.

Some people want to know if you can put a bag of media inside the skimmer. Well, there is one problem with this. A media bag will slow the exit of water up the skimmer and back into the tank. This causes a backup and therefore too much water in the skimmer so it cannot adequately produce foam. I would not recommend placing a media bag in the skimmer for this reason.

Hope this has been helpful to those of you who own remoras or are considering one. A great skimmer for the price. I am not affiliated with the company in any way but I thought I would post this because these questions pop up often in the hobby.

You can also find out more about the remora and remora pro at www.proteinskimmer.com

Birdlady · 04-22-2005, 03:29 PM

You are just a wealth of information! Thanks! I don't have these, but I do have the AquaC 120 and really like it, too!

I am sure this info will be valuable to others...the bubble thing is a fairly common question.

NUHTTY · 04-22-2005, 04:14 PM

Hey Birdlady. The 120 is a great skimmer. They really make good products. Personally I like Deltec skimmers, but they are extremely pricey...particularly for the larger models.

The Remora and Remora pro are really nice products as are the Urchin skimmers (the sump version of the Remora).

I wouldnt hesitate to recommend these skimmers to anyone keeping a tank under or around 100 gallons (total water volume including sump and refugium)

Here are my own personal "cut offs"
Remora with MJ 1200: 45 gallons
Remora with Mag 3: 60 gallons
Remora Pro with Mag 3: 80 gallons
Remora Pro with Mag 7: 100 gallons

These skimmers can likely handle larger, but with the way people like to stock their tanks (usually heavy) I would use these are a more realistic guideline.

People also dont realize that corals need pristine water, therefore requiring more skimming. They also forget that some fish are messier than others...tangs for example...and produce more waste.

Hope this helps some people out.

beaverspork · 04-22-2005, 04:23 PM

Do you have any recommendations as to how to get them to perform better? Other than increasing pump size?

RAVEN · 04-22-2005, 07:39 PM

I am running a Remora with a Via aqua 1300 at 370gph, works alot better. Dont forget to clean the spray injector nozzle from time to time.
I'm using the new Rio 1400 plus pump at 420 gph on my Remora pro. It works well and I have had no problems with this pump as I did with the older
Rio 1400.

Stixbaraca · 04-22-2005, 08:37 PM

I have been running a normal Remora on my 45, and love it! I think I am going to bump up the pump now that I know that is possible. I use the prefilter box....so I don't have to stare at the maxi-jet...will the Mag 3 fit in the prefilter box? My little story about AquaC: About 2 months into owning my Remora...I lost the injector brush. SO I emailed them asking if there was a way to purchase another. They sent me one for free...now that's customer service. So from now on I will only use AquaC protein skimmers for any tanks now and in my future!

Birdlady · 04-22-2005, 08:47 PM

I just e mailed them about a John Guest fitting for mine, for ozone injection....maybe they will send me that for free!!!

I can dream anyways.....

RAVEN · 04-22-2005, 09:14 PM

They make an overflow box for the mag 3 and its huge. Thats why I'm usin the Via Aqua 1300. Its about the same size as the Rio 1400 which is about 1/2 the size of the mag 3. You should also remove the injector screw and take a hose and spray into the injector nozzle with high pressure water to aid in cleaning it according to AquaC tech support.

Stixbaraca · 04-23-2005, 06:53 AM

Moderator status now...wow, I am in the wrong business! Maybe they will send it for free...you never know! I am thinking about pressure washing the inside of my Remora once it gets a little nicer out!

NUHTTY · 04-24-2005, 06:17 AM

What I did with the mag 3 was to place it on the bottom of my tank behind live rock and just run a hose up to the inlet. You dont lose any head pressure and the pump is completely hidden. Just make sure to clean the intake sponge occasionally.