BK Supermarin 200 need help/parts

[rockstar]

Greetings,

I have owned a SuperMarin 200 for several years (purchased with a 165G Oceanic tank), but have never gotten any use from it. Last time I tried to set it up, it would just continuously overflow. Resorted to using my trusty old Euroreef that just works and works and there is a small bioload.. But this is too nice a piece of equipment (let alone expensive) to just be gathering dust.

I believe I may be missing a few parts.

1). The drain for the skimmer collection cup is just open. I used a tied off piece of silicone tubing as a stopper. No big deal to me as I would remove the collection cup to clean. But what is supposed to be here ? Is it just missing or is a piece broken off ?

2) Silicone tubing from the pump is too large to insert into the torque tube.

3) No tube inside torque tube to resonator.

These are the things I am not sure about. I have cleaned the pump and it was not very dirty. And apparently the last time I attempted to use the skimmer, The resonator inlay got soaked, did not dry with the resonator closed, and is now partially disintegrating. So I need a new inlay.

So the goal is to ID any missing parts, purchase said parts (where), and get this skimmer dialed in and working. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Pictures follow.

 

[slief]

This is the replacement connection and fitting for the skimmer cup drain. They should be in stock in our Ft. Myers warehouse.
https://royalexclusiv.com/Spare-Par...-King-DeLuxe-Double-Cone-Supermarin::293.html

As for the tube for the silencer, the clear silicone hose that connects to the pumps nozzle gets routed up through the hole in the wedge pipe and connects to the red pipe nipple in bottom of the silencer shown in picture 2. You need to pinch it to get it in there. Some water will help it slide through. It’s a tight fit so you will need to push/force it through.
If you want to purchase new tubing, this is the replacement tubing but I am pretty certain what you have there is correct. You just need to work it through the hole by pinching the tip and forcing it in and use some water to make it slippery. You could open the hole up a little bit by using a drill but there should be no need to do that. It’s just a tight squeeze.
https://royalexclusiv.com/Spare-Par....html?MODsid=5157b4eb632a044209170e93e8726155

As for your overflowing issue, you likely either had the skimmer in too deep of water or didn’t have the nozzle adjusted properly. 8-9” sump depth should work well. From there turn the yellow nozzle in the pumps intake all the way in and count out 1.5 full turns. That would be a starting point to fine tune the pump. Turn the yellow nozzle outwards a little at a time until you find the sweet spot that results in the most dense foam and no overflowing. The more you open it, the more air goes in and less water which should result in a lower level inside the skimmer body. Keep notes on how many turns out you are on the nozzle as that will help you with fine tuning. Once you get close to the sweet spot, a tiny bit of a turn can make a big difference. Taking a sharpie pen and making a line across the nozzle when it’s fully closed will help you know where your adjustments are at. I would suggest using long rubber gloves when making the nozzle adjustments as the oils in your skin will impact the skimmer and you will have to wait hours for the skimmer to stop reacting to the oils and change of surface tension in the water. Using gloves will circumvent that and allow you to see the results of your adjustment much quicker. That said, before you put the skimmer back into operation, I would suggest taking the pump apart and giving it a 10 minute vinegar soak followed by scrubbing the impeller, magnet and take a tooth brush and clean inside the magnet cavity. That way you are starting with a nice clean pump incase there is dried up salt or calcium from the last time it was used.

 

[rockstar]

slief, thanks for the quick reply and a fellow Floridian !

My pump is clean and I also removed and cleaned the bearing. But is wasn't very dirty so I doubt it was the cause. I will check the water depth in the sump, but I am running at the water level mark made by the previous owner.

Some clarification please. The tube from the pump squeezes through the seemingly (to me) too small hole in the torque tube and then bends upwards to the silencer ? If so, I will give it a shot. Seemed to me that the "squeeze" and the bend would restrict airflow, but if that is as designed I will try it.

I had used a smaller piece of tubing to "insert" the pump tubing into the torque tube, but it was not connected to the silencer. Could that contribute to the overflowing ?

Do you stock the resonator inlay ? Can I substitute with something else ?

Thanks.

 

[slief]

slief, thanks for the quick reply and a fellow Floridian !

My pump is clean and I also removed and cleaned the bearing. But is wasn't very dirty so I doubt it was the cause. I will check the water depth in the sump, but I am running at the water level mark made by the previous owner.

Some clarification please. The tube from the pump squeezes through the seemingly (to me) too small hole in the torque tube and then bends upwards to the silencer ? If so, I will give it a shot. Seemed to me that the "squeeze" and the bend would restrict airflow, but if that is as designed I will try it.

I had used a smaller piece of tubing to "insert" the pump tubing into the torque tube, but it was not connected to the silencer. Could that contribute to the overflowing ?

Do you stock the resonator inlay ? Can I substitute with something else ?

Thanks.

Very glad to help.

The hose will be tight but it’s shouldn’t really restrict the airflow much if any. If that is the original hose which it likely is, you just need to work it into the hole. The smaller tubing inserted into the large tube as you had it could have restricted airflow enough that you would have had more water going into the skimmer and less air. This can cause the overflow however, that is something you could have tuned out using the nozzle unless the air was really restricted. Either way, you don’t want to use smaller tubing in there and if you had to, you could open the hole in the wedge pipe up slighly but there should be no reason to do so. It’s supposed to be a tight fit. The nozzle is your key to tuning it and between getting the sump depth in the ball park and finding the sweet spot for the nozzle, you should be able to get it working correctly. The only other thing to pay attention to is salt buildup in the venturi port where the silcone hose connects to the pump. Salt buildup in there will cause overflows if the port gets blocked from salt. If you are really concerned about the venturi tubing, you can order new tubing but I can’t guarantee it’s not going to be tight as well since I’m not there to force the existing tubing into the wedge pipe to feel how tight it actually is. I’d roll with what you have. I think it should be fine since it fits the pump correctly.

This is the replacement foam inlay for the resonator. I am not sure what you could substitute in it’s place since it’s designed to fit in the properly and have an open center to clear the PVC tube that extends up into from the bottom and the one that extends down from the top. It’s also porous enough to not restrict air intake. Some poeple do remove them completely. The downside to running without it is a bit more noise and some dust getting into the hose and pump. Not a huge deal but if you’re ordering the drain connection for the collection cup, you might as well get the foam inlay too.
https://royalexclusiv.com/Spare-Par...-Supermarin-200-300/resonator-inlay::811.html

 

[Marco@GHLUSA]

Bob,
Are you in the Tampa area?

We're in Fort Myers, and if you wanted to come down this way with the unit we could go through it, and figure out what she needs.

-Marco

 

[ReefClownMIA]

Logged into with wrong userID. Ooopsies.
Offer stands

 

[rockstar]

Marco, great offer, thanks. I would love to take you up on it so I will check on the logistics. Not in Tampa though, further up the road. I'll contact you via PM.

 

[rockstar]

Well trying again, but so far same 'ole, same 'ole.

So I dropped the sump level to just below 7.5 inches. I did route the silicone tube through the torque tube and attach it to the silencer. This does cause a crease in the tubing.

Removed the Euroreef. Put in the Bubble King. Waited an hour or so for detritus to settle. I left off the collection cup and turned on the pump to let it overflow the body. The pump being in a different position stirred up more detritus which has now made the entire tank cloudy.

Ran the pump for several hours until it looked like there could be the "foam cushion" mentioned in the manual. Added collection cup which immediately overflowed. Turned out the yellow nozzle a considerable amount with no noticeable change. Just continuous overflow.

So maybe I didn't let it break in long enough ? But since it is not new, there should not be any grease or oils left over from manufacturing. Hopefully patience and persistence will get this thing working.

So now I am just going to let it overflow the body without the collection cup and try adding the collection cup again tomorrow.

 

[slief]

Well trying again, but so far same 'ole, same 'ole.

So I dropped the sump level to just below 7.5 inches. I did route the silicone tube through the torque tube and attach it to the silencer. This does cause a crease in the tubing.

Removed the Euroreef. Put in the Bubble King. Waited an hour or so for detritus to settle. I left off the collection cup and turned on the pump to let it overflow the body. The pump being in a different position stirred up more detritus which has now made the entire tank cloudy.

Ran the pump for several hours until it looked like there could be the "foam cushion" mentioned in the manual. Added collection cup which immediately overflowed. Turned out the yellow nozzle a considerable amount with no noticeable change. Just continuous overflow.

So maybe I didn't let it break in long enough ? But since it is not new, there should not be any grease or oils left over from manufacturing. Hopefully patience and persistence will get this thing working.

So now I am just going to let it overflow the body without the collection cup and try adding the collection cup again tomorrow.

Skimmers need to break in anytime they dry out. Break in is more about the slime coating inside the body and the bubbles truly settling in which can take a week or so for the slime coat to develop. How far out on the nozzle did you go from fully closed? It can take upwards of 4 full turns out and in some cases more depending on the tank, load, dissolved organics, surface tension etc. The tank being cloudy will add a LOT of dissolved solids to the water column which in itself will make a skimmer go nuts! Even after letting it clear up. Letting it overflow into a bucket could help export some of the stuff in the water while also helping the skimmer settle in. You’d obviously have to add salt water to replace the stuff the skimmer pulls out. That said, you may want to play with the nozzle more. I usually suggest starting at 1.5 turns out from fully closed (all the way in) and working outward from there but every tank is different so you might even start at 1 turn out and work outwards from there. You could even try going extreme with the nozzle and turn it 5 full turns out and see what that does. Use gloves when you do though so the oils in your skin don’t impact the surface tension and cause you to have to wait hours to see the results.

 

[rockstar]

So the nozzle was about 4 turns out. Now I have adjusted (with gloved hand) it so that the nozzle barely even attaches, as far out as it will go and also added the collection cup. Still getting continuous overflow so I have left the collection cup drain open. There is no way I can remove and replace the water that is running through the skimmer, I'd need the ocean for refill ! Note that it's not just water overflowing, there are a massive amount of bubbles.

If I place my hand in front of the nozzle to block water entering the pump, I can get a very nice water level. Too bad this is the AC pump that can't be adjusted.

So the pump has been running since Saturday morning. I guess I will let it run throughout the week to see if things will settle down. Not sure what else to try, I've severely lowered sump water level and have nozzle all the way out.

Maybe I need to pull the silicone tube out of the silencer and torque tube and just have it loose and completely unrestricted ??

And it's not like this tank had never been skimmed before as the Euroreef was doing a decent job pulling gunk out.

Looks like it will be a long week. Hopefully persistence will pay off.

 

[slief]

So the nozzle was about 4 turns out. Now I have adjusted (with gloved hand) it so that the nozzle barely even attaches, as far out as it will go and also added the collection cup. Still getting continuous overflow so I have left the collection cup drain open. There is no way I can remove and replace the water that is running through the skimmer, I'd need the ocean for refill ! Note that it's not just water overflowing, there are a massive amount of bubbles.

If I place my hand in front of the nozzle to block water entering the pump, I can get a very nice water level. Too bad this is the AC pump that can't be adjusted.

So the pump has been running since Saturday morning. I guess I will let it run throughout the week to see if things will settle down. Not sure what else to try, I've severely lowered sump water level and have nozzle all the way out.

Maybe I need to pull the silicone tube out of the silencer and torque tube and just have it loose and completely unrestricted ??

And it's not like this tank had never been skimmed before as the Euroreef was doing a decent job pulling gunk out.

Looks like it will be a long week. Hopefully persistence will pay off.

It's certainly worth removing the tube from the wedge pipe and seeing if that stops the overflowing. if it does, then the air intake is being restricted too much. In that case, you could open up the hole where it goes through the wedge pipe but unless the original tube was changed, that shouldn't be needed. I know you indicted the foam filter got soaked. Have you removed that entirely and made sure the tubes going into the silencer are clean? Any restriction in the air path whether it's at the pump or elsewhere up the venturi line and in the silencer can cause that behavior but that skimmer was designed to have the tubing run through the wedge pipe into the silencer so unless that is not the original tubing that came with the skimmer, running it through there should not be an issue.

 

[rockstar]

There really is no way that I can know for sure if this is the original tubing, but my best guess is that it is original. I think I will try just having the tubing loose and not go into the torque tube and see what happens.

 

[rockstar]

Update - Progress.

Once I removed the silicone tubing, the water level in the skimmer went down significantly. Then by having the nozzle barely on (fully extended) and with the low sump water level, it started looking like a skimmer. Lots of bubbles reaching up to the top of the collection cup, but not a continuous flow of water as before. So routing that tube into the torque tube and silencer did restrict the air flow.

After running overnight, it has settled down some more so that only few a bubbles were hitting the collection cup top. So now, I am slowing raising the sump water level as it was only enough to cover the pump. I'd like to get the sump level higher before trying anything with the air tubing again.

Persistence and patience.

 

[slief]

Update - Progress.

Once I removed the silicone tubing, the water level in the skimmer went down significantly. Then by having the nozzle barely on (fully extended) and with the low sump water level, it started looking like a skimmer. Lots of bubbles reaching up to the top of the collection cup, but not a continuous flow of water as before. So routing that tube into the torque tube and silencer did restrict the air flow.

After running overnight, it has settled down some more so that only few a bubbles were hitting the collection cup top. So now, I am slowing raising the sump water level as it was only enough to cover the pump. I'd like to get the sump level higher before trying anything with the air tubing again.

Persistence and patience.

That is great to hear. That must not be the original silicone tubing. What I would do next is remove the silencer from the wedge pipe and connect it to the tubing and see if the skimmer goes nuts again. If it doesn’t you could just open the hole up in the wedge pipe a bit so the tubing isn’t pinched going through the hole. Or you could order new tubing but I don’t think that’s necessary since the fix should be very simple. The new tubing we have in stock is 9mm outside diameter with a 3mm wall thickness and it is sold in 1 meter lengths. If you have a caliper you could measure the tubing you have just to verify the outside diameter. I would also suggest putting a piece of tape over the hole in the wedge pipe so that the drain isn’t impacted by the hole being open. Kind of like how the vent works on a durso stand pipe drain. That way you can be certain that the hole in the wedge isn’t allowing the water to exit faster vs the air intake being restricted.

 

[rockstar]

Update.

Removing the silencer from the torque tube and directly connecting the silicone tubing worked without changing the water level. Of corse the first time I went away for the day, the silencer fell off the top of the sump, kinked the hose, and caused a flood.

Over a long period of time, I was able to raise the sump water level to what I consider to be a normal level. The nozzle is still fully extended.

Here is a picture of the cup after a bit less than a week. Very very wet, brown water which has to be cleaned pretty often.

 

[slief]

That is definitely very wet. How deep is the sump level now?

 

[rockstar]

Just a bit over 8 3/4 ".

This is the level I ran the Euroreef at or even up to 9".

 

[slief]

Just a bit over 8 3/4 ".

This is the level I ran the Euroreef at or even up to 9".

I’d lower the level a bit again but that’s just me. If you run it 8”, it should be easier to tune and less sensitive even with the way you have the hose outside the wedge pipe. Since you don’t know the history on that skimmer, I was just thinking about this and wonder if the impeller in it is a 2000 or 2500 impeller and not the 1500. They look the same so it would be really tough to tell the difference as the difference is in the needle wheel itself. If that was the case, it would explain the overflowing since the 2000 and 2500 pump much more volume through the pump which would have a direct impact on the level inside the skimmer during normal operation. This assuming it’s not just the airline that’s incorrect.

 

[rockstar]

So after cleaning out the skimmer cup, when I restarted it, the bubbles didn't even rise beyond the neck. It remained at that level for the rest of the evening. This morning, bubbles are rising throughout the cup and there is a small amount of brown water.

 

[slief]

That looks much better.