Bubble King Setup, Tuning and trouble shooting thread. Post your questions here!

[ferntreegully]

thanks,
that pump was available on the spot otherwise had to be shipped in and i could not wait. Tank is 140 gallon Redsea 650 peninsula i just minus the rock but if you think the skimmer is still to big i would like to know cause i will down size if need be. I dont really want to get more fish

Frank

 

[ferntreegully]

sorry forgot ,if i lower pump speed i will have to either close wedge wellabout 3/4 or sink the skimmer in 10- 10.5 in otherwise no skimate in cup

Frank

 

[slief]

thanks,
that pump was available on the spot otherwise had to be shipped in and i could not wait. Tank is 140 gallon Redsea 650 peninsula i just minus the rock but if you think the skimmer is still to big i would like to know cause i will down size if need be. I dont really want to get more fish

Frank

Skimmer sizing is based on theoretical loads. You could have a 500 gallon tank with 20 fish in it and this skimmer would be oversized. The biggest issue is that the oversized skimmer can be inconsistent due to a lack of enough dissolved organics to keep the neck consistently filled with foam. The dissolved organics is what allows the bubbles to stick together into chains that create the foam. In the absence of enough dissolved organics, you get bubbles instead of foam until the organics build back up enough to generate some foam. Then the organic levels drop again and the skimmer idles along until the build back up. Running wetter helps keep the skimmer more consistent but you end up with a more tea colored skimmate since there is more water in the skim. A Mini 160 would have been a better choice but if you run it wet, I think you will be just fine.

sorry forgot ,if i lower pump speed i will have to either close wedge wellabout 3/4 or sink the skimmer in 10- 10.5 in otherwise no skimate in cup

Frank

Close the wedge or raise the sump level, the choice is yours. Both will accomplish the same thing but raising the sump level will make the wedge pipe less sensitive which in turn makes fine tuning from wet to dry easier.

 

[VAChERA]

Hi silef,

I have a RE Supermarin 250 with the old style pump (had it for years now, and still operating good)

I have been out of the hobby for a while now, and recently got a new 100G tank. My fishload is very very low (2 small surgeonfish, clowns a few wrasses and a small angel.)

I started the tank in August this year, and have not gotten good thick skimmate. I can "dirty" water in the collection cup, but not consistent skimmate. I know the skimmer is oversized for my tank, but I used it in a similar setup before with good results. How would you go about setting the water level and the nozzle?

I set the nozzle now at the dot (almost 1,5 turns out). I read that you can under and over hit this point to decrease and increase flow of air and water through the skimmer.

Where would you start to find the ideal spot? The skimmer has been running for months, but it mostly collects black thick mud in the collection cup neck, with dirty brown water in the collection cup.

 

[slief]

Hi silef,

I have a RE Supermarin 250 with the old style pump (had it for years now, and still operating good)

I have been out of the hobby for a while now, and recently got a new 100G tank. My fishload is very very low (2 small surgeonfish, clowns a few wrasses and a small angel.)

I started the tank in August this year, and have not gotten good thick skimmate. I can "dirty" water in the collection cup, but not consistent skimmate. I know the skimmer is oversized for my tank, but I used it in a similar setup before with good results. How would you go about setting the water level and the nozzle?

I set the nozzle now at the dot (almost 1,5 turns out). I read that you can under and over hit this point to decrease and increase flow of air and water through the skimmer.

Where would you start to find the ideal spot? The skimmer has been running for months, but it mostly collects black thick mud in the collection cup neck, with dirty brown water in the collection cup.

You do not set the water level using the nozzle. That nozzle adjusts the air/water ratio. And you use that nozzle adjust the foam density with the nozzle and set the level using both the sump water level and the wedge pipe. The idea is that you use the nozzle to get the most thick/dense foam possible. Every tank is different though so there is no "œideal" or "œcorrect" setting. You are going to need to make subtle adjustments. I would suggest using gloves when you do it so the oils in your skin don't impact the foam. If you do that, you will have to wait less time between adjustments to see the results. That said, that skimmer is WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too big for a 100 gallon tank and I would not expect it for perform well on that system. You just won't ever have enough dissolved organics in a system that small to be able to keep the neck full of foam. The results you are seeing now are exactly what I would expect from that skimmer. I have a SM250 on a 700 gallon system with over 70 fish and it could handle more.

 

[narcist21]

High Pitch Squeal

High Pitch Squeal

I've been using my new mini BK180 for two weeks and all has been as expected during the break in period. I have however heard a few times the pump make a high squeal pitch sound for about thirty seconds and then go away. Anyone else experience this?

 

[slief]

I've been using my new mini BK180 for two weeks and all has been as expected during the break in period. I have however heard a few times the pump make a high squeal pitch sound for about thirty seconds and then go away. Anyone else experience this?

I would take it apart and make sure that nothing got into the impeller area. It's possible that something got sucked in there. If it were me, I would for the pump, pull the pump head off and pull the impeller and just do a once over on everything. There's really nothing in there to create that noise as it's a virtually friction free environment inside the pump.

 

[narcist21]

Mini 180 Micro Bubbles

Mini 180 Micro Bubbles

I would take it apart and make sure that nothing got into the impeller area. It's possible that something got sucked in there. If it were me, I would for the pump, pull the pump head off and pull the impeller and just do a once over on everything. There's really nothing in there to create that noise as it's a virtually friction free environment inside the pump.

So I took the pump apart and cleaned everything, didn't find anything and haven't heard anything since. But the skimmer has been running for three months and I've had massive micro bubble the entire time. I've tried raising the sump level (currently 9"), raising the water level in the skimmer (1" below to breaking in the neck) and multiple speeds from the lowest setting to the highest. Yet all I see is bubbles being returned to the sump... The tank is 1.5 yrs old, 150 gallons and 12 fish total that range from 3" to 6". Any help? It won't let me attach a picture where you can see the bubbles just leaving the return pipe.

 

[slief]

So I took the pump apart and cleaned everything, didn't find anything and haven't heard anything since. But the skimmer has been running for three months and I've had massive micro bubble the entire time. I've tried raising the sump level (currently 9"), raising the water level in the skimmer (1" below to breaking in the neck) and multiple speeds from the lowest setting to the highest. Yet all I see is bubbles being returned to the sump... The tank is 1.5 yrs old, 150 gallons and 12 fish total that range from 3" to 6". Any help? It won't let me attach a picture where you can see the bubbles just leaving the return pipe.

I think your issue is that you don’t have enough load in terms of dissolved organics meaning this skimmer is WAY oversized for your load. If you look at our tank size ratings, the lowest size rating assume you’d have a heavy load and skimmer sizing is always based on theoretical loads. The minimum size and load for this skimmer is around 90 gallos with a heavy load. A heavy load is 1/2” of fish per display gallon which equates to around 40” of fish. In your case, you have a very low load relative to the skimmer size. In the absence of enough dissolved organics, there aren’t sufficient proteins to allow all the bubbles to stick together forming chains that rise to the top and create good foam. Instead, you get a lot of bubbles that blast around the skimmer body with a lot of the escaping out the effluent. You could get away with a much smaller skimmer given your current fish load and ultimately would see much better performance from the skimmer. The lowest speed level is going to work the best for you and raising the break line up just above the base of the neck where it attaches to the body will help some. Adding a bunch more fish will help a lot!

 

[narcist21]

Even at the lowest speed (actually second as the first doesn't have any bubbles) it just spews bubbles. This thing feels like an $1100 paperweight. Something is wrong, I shouldn't need 75" of fish to not make bubbles in my tank.

 

[slief]

Even at the lowest speed (actually second as the first doesn’t have any bubbles) it just spews bubbles. This thing feels like an $1100 paperweight. Something is wrong, I shouldn’t need 75” of fish to not make bubbles in my tank.

Is this the Mini 180 or the Double Cone 180?

 

[narcist21]

Is this the Mini 180 or the Double Cone 180?

This is the mini.

 

[slief]

This is the mini.

I am sending you a PM.

 

[biecacka]

Slief! Good to see you are still active around here buddy! How are you liking the new homestead?
So I recently moved and set my tank back up and just want to double check a few things with my DC200. It should be in around8-9 inches of water and ideally ran between 28-32, correct? How open or closed should the pipe be? It’s on a 240 but there is only about 15 fish in it now but a few tangs all over 4 inches.
Also, I was doing some maintenance on the pump and the screws on the outside, 2 of them just slide out as if they don’t catch any threads. I’m going to try again tomorrow when I have a moment just in case it was user error….

Corey

 

[slief]

Slief! Good to see you are still active around here buddy! How are you liking the new homestead?
So I recently moved and set my tank back up and just want to double check a few things with my DC200. It should be in around8-9 inches of water and ideally ran between 28-32, correct? How open or closed should the pipe be? It's on a 240 but there is only about 15 fish in it now but a few tangs all over 4 inches.
Also, I was doing some maintenance on the pump and the screws on the outside, 2 of them just slide out as if they don't catch any threads. I'm going to try again tomorrow when I have a moment just in case it was user error"¦.

Corey

Doing good. Loving it here in Montana. I'd suggest 8.5-9". 28-32w. How closed you close the wedge depends on your sump depth and how wet you want to skim. If you have to close it more then 50%, I'd increase the sump depth a bit. As for the screws, if you are talking about the pump screws, they screw into titanium nuts so the nuts likely backed out of their hole in the back of the pump or you lost them.

 

[biecacka]

I believe that as I have heard it is beautiful country out there! Fresh air out of the rat race!! How is the property renovations coming along?
So right now I have a very light load for the skimmer but that’ll be changing soon. the skimmer sits in 8.5 inches of water, wedge pipe is 1/3 closed and is being ran about 28 watts.
I’m getting ready to give the skimmer a good cleaning, clean out the Venturi of salt creep, clean the housing out near the air line exit (I forget what it’s called). As far as the titanium nuts go, can they be replaced from a local box store?

Corey

 

[slief]

I believe that as I have heard it is beautiful country out there! Fresh air out of the rat race!! How is the property renovations coming along?
So right now I have a very light load for the skimmer but that'll be changing soon. the skimmer sits in 8.5 inches of water, wedge pipe is 1/3 closed and is being ran about 28 watts.
I'm getting ready to give the skimmer a good cleaning, clean out the Venturi of salt creep, clean the housing out near the air line exit (I forget what it's called). As far as the titanium nuts go, can they be replaced from a local box store?

Corey

It is beautiful up here. We are in the middle of a national forest with river front property and a lake less then 500' from our doorstep. Today was the first day I got out ice fishing this season. It's been unseasonably warm this year where as this time last year we were ice fishing a few weeks prior. Winter is my favorite time of year out here as I love ice fishing. Granted, I fish year around but we hit countless lakes in the winter and slay trout, perch and pike. I setup an ice shelter on the really cold days and bring a small grill. We eat, drink, fish and have a good time. Also have a snowmobile to hit the local lakes which makes it quite fun.

I am sure we likely have some nuts in stock. I'd need to check with Germany in the event that you don't have them but I am guessing they are in there and just backed out when you pushed the screws in. If you don't find them, let me know and I will see what we have in Ft. Myers as they aren't listed on our site that I can see.

 

[biecacka]

Quick question, my RD3 pump seized up and I replaced it with the RDX pump. The replacement rd3 were out of stock for weeks and I just bought the other option since I was down a skimmer.
I had a DC 200 and ran it on 27 on the controller, any idea of settings on the rdx pumps?

Corey