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

[ReefClownMIA]

Scott,



A little help is needed, my tank is about 120gallon, the dc180 is sitting 8.5" in the sump, if I run the pump at 26W I'm not getting any foam at all. I have tried all the setting that you have suggested for the others like raising the sump level, closing the wedge pipes, cleaning the pump etc.



I have the dc180 for few months already, and I have to run it at 50W to have foam overflow to the cup, is there anything wrong with the pump that seems like produce very little bubbles at 26W as shown in the video?



Thanks.

Multiple factors come to play, what is your salinity level? Have you fed, dose aminos etc.

You could raise the water level a little bit, and bring the pump wattage up to around 30w, close the wedge pipe some more.

The skimmer needs DOCs to work efficiently, how heavy is your fish load?
Do you run media reactors?

I run a DC180 in my 110gal mixed reef, still light fish load. About 6.75" dump depth, wedge pipe 2/3 closed, 26-27w.

Run wet:

Run dry:

 

[uFnEC]

Thanks for the quick reply, I have a fully stocked sps tank with 15 fishes (clowns, butterfly, tang, anthias) I feed 2 times / day frozen and flake and other supplement for corals.

I do not run any media filter, just a ATS for reducing NP.
Salinity 1.026

I just have the pump set to 30W and closing the pipe to 2/3.

I'm just wondering is there any fault with my pump, it seems my one produce fewer bubbles compare to the others

 

[ReefClownMIA]

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

Depending on the food you feed, oils in the food may affect the surface tension and shut the skimmer down.

However, before we go that route, I'd like you to check a couple things.
1. Pull the silencer off the top of the stand pipe, and see if without it the skimmer fills with more air
A. If it does, open the silencer and see if the foam is restricting the internal pipes in the silencer chamber
B. If it does not, place it back
2. Check the silicone air hose, I've seen one that had been kinked and stuck together, limiting the amount of air it passes. If you loosen the set screw and lift the stand pipe, you can remove the entire hose from the stand pipe.
A. If it's kinked and stuck together, "massaging" the hose releases the kink usually.
3. Remove the Nozzle and make sure there is no obstruction in the air line nipple.

*4. From factory, the silicone air line hose comes shipped with some extra ... It's pretty long. I've seen some folks push the extra into the stand pipe, causing it to kink and restrict. Just in case yours is kinked inside the stand pipe, tug on it out of the stand pipe until it is firm(silencer holds it). You may find at this time that it kinks in front of the pump. Check this. Trim as needed.

 

[uFnEC]

I have checked the silicone air hose before and all seems to be good. The air hose no kinked inside and outside the pipe also.

Thanks.

 

[ReefClownMIA]

In that case, can you suspend feeding for 36-48h's and see if the skimmer will start to produce and stable out?
Whenever I feed, my skimmer essentially shuts down for a couple of hours before it is back to normal operation. If you feed frequently, this could keep your skimmer shut down.

 

[slief]

I have checked the silicone air hose before and all seems to be good. The air hose no kinked inside and outside the pipe also.

Thanks.

From what I can tell, the pump is producing good flow and air. 15 fish is a pretty light load. Especially given you are running an ATS. Even though you feed twice a day, that isn't a lot of waste/proteins in the water. A heavy load would be upwards of 1/2" of fish per gallon.

My suggestion would be to raise your sump level and inch or so and see what that does. That will get the foam up into the neck if not closer to it. Since you have a lighter load, running the pump at a higher speed will help raise water level but the best solution is to raise your sump level and keep the pump around 26 watts. The slower flow will result in better contact time. You might end up needing to run at 30 watts but I think with the correct water level in the sump, the lower wattage will produce better results. Keep in mind that there is no "correct" sump level. Every tank is different and it's the presence of enough dissolved organics that helps the skimmer produce higher foam levels in the body. A higher load will result in the foam being higher than a system with a lower load. As such, use your sump level to adjust the foam level in the skimmer. I would do so with the wedge pipe wide open or close to it and continue to adjust the sump level a little at a time until you find the sweet spot where you have the transition from bubbles to foam at the collar of the neck. Then use the wedge pipe to fine tune.

 

[uFnEC]

Thanks for the help, will try to raise the sump level and see if any help.

 

[slief]

Thanks Sleif!
Should I start from scratch at 7.5" water level and open the wedge pipe?

I like to use the water level in the sump to adjust the water level in the skimmer while leaving the wedge pipe open as much as possible. On the smaller body skimmers that don't have as much flow as their larger counterparts, having the wedge pipe wide open when you do your initial sump level adjustment isn't as critical so if you want to keep it closed partially, that's up to you.

 

[slief]

Thanks for the help, will try to raise the sump level and see if any help.

Glad to help. I am certain the sump level will make a big difference. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you want to keep the wedge partially closed so you don't have to raise the sump level as much, that isn't a big deal. Just try to avoid closing it more than 50-60% at final tuning. The wedge is really a tool for fine tuning from wet to dry skim.

 

[uFnEC]

Just recorded another video with wedge pipes fully open,pump at 26w and sump raised to 9.5", does the amount of bubbles look normal?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScB1_yGU_rM

 

[slief]

Just recorded another video with wedge pipes fully open,pump at 26w and sump raised to 9.5", does the amount of bubbles look normal?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScB1_yGU_rM

The bubbles look fine. You are producing decent foam. Give it a few hours to settle in then try using the wedge pipe to get the transition from bubbles to foam up into the neck. If you need to close the wedge a bit more than half, I wouln't worry about it unless you decide to raise the sump a bit more. 6 of this, a half dozen of the other. I think you are close.

 

[uFnEC]

OK. Just making sure the pump is not in fault, as I always think the pump is somehow faulty.

 

[slief]

OK. Just making sure the pump is not in fault, as I always think the pump is somehow faulty.

No.. Everything looks just fine to me. I don't see any pump performance issues there. It looks like what I would expect to see at 26 watts. Your foam actually looks pretty good. Just need to get that level up and you should be just fine. The devil is in the details or in this case, the fine tuning. Just a matter of getting the foam up into the neck and it will be perform well!

As Marco mentioned earlier, your feedings may also be impacting the skimmer performance due to oils and stuff in the food. That can impact the foam head for hours or more on smaller systems. Especially if you are feeding multiple times a day and mysis is the worst offender when it comes to foods that impact the skimmer. Once you get your level set, the feeding will have less of an impact. This assuming the food is impacting your skimmer performance. In looking at the video, your skimmer looks awfully clean for a 3 month old skimmer. How often are you cleaning the collection cup and neck? If you are using soap and water, to clean the neck, or scrubbing it, that will also cause the skimmer to go through a bit of break in period as it builds up a slime coating in the neck. That's one of the reasons why many of us prefer neck cleaners as you don't need to clean the neck which keeps the skimmer performing much more consistently.

 

[biecacka]

Scott how does this look?


I have it now running in 10.25 inches of water, 31 speed and pipe closed 80%. Should I drop it lower in the water?

Corey

 

[slief]

Scott how does this look?


I have it now running in 10.25 inches of water, 31 speed and pipe closed 80%. Should I drop it lower in the water?

Corey

It looks good to me. How's the skimmate quality & consistency? That would be the biggest determining factor. If it's working well, then I'd leave it. If you increase your load or want to skim drier, you can open the wedge pipe more.

 

[biecacka]

It's dark in color. Stinks to high heavens :lol:

Corey

 

[ReefClownMIA]

It's dark in color. Stinks to high heavens :lol:

Corey

Then you're good! :frog::lol::ape:

 

[slief]

Then you're good! :frog::lol::ape:

I agree! :thumbsup:

 

[uFnEC]

No.. Everything looks just fine to me. I don't see any pump performance issues there. It looks like what I would expect to see at 26 watts. Your foam actually looks pretty good. Just need to get that level up and you should be just fine. The devil is in the details or in this case, the fine tuning. Just a matter of getting the foam up into the neck and it will be perform well!

As Marco mentioned earlier, your feedings may also be impacting the skimmer performance due to oils and stuff in the food. That can impact the foam head for hours or more on smaller systems. Especially if you are feeding multiple times a day and mysis is the worst offender when it comes to foods that impact the skimmer. Once you get your level set, the feeding will have less of an impact. This assuming the food is impacting your skimmer performance. In looking at the video, your skimmer looks awfully clean for a 3 month old skimmer. How often are you cleaning the collection cup and neck? If you are using soap and water, to clean the neck, or scrubbing it, that will also cause the skimmer to go through a bit of break in period as it builds up a slime coating in the neck. That's one of the reasons why many of us prefer neck cleaners as you don't need to clean the neck which keeps the skimmer performing much more consistently.

I clean the cup every 2 weeks. I have now set to 30W, raised the sump to about 10" stopped feeding for a day, let see how it perform later.

Thanks.

 

[Pseudo69]

I have been running my Double Cone 180 for a year and even though the skimmate was dark green (because of the spirulina feeding) I never thought it was taking out all of the gunk in the tank. I just happened upon this thread and changed the way the skimmer was set up (7 1/2" water depth on a stand with wedge pipe 3/4 closed) to removing the stand, opening the wedge pipe and lowering my wattage to 26w. Within 1 hour I was getting a nice thick smelly foam head.

Great thread



Plus the stand was covering some really nasty detritus!! I think I am going to need that neck cleaner soon

Thanks Slief