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

[msderganc]

Just received my new Mini BK 160 in the mail today (6 months after ordering, ended up going with it over the DC 150 due to space constraints), but I have a question:

Is there normally a hum? It's registering about 50 db on my SPL ~3 feet from the skimmer. I can hear the air intake as well. It's definitely louder than my Tunze pumps. I pulled the skimmer apart and ran it without the case and it was a lot quieter. Are there any points that may be over tightened? Or something I can grease with silicone grease to make it quieter? It's definitely not as silent as people have described it.

There were also some scrapes on the back of the chamber, minor issues, but for the amount I paid for a small skimmer, I would have thought it would be perfect.

 

[slief]

Just received my new Mini BK 160 in the mail today (6 months after ordering, ended up going with it over the DC 150 due to space constraints), but I have a question:

Is there normally a hum? It's registering about 50 db on my SPL ~3 feet from the skimmer. I can hear the air intake as well. It's definitely louder than my Tunze pumps. I pulled the skimmer apart and ran it without the case and it was a lot quieter. Are there any points that may be over tightened? Or something I can grease with silicone grease to make it quieter? It's definitely not as silent as people have described it.

There were also some scrapes on the back of the chamber, minor issues, but for the amount I paid for a small skimmer, I would have thought it would be perfect.

Not sure about the scrapes. That is kind of surprising. Also surprised you waited 6 months. We were out of stock on them for a few months between shipments but not 6 months. Where did you order it from? Are they actually scrapes or just smudges?

That said, I run the same skimmer in one of my tanks. It's pretty quiet but the tolerances are tight on the Mini's. I run the screws that hold the base plate into the skimmer, snug but not completely tight. Same with the screw that holds the bubble plate. Also make sure the bubble plate is centered and not off to one side so that it's coming in contact with the body. That would cause some resonance or vibration. I also found that it quieted down substantially as the skimmer broke in. Just give it a week or two and it should quiet down. You can try loosing some of the screws slightly but it probably just needs some breakin time. That does draw a fair amount of air but again, that should quiet down as the skimmer breaks in. Once it settles in, I think you will really like it. Mine does an amazing job and is very consistent. While not silent, they are one of the quietest space saving skimmers I've used to date but as I said, it takes some time for it to break in and quiet down which was the case with mine.

 

[msderganc]

Not sure about the scrapes. That is kind of surprising. Also surprised you waited 6 months. We were out of stock on them for a few months between shipments but not 6 months. Where did you order it from? Are they actually scrapes or just smudges?

That said, I run the same skimmer in one of my tanks. It's pretty quiet but the tolerances are tight on the Mini's. I run the screws that hold the base plate into the skimmer, snug but not completely tight. Same with the screw that holds the bubble plate. Also make sure the bubble plate is centered and not off to one side so that it's coming in contact with the body. That would cause some resonance or vibration. I also found that it quieted down substantially as the skimmer broke in. Just give it a week or two and it should quiet down. You can try loosing some of the screws slightly but it probably just needs some breakin time. That does draw a fair amount of air but again, that should quiet down as the skimmer breaks in. Once it settles in, I think you will really like it. Mine does an amazing job and is very consistent. While not silent, they are one of the quietest space saving skimmers I've used to date but as I said, it takes some time for it to break in and quiet down which was the case with mine.

Thanks - I appreciate it. Part of the reason for the wait was that I had originally ordered the DC150, which had been out of stock. Yes, they are definitely scrapes on the outside back of the main skimmer body, behind the pump.

I checked the bubble plate, it is centered. I will loosen the baseplate screws a bit to see if that helps. Have you tried putting something like a piece of super thin latex or silicone? in between the pump baseplate and the skimmer base?

Otherwise I'll wait for it to break in and see if that helps.

 

[slief]

Thanks - I appreciate it. Part of the reason for the wait was that I had originally ordered the DC150, which had been out of stock. Yes, they are definitely scrapes on the outside back of the main skimmer body, behind the pump.

I checked the bubble plate, it is centered. I will loosen the baseplate screws a bit to see if that helps. Have you tried putting something like a piece of super thin latex or silicone? in between the pump baseplate and the skimmer base?

Otherwise I'll wait for it to break in and see if that helps.

Very strange that the body has a scratch on it. The skimmers are shipped in those nice cloth bags for to prevent scratches from the packaging. Where did you order this skimmer from? I wonder if it was handled before being shipped to you? Interestingly, the Double Cone 150's arrived at our facility in Ft. Myers at the same time as the Mini 160's so both should have been available at the same time which was a few weeks ago.

I have not tried putting latex or silicone between the base and the pump but like I said, mine quieted down after a week or two. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to try it but depending on what you use, it may raise the pump ever so slightly and then the nozzle may not aling with the pump where it goes through the body. It's already a tight fit there to prevent water from coming out of the body between the nozzle and body. Once the pump and skimmer break in, the resonance that you hear should dissipate but if you do experiment, please let me know what your results are.

 

[msderganc]

Very strange that the body has a scratch on it. The skimmers are shipped in those nice cloth bags for to prevent scratches from the packaging. Where did you order this skimmer from? I wonder if it was handled before being shipped to you? Interestingly, the Double Cone 150's arrived at our facility in Ft. Myers at the same time as the Mini 160's so both should have been available at the same time which was a few weeks ago.

I have not tried putting latex or silicone between the base and the pump but like I said, mine quieted down after a week or two. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to try it but depending on what you use, it may raise the pump ever so slightly and then the nozzle may not aling with the pump where it goes through the body. It's already a tight fit there to prevent water from coming out of the body between the nozzle and body. Once the pump and skimmer break in, the resonance that you hear should dissipate but if you do experiment, please let me know what your results are.

Will do. Just loosening the titanium bolts got it down 5db. I was concerned about the alignment as well. I ordered a bit of 1/25" silicone gasket material, which I think may be thin enough not to affect the alignment. Coming from China I think though, so it won't be here until June/July.

It was shipped direct from the Royal Exclusiv warehouse in Florida, and it had the cloth bag around it. So the scratches must have happened at the factory?

 

[slief]

Will do. Just loosening the titanium bolts got it down 5db. I was concerned about the alignment as well. I ordered a bit of 1/25" silicone gasket material, which I think may be thin enough not to affect the alignment. Coming from China I think though, so it won't be here until June/July.

It was shipped direct from the Royal Exclusiv warehouse in Florida, and it had the cloth bag around it. So the scratches must have happened at the factory?

Good that loosening the screws helped a bit. As I said, it should quiet down more once it breaks in. Did you happen to get any pictures of the scratch in question? I assume given your wait that you bought this through one of our resllers and it was drop shipped from us? If so, which reseller did you buy it through? I wonder if the skimmer was opened in customs and maybe got scratched when it customes inspected the shipment.. I've not seen any complaints about scratched skimmers so I'm just pondering where this could have happened as Germany is pretty careful with these things when the assemble and pack them.

 

[msderganc]

I bought it through Premium Aquatics, and it was drop shipped. I can get a pic today, if it helps.

 

[slief]

I bought it through Premium Aquatics, and it was drop shipped. I can get a pic today, if it helps.

I certainly would be curious. Hopefully it's not much trouble. I will PM you my email address so we don't derail this thread.

 

[Sanghee]

hello? My BK dc200 has a problem

hello? My BK dc200 has a problem

hey my skimmer is overflowing...

I`m very confused...

 

[Sanghee]

hey my skimmer is overflowing...

I`m very confused...

what is the best water level for double cone 200?

and how many time should I turn the intake nozzel?

My tank is just brand new 2weeks ago.

 

[slief]

what is the best water level for double cone 200?

and how many time should I turn the intake nozzel?

My tank is just brand new 2weeks ago.

Is this a new skimmer? What depth do you have it at now and how many turns out not the nozzle are you? Is your wedge pipe wide open? If this skimmer was not new when you got it, I would check the venturi port where the air hose connects to the pump and make sure there isn't any salt build up in that port. If there is salt build up in there, air flow will be restricted and that can cause an overflow. Also make sure the ozone port is either blocked off or has the tube connected to it so it can draw air instead of water.

Best level depends on the load. I would start at 8.5" and if you have the standard red dragon with the adjustable nozzle and not an RD3, start at 1.5 full turns out from fully closed and work your way out from there. Since your tank is brand new, you don't have any lead or dissolved organics. As such, your not going to generate much skimmate. The overflowing is either due to the sump depth being too deep or too much water and not enough air flow going into the skimmer which is where the nozzle comes into play. The more you open the nozzle, the less water flow and more air flow. You also have the wedge pipe to adjust the level. If that is closed, you will overflow. Adjust the wedge to it's fully open position to start. The wedge pipe is used for fine tuning the level in the skimmer.

If your wedge pipe was closed and you open it and aren't overflowing anymore, then use the nozzle to fine tune the foam so that you get the most dense foam possible. Be sure to wear gloves when you adjust the nozzle otherwise the oil in your skin will make the skimmer go kind of flat and you will be waiting a while between adjustments to see the results.

 

[Sanghee]

Is this a new skimmer? What depth do you have it at now and how many turns out not the nozzle are you? Is your wedge pipe wide open? If this skimmer was not new when you got it, I would check the venturi port where the air hose connects to the pump and make sure there isn't any salt build up in that port. If there is salt build up in there, air flow will be restricted and that can cause an overflow. Also make sure the ozone port is either blocked off or has the tube connected to it so it can draw air instead of water.

Best level depends on the load. I would start at 8.5" and if you have the standard red dragon with the adjustable nozzle and not an RD3, start at 1.5 full turns out from fully closed and work your way out from there. Since your tank is brand new, you don't have any lead or dissolved organics. As such, your not going to generate much skimmate. The overflowing is either due to the sump depth being too deep or too much water and not enough air flow going into the skimmer which is where the nozzle comes into play. The more you open the nozzle, the less water flow and more air flow. You also have the wedge pipe to adjust the level. If that is closed, you will overflow. Adjust the wedge to it's fully open position to start. The wedge pipe is used for fine tuning the level in the skimmer.

If your wedge pipe was closed and you open it and aren't overflowing anymore, then use the nozzle to fine tune the foam so that you get the most dense foam possible. Be sure to wear gloves when you adjust the nozzle otherwise the oil in your skin will make the skimmer go kind of flat and you will be waiting a while between adjustments to see the results.

My skimmer is already old, but I washed it for resetting my tank.

the depth is 21cm and 2.5 turns opened as RE said.

air connect is ok and there was no salt build up.

and wedge pipe is fully opened.

 

[Sanghee]

Is this a new skimmer? What depth do you have it at now and how many turns out not the nozzle are you? Is your wedge pipe wide open? If this skimmer was not new when you got it, I would check the venturi port where the air hose connects to the pump and make sure there isn't any salt build up in that port. If there is salt build up in there, air flow will be restricted and that can cause an overflow. Also make sure the ozone port is either blocked off or has the tube connected to it so it can draw air instead of water.

Best level depends on the load. I would start at 8.5" and if you have the standard red dragon with the adjustable nozzle and not an RD3, start at 1.5 full turns out from fully closed and work your way out from there. Since your tank is brand new, you don't have any lead or dissolved organics. As such, your not going to generate much skimmate. The overflowing is either due to the sump depth being too deep or too much water and not enough air flow going into the skimmer which is where the nozzle comes into play. The more you open the nozzle, the less water flow and more air flow. You also have the wedge pipe to adjust the level. If that is closed, you will overflow. Adjust the wedge to it's fully open position to start. The wedge pipe is used for fine tuning the level in the skimmer.

If your wedge pipe was closed and you open it and aren't overflowing anymore, then use the nozzle to fine tune the foam so that you get the most dense foam possible. Be sure to wear gloves when you adjust the nozzle otherwise the oil in your skin will make the skimmer go kind of flat and you will be waiting a while between adjustments to see the results.

but it is still overflowing...

 

[slief]

but it is still overflowing...

As I said above, work your way out on the nozzle. If you are at 2.5 full turns out from fully closed, open it some more until it stops overflowing. I normally suggest starting at 1.5 turns but you just need to find the sweet spot for your tank. The more you open it, the less water goes into the skimmer and the more air. As you increase the air and decrease the water flow via opening the nozzle, the water level will go down at which point your skimmer will stop overflowing. There is no "right" spot for the nozzle. Every tank is different. That nozzle is how you tune the skimmer and clearly your not tuned properly if you are still experiencing overflows.

 

[Sanghee]

As I said above, work your way out on the nozzle. If you are at 2.5 full turns out from fully closed, open it some more until it stops overflowing. I normally suggest starting at 1.5 turns but you just need to find the sweet spot for your tank. The more you open it, the less water goes into the skimmer and the more air. As you increase the air and decrease the water flow via opening the nozzle, the water level will go down at which point your skimmer will stop overflowing. There is no "right" spot for the nozzle. Every tank is different. That nozzle is how you tune the skimmer and clearly your not tuned properly if you are still experiencing overflows.

yes, I tried to turn more than more...

but still overflowing...

should I change the depth? when I made the depth 16.5cm... then It was ok.

 

[slief]

Depth has a direct impact on the skimmer so yes, reducing the depth will help with overflows though 16.5 is certainly low. Have you removed the foam in the silencer and cleaned it? To me it sounds like you may have some sort of an obstruction in the air path. This assuming you went far enough out not he nozzle. How many full turns out not he nozzle did you go? Have you used epoxy in your system anytime recently? Have you used Red Slime Remover in your system recently? I am just trying to figure out if something else is contributing to the overflow.

That said, you could run it where it's at for a while and see how it does. If you have really high dissolved organics in your system, that could contribute to the issue you are having and once you skimmer "catches up" and reduces the dissolved organics, you will be able to raise the sump level again without the overflows. This assuming it's something in your water causing the overflow.

 

[Sanghee]

Depth has a direct impact on the skimmer so yes, reducing the depth will help with overflows though 16.5 is certainly low. Have you removed the foam in the silencer and cleaned it? To me it sounds like you may have some sort of an obstruction in the air path. This assuming you went far enough out not he nozzle. How many full turns out not he nozzle did you go? Have you used epoxy in your system anytime recently? Have you used Red Slime Remover in your system recently? I am just trying to figure out if something else is contributing to the overflow.

That said, you could run it where it's at for a while and see how it does. If you have really high dissolved organics in your system, that could contribute to the issue you are having and once you skimmer "catches up" and reduces the dissolved organics, you will be able to raise the sump level again without the overflows. This assuming it's something in your water causing the overflow.

you mean....

should I make 16.5 depth for awhile? until the overflowing stop?

the tank is just brand new 19days ago.

and only marco rock and with baking soda used.

the air nozzle is cleaned before start.

should I remove the collection cup? until overflowing stop?

 

[slief]

Leave it at 16.5 for now and let it remove what ever is in the water causing the overflow. I suspect it's something in your rocks/system that is causing it. Let it run for a while and it will likely calm down as the skimmer removes what ever is causing the condition. At some point down the line probably a couple weeks, you should be able to gradually make the water level in the sump deeper.

 

[msderganc]

Good that loosening the screws helped a bit. As I said, it should quiet down more once it breaks in. Did you happen to get any pictures of the scratch in question? I assume given your wait that you bought this through one of our resllers and it was drop shipped from us? If so, which reseller did you buy it through? I wonder if the skimmer was opened in customs and maybe got scratched when it customes inspected the shipment.. I've not seen any complaints about scratched skimmers so I'm just pondering where this could have happened as Germany is pretty careful with these things when the assemble and pack them.

Hi - just an update. It's been going for about 3 weeks now, and it is as loud as it was when I got it. Any suggestions? I'm pretty sure from the last time I took it apart that it's the connection between the nozzle of the pump and the edge of the skimmer body that's causing the hum.

Regardless, I think it's pretty unacceptable for a pump that's billed as silent to be able to be heard across the room, especially considering the cost.

 

[slief]

Hi - just an update. It's been going for about 3 weeks now, and it is as loud as it was when I got it. Any suggestions? I'm pretty sure from the last time I took it apart that it's the connection between the nozzle of the pump and the edge of the skimmer body that's causing the hum.

Regardless, I think it's pretty unacceptable for a pump that's billed as silent to be able to be heard across the room, especially considering the cost.

PM Sent.