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

[slief]

Skimmer has broken in and the skimmate slowed down a bit. Wedge pipe was about 50-60% closed. So I redid my skimmer stand and dropped the skimmer from 8 inches to about 9 inches in depth. I'll watch this over and make changes as needed. This should allow me to keep the pump at 27 which will allow for longer bubble contact in the chamber, I think.

Corey

Sounds like you are on the right track. The slowed skimmate production is a sign that the skimmer caught up with the DOC's in your tank. Lowering it will help to give you better control via the wedge so you can wetten it up more without having to close the pipe too much. At the same time, wettening it up a bit will result in more skimmate production.

 

[biecacka]

That is nuts that it has possible caught up with the DOC's in the tank. I skimmed none for a long time and my tank has the struggles to show it. But this will allow me to get the best production from the skimmer.

Corey

 

[slief]

That is nuts that it has possible caught up with the DOC's in the tank. I skimmed none for a long time and my tank has the struggles to show it.

It's not as crazy as you think. First, these skimmers are very efficient when it comes to removing DOC's. To put it in perspective. At 27 watts, you're pushing nearly 400GPH through the skimmer. That means you are running your systems entire water volume through the skimmer roughly 16 times per 24 hours. This is figuring a total water volume of about 260 gallons. In 7 days, you would have run your entire systems volume through the skimmer over 112 times.

 

[mike810]

Maybe skimmer is too big. I debated on that skimmer and advised to get the 200. No need to oversize these skimmers. Same size tank and 30 fish. Tangs, angels some the size of my hand. I'm sure scott will chime in but I'll take a shoot....
Lower the skimmer into deeper water. Maybe drop it an inch or 1/2. Lower the speed to 35. That will allow for longer contact time in the chamber.

Corey

Reduce the pump speed to 37 watts... That will make better foam and is a good power level for the 250. Also, I assume you have the ozone port capped off?? If not, it should be. From the sounds of it, your load is lower than you think for that skimmer. While 9.5" is at the higher end of the range for that skimmer, you may need to go deeper since you are resorting to closing the wedge pipe that much. If you have to go past 1/2 closed, the skimmer should be deeper so you can open the wedge a bit. Reduce the pump speed and give it a day and go from there.. 37-38 watts max is the best range for that skimmer and a little bit can make a big difference in terms of skimmate quality.

Thanks for the response. I lowered it to 37 watts, didn't do much. I'm running it at at 34 watts now. Will see how it goes.

 

[vikz]

Once it's broken in, you could try slowing the pump down a bit in 1 watt increments.

thats not possible on mine :thumbdown

my pump is adjustable by 2 watt increments. the range is

20, 22, 24,26,28,30,32,34,36 etc..... all the way to 50w.


Skimmer has now fallen flat over last 2 days, there is not foam head in the neck, bubbles are bursting very quickly at base of neck, even if I increase power to 50w no change. I havent added any oils, water change, fresh salt, or epoxy etc to the tank

any advice?

P.s because I am in the UK, I understand our pumps spin slower than yours in the USA (50hz vs 60hz)

do you think that affects anything?

 

[slief]

thats not possible on mine :thumbdown

my pump is adjustable by 2 watt increments. the range is

20, 22, 24,26,28,30,32,34,36 etc..... all the way to 50w.


Skimmer has now fallen flat over last 2 days, there is not foam head in the neck, bubbles are bursting very quickly at base of neck, even if I increase power to 50w no change. I havent added any oils, water change, fresh salt, or epoxy etc to the tank

any advice?

P.s because I am in the UK, I understand our pumps spin slower than yours in the USA (50hz vs 60hz)

do you think that affects anything?

If anything, you would need to slow the pump down and not speed it up. If you haven't already tried, move it to 28 or 26 watts and raise the level in skimmer by closing the wedge pipe or raising the sump. The reduced speed and flow will decrease the bubble size. Unfortunately, with an oversized skimmer like that, you will have to run the skimmer with the bubble level higher in the neck to keep it remotely cosnsistent. You just don't have the right amount of DOC's in your water to fill the neck with consistent foam. Instead you will have bubbles that burst at the surface. By slowing it down, they will burst slower resulting in better contact time and by raising the level inside the skimmer, you will get better waste export given your load.

 

[vikz]

If anything, you would need to slow the pump down and not speed it up. If you haven't already tried, move it to 28 or 26 watts and raise the level in skimmer by closing the wedge pipe or raising the sump. The reduced speed and flow will decrease the bubble size. Unfortunately, with an oversized skimmer like that, you will have to run the skimmer with the bubble level higher in the neck to keep it remotely cosnsistent.

thanks slief, for all the help so far.

In my previous video pump at 30w and pipe closed to the 4line mark, the foam was dense and 'heavy/frothy' in the neck originally before stopping.

If I drop power to 28w the wedge pipe must be closed around 65-70% (~7.5 lines from open) to get the foam in the correct height....but it looks more 'airy' and 'fine' not 'thick' and 'frothy' if that makes any sense???? is that ok?

i was advised on another forum to increase pump power if I have low organic loads, the direct opposite of what your saying..

should I run at 28w with the wedge closed 65-70%??

 

[slief]

thanks slief, for all the help so far.

In my previous video pump at 30w and pipe closed to the 4line mark, the foam was dense and 'heavy/frothy' in the neck originally before stopping.

If I drop power to 28w the wedge pipe must be closed around 65-70% (~7.5 lines from open) to get the foam in the correct height....but it looks more 'airy' and 'fine' not 'thick' and 'frothy' if that makes any sense???? is that ok?

i was advised on another forum to increase pump power if I have low organic loads, the direct opposite of what your saying..

should I run at 28w with the wedge closed 65-70%??

I am not a fan of closing the wedge pipe that much because as I have said before, you might encounter surging. Thus my suggestion for raising your water level. In the event that you can't raise your water level, then your only option is to increase the pump speed. Regarding lowering the speed vs increasing it, lowering it increases contact time which can increase DOC export but there is a point of diminishing returns. In your case, its going to take some experimenting to figure out what settings work best. Higher pump speed vs lower pump speed and increased sump depth. You can obviously experiment by lowering the pump speed to 26 watt, closing the wedge to 65-70% and see how it performs. Then compare that to your 34 watt performance. The skimmate production and quality will be your best method of judging the performance for your lower load. That said, running it at a higher power certainly won't hurt anything and I am sure it will work OK. You just may find that the skimmate is lighter colored than it may be at a lower pump setting if you are able to raise the level inside the skimmer enough.

 

[biecacka]

Scott take a look at this and tell me your thoughts....

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m377/biecacka/A86F7408-4E01-404C-8908-486BE35481B4.mp4]

Corey

 

[slief]

Scott take a look at this and tell me your thoughts....

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m377/biecacka/A86F7408-4E01-404C-8908-486BE35481B4.mp4]

Corey

Looks good to me!

 

[vikz]

Hi guys

What is acceptable foam water level in double cone 200?

If i run it at 28w as recommended then the water level line is approx 2" inside skimmer neck. See video https://youtu.be/uXPQceRB0g0

Else if i run at 30w the water level line is were the cup and body connect. But the skim is wet like weak tea

 

[slief]

Hi guys

What is acceptable foam water level in double cone 200?

If i run it at 28w as recommended then the water level line is approx 2" inside skimmer neck. See video https://youtu.be/uXPQceRB0g0

Else if i run at 30w the water level line is were the cup and body connect. But the skim is wet like weak tea

Because your skimmer is way oversized for your tank size and load, you will need to raise the water level in the skimmer about 1" or maybe a little more to keep it consistent at 28 watts which is where I recommend you keep it. Close the wedge pipe a bit more or raise the sump level a little at a time until you have the water level raised inside the skimmer so that it transitions from water to foam about 1/3 the way up the neck instead of the 1/2" to 1" above the white collar where it's at now.

 

[seregus]

Hi guys,

As I asked on another BK thread on this forum - I do run Double Cone 180 for about 3 months on new tank, before it was running on a different one and was in a storage (commercial, dry and not too cold) for about 6 months.
Basically issue is microbubbles. They are like just going as a huge outcome from the pipe - it was not like this on a first setup.

I was suggested to rise water level and lower pump to 23-24 watts - you will not believe but I did this like a couple of hours ago, because this was the only setting I've not tried yet. It is still doing exactly the same.

The only idea left so far - it was in a storage. but I didn't clean it never, I mean - neck yes and collection cup, but not the skimmer body fully ... since original setup started... Should I unscrew and remove all the old dust - could it be reason skimmer doesn't want to "break-in"...

I mean it was taken from old setup and was sitting for many month dry...

 

[slief]

Hi guys,

As I asked on another BK thread on this forum - I do run Double Cone 180 for about 3 months on new tank, before it was running on a different one and was in a storage (commercial, dry and not too cold) for about 6 months.
Basically issue is microbubbles. They are like just going as a huge outcome from the pipe - it was not like this on a first setup.

I was suggested to rise water level and lower pump to 23-24 watts - you will not believe but I did this like a couple of hours ago, because this was the only setting I've not tried yet. It is still doing exactly the same.

The only idea left so far - it was in a storage. but I didn't clean it never, I mean - neck yes and collection cup, but not the skimmer body fully ... since original setup started... Should I unscrew and remove all the old dust - could it be reason skimmer doesn't want to "break-in"...

I mean it was taken from old setup and was sitting for many month dry...

I would definitely suggest you take the pump apart and clean it thoroughly in vinegar. Then give the impeller, volute and block a good scrubbing followed by a good rinse. If there is debris caught in the impeller, that could impact the skimmers performance and result in micro bubbles. It wouldn't hurt to clean the skimmer body as well because if there is stuff stuck to the side of the skimmer body, that will create turbulence inside the skimmer.

Also make sure the ozone tube is capped off. You don't want the pump drawing air from the red ozone tube.

As I mentioned in the other thread, the reduced flow and increased water level should help but if the pump is dirty inside or if you don't have the ozone port plugged off, you may get micro bubbles. Lastly is break in. I am assuming that this skimmer has been running for 3 months now and was not just started back up? If you just put it back into the system for the first time in a little while, it will take some time to break in but from the sounds of it, it should already be broken in.

 

[seregus]

Thank you vrry much for yor tips first of all.
I did cleaned skimmer body and found a small stone inside turbulence chamber... Dont know how it got in, but hope it was a reason.
Pump was cleaned twice before in Royal Exclusiv descale solution - twice.
Currently its still producing microbubbles in a same way it was before - I can see they are going down from main chamber into the lower and to output...

Checked ozone input and its closed for sure.

Will do video tomorrow and post here...

Hope its just breaking in again and bubbles will stop...

Thanks a lot and will keep you posted!

 

[slief]

Thank you vrry much for yor tips first of all.
I did cleaned skimmer body and found a small stone inside turbulence chamber... Dont know how it got in, but hope it was a reason.
Pump was cleaned twice before in Royal Exclusiv descale solution - twice.
Currently its still producing microbubbles in a same way it was before - I can see they are going down from main chamber into the lower and to output...

Checked ozone input and its closed for sure.

Will do video tomorrow and post here...

Hope its just breaking in again and bubbles will stop...

Thanks a lot and will keep you posted!

If you just started the skimmer for the first time after pulling it out of storage, it will take a week or so to break in again after drying out during which time microbubbles can be expected.

 

[mike810]

Thanks for the response. I lowered it to 37 watts, didn't do much. I'm running it at at 34 watts now. Will see how it goes.

I've resorted to raising it to 47 watts. The water line is half way up the cup. Now I am finally getting consistant foam making it over the neck and into the cup. When I was running it at 30ish watts, I would see foam one day and then go several days without seeing foam make it into the cup.

I am glad I finally have it dialed in making dirty dirty foam which actually makes it into the cup!

 

[biecacka]

Here's a weird question, so I started using filter socks about a month ago with a new skimmer. As the socks clog, the skimmer performs less. When I change out to a new sock, I notice a much drier foam and much higher. I'm still tinkering with the skimmer to find the sweet spot, so sometimes I have to re adjust the skimmer levels when new socks are put into operation. Thoughts?

Corey

 

[slief]

Here's a weird question, so I started using filter socks about a month ago with a new skimmer. As the socks clog, the skimmer performs less. When I change out to a new sock, I notice a much drier foam and much higher. I'm still tinkering with the skimmer to find the sweet spot, so sometimes I have to re adjust the skimmer levels when new socks are put into operation. Thoughts?

Corey

Wow.. You really are paying a lot of attention to that skimmer! :lmao: I never bothered to pay that much attention to my skimmate production between sock changes and I never mess with my skimmer settings before or after sock changes. I haven't really messed with my skimmer settings in a number of months because it always produces consistently. That's not to say I get the same amount of skimmate in the cup every week. I wouldn't expect that because my feeding habits vary slightly and I don't weigh my food rations out daily. Still, there is always new and nasty skimmate being produced and because of that, I know it's working well so there is no need to adjust it.

On to how I would explain it. Socks remove solid waste as well as larger dissolved solids (larger than the socks micron size) from the water. Some of which would otherwise be removed my the skimmer. As time passes, some of the waste/solids in the socks starts breaking down to the point that its small enough to pass through the socks in the form of dissolved solids or over the edge of the socks if they totally back up and overflow. This would take a few to several days and probably coincides with the socks plugging up which is about the time that you change them. Since the socks are catching some of the solids before you skimmer does, when the trapped solids start breaking down, there will be slightly more waste entering the skimmer compartment in your sump which would result in increased skimmate production. One other thing. When your socks back up, they retain more water. If you have enough socks and a sump that's water level is impacted slightly when you change the socks, the increased water level from the sock change may cause a wetter skim until the extra water retained in the dirty socks evaporates.

 

[biecacka]

It is interesting to be because they go crazy with clean socks. The chamber is in an area that water level cannot be sustained at a height that changes without sock. I attribute it to maybe a sudden "gushing" of water towards the pump until it settles with a new sock put on. However it overflowed today which is why I ask. I am paying very close attention as I am still trying to find that sweet spot on my skimmer.

Corey