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

[slief]

As of right now I have my skimmer in 5 7/8" of water, the nozzle 3.75 turns out and the wedge closed about 60-70%. I realize the wedge setting isn't ideal but it is producing a good foam head and I can probably start collecting some waste now.
It has been really sensitive about the height...at 6"depth, nozzle at 4.5 turns wedge fully open, it will most likely overflow. At 5 3/4 depth, nozzle at 4.5 turns, I have to just about close the wedge all the way to get the water height in the skimmer to move up.
I have also noticed that when closing the wedge pipe, it doesn't react much until I get to about 50% closed.
Here is a photo how it is looking:

It's looking pretty good! I think you have the sump depth about right. You are correct in that it is very sensitive to sump level adjustments. The smaller the skimmer, the more sensitive the become. Now just use the volute to fine tune. You can compensate for the wedge pipe being more open by adjusting the volute but as long as you aren't experiencing surging, then you should be OK with the wedge being that far closed. The volute adjustments do have a direct impact on the level inside the skimmer. Also keep in mind that once your skimmer catches up and exports some of the dissolved organics, you will need to do a bit of fine tuning with the volute and or wedge pipe to adjust for the lower amount of dissolved organics as the foam head will likely drop a bit once it catches up.

 

[himat]

hi
slief

update of DC200 settings

I have run this at 32w wedge pipe full open and water depth of 21.5cm (one week run)
this has produced more than twice when set at 30 from last time.
see pic below

 

[slief]

hi
slief

update of DC200 settings

I have run this at 32w wedge pipe full open and water depth of 21.5cm (one week run)
this has produced more than twice when set at 30 from last time.
see pic below
View attachment 341367
View attachment 341368

Damn, that looks pretty good!

 

[biecacka]

Ok, so I'm not sure if it is from my filter socks or not. But, I changed the one this morning and afterwards my skimmer went nuts overflowing. For 20 minutes it went haywire with a watery flow. I was my socks in a cap of bleach then run them thru 2 more cycles with no bleach or soap. When it settles down I might swap out socks to see if it happens again.

Corey

 

[ReefClownMIA]

Ok, so I'm not sure if it is from my filter socks or not. But, I changed the one this morning and afterwards my skimmer went nuts overflowing. For 20 minutes it went haywire with a watery flow. I was my socks in a cap of bleach then run them thru 2 more cycles with no bleach or soap. When it settles down I might swap out socks to see if it happens again.

Corey

Yes, that would be your from something on your filtersocks - Occasionally I get the same, after filter sock change. I'm down to washing filtersocks with just hot water, no bleach. But I use mesh socks, not felt.

 

[slief]

Ok, so I'm not sure if it is from my filter socks or not. But, I changed the one this morning and afterwards my skimmer went nuts overflowing. For 20 minutes it went haywire with a watery flow. I was my socks in a cap of bleach then run them thru 2 more cycles with no bleach or soap. When it settles down I might swap out socks to see if it happens again.

Corey

Yes, that would be your from something on your filtersocks - Occasionally I get the same, after filter sock change. I'm down to washing filtersocks with just hot water, no bleach. But I use mesh socks, not felt.

I use the bleach method and never have any issues like that but I hear of this issue all the time with all kinds of different skimmer. Filter socks can change the surface tension of the water in the sump which can cause a skimmer to go haywire. Especially if it's adjusted wet. This is very common but generally will subside within a few hours.

While I have particularly large sump, what I do is turn my socks inside out when I wash them which may be one factor that makes a difference. That helps to insure that waste gets out of the socks instead of being trapped in the socks during the wash cycle. They go into the wash with a pre wash and an extra rinse cycle and a very small amount of bleach. I also rinse the soap trays before starting the wash. While not all that critical, it's easy to do on my machine and just something I have always done for peace of mind. One thing you can try after they are completely air dried is to wet them in water before placing them back into the sump. That would help eliminate air in the socks and my help reduce surface tension changes from the new socks.

 

[biecacka]

I wash mine inside out too. I actually thought of soaking them briefly in water before putting them online. This particular sock was dirty, so I wonder if flow through it was slower and when I switched them it caused a difference. I don't know but I opened my wedge 100% and turned the pump to 20 to keep it from overflowing anymore. It's back to normal now.
One good thing is it allowed me time to clean my neck on the skimmer really good!!:lol: an auto neck cleaner is on my list of things to buy.

Corey

 

[autodave]

Hi Slief, I'm still struggling to get my skimmer dialed in. I keep getting it to where I think it is good, and it will skim great for a day or two then the level in the skimmer begins to slowly rise and eventually overflow.
Right now I have my skimmer in 5.5" of water, wedge fully open and the nozzle 10 turns out.
I had a question on the nozzle, is there a point when turning it, that it will not have any affect on tuning the skimmer?

 

[slief]

Hi Slief, I'm still struggling to get my skimmer dialed in. I keep getting it to where I think it is good, and it will skim great for a day or two then the level in the skimmer begins to slowly rise and eventually overflow.
Right now I have my skimmer in 5.5" of water, wedge fully open and the nozzle 10 turns out.
I had a question on the nozzle, is there a point when turning it, that it will not have any affect on tuning the skimmer?

Yeah you're at the point now we're turning it out further will not have any impact. Five turns out would be about the max that you should go. I would start turning it in from starting at 4 turns out. Another member is seeing great stability at 3 1/2 turns out. As such I would work your way in from four turns and see what that does. Hold off on making some level adjustments until you let it settle in for several hours after making that adjustment & and only make a subtle sump adjustment because after you put your hands in the water and make the adjustment it's going to take some time to settle back down and may change over the course of 24 hours.

 

[UWUALineman]

Dave I had to turn the air WAY back to get imy skimmer solid. I had the same issues. Set the sump level around 7 to 8 inches, open the wedge pipe all the way, and choke down the skimmer by turning the volute all the way in. Turn the volute out a full turn or so until you start to see a good mix of foam and don't touch it for a day. It may look like its way too low in the skimmer but it will settle in and rise a bit (also from oils on your skin will mess with the foam). Everyday check the skimmer and adjust the volute a bit and leave it. Patience doing this and you will hit the sweet spot.

 

[Hellsangelbx]

Which Bubble king to choose from

Which Bubble king to choose from

Hey @Slief I'm building put my tank now and have BUbble King as the top skimmer. I'm doing a 150g tank with a 40g sump. Which Bubble King do you recommend?

 

[slief]

Hey @Slief I'm building put my tank now and have BUbble King as the top skimmer. I'm doing a 150g tank with a 40g sump. Which Bubble King do you recommend?

I would suggest the Double Cone 180. It would be perfect for your size display/system.

 

[Hellsangelbx]

Thanks Slief, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[seregus]

Hi again,

So nothing helped out - it's just a constant flow of microbubles coming out of the skimmer.
I've replaced the pump by ordering a brand new one and it didn't change anything at all and it's already 2 weeks, so it's definitely not break-in period, I guess?

I'm trying to find a solution for micro-bubbles not coming into display, but this seems very strange, because before there was zero bubbles...

 

[slief]

Hi again,

So nothing helped out - it's just a constant flow of microbubles coming out of the skimmer.
I've replaced the pump by ordering a brand new one and it didn't change anything at all and it's already 2 weeks, so it's definitely not break-in period, I guess?

I'm trying to find a solution for micro-bubbles not coming into display, but this seems very strange, because before there was zero bubbles...

Can you post some pictures of the skimmer in the sump so we can see your return chambers, water level etc? How many fish are in the tank and what is your salinity?

 

[oldimpala]

Slief....

So, I ordered a RD3/Double-Cone 180 to replace my older 200 Deluxe Internal.

I've been a BK user for a while, so the wedge pipe/volute is second nature. Just looking for a starting point on water level/height in sump, turns of the volute, and motor watts.

Plus, just a thought... Why don't you start a sticky with some baselines for each common skimmer/some basic break-in adjustments/tips.

Might save you some keystrokes.

Thanks again for the advice picking it out, and looking forward to the new toy!

 

[slief]

Slief....

So, I ordered a RD3/Double-Cone 180 to replace my older 200 Deluxe Internal.

I've been a BK user for a while, so the wedge pipe/volute is second nature. Just looking for a starting point on water level/height in sump, turns of the volute, and motor watts.

Plus, just a thought... Why don't you start a sticky with some baselines for each common skimmer/some basic break-in adjustments/tips.

Might save you some keystrokes.

Thanks again for the advice picking it out, and looking forward to the new toy!

I am working on that sticky. I was in part trying to use the other thread to collect some data on what other peoples settings are. Especially when I haven't used all the BK skimmers personally.

I'd suggest starting at around 8" sump depth and 22 watts. You may need to raise the sump level but that is a good starting point. If you need to close the wedge pipe more than 50% than I would raise the sump level further.

 

[mikeatjac]

Hey autodave. I have the DC 150 too. I have talked to several owners and most are in 6-7" of water, volute 4-4.5 turns out and the wedge pipe barely closed.

I believe there has to be an environmental or salt creep issue in your case.

This is my cup after 4 days on a 80 display, medium stock.

with

 

[autodave]

Thanks for the input Mike. My struggles continue with this skimmer. Lately I have been taking Lineman's advice and working my way out with the volute. Right now I am at 6" water depth, wedge fully open and volute at 1.25 turns out. I seem to get it skimming good and slowly opening the volute each day (I was up to 2 turns out) but 2-3 days later it starts to overflow. This has been happening at all the water levels I try. I can eliminate salt creep as an issue, as far as something with my water, I have not done anything to affect it. I do 25% water every 3 weeks. Visually my tank is healthy as it has ever been. I understand where I need to be with the adjustments, but getting there seems to be really difficult for me.

 

[mikeatjac]

Dave I have owned many skimmers and I usually find if my skimmer goes nuts every few days, week or just periodically it is environmental. Sock changes, additives, food, oils.....

You said you were at 1.25 turns and 2 it over flows. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that.


Very interested to hear where you end up.