Bubble King Skimmer Club
- Thread starter JohnL
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slief
RC Sponsor
Happy new year
That is three days worth of skimmate, it is sitting on 8,5 water level. Thank you slief
Skimmer already run a week. Should I wait to make any adjustment? Breaking process ?
pS: still burst out quite alot micro bubbles
Glad to help. Looking good. I'd wait another week or so but from the looks of it, you are already close although it looks like you are still breaking in. If anything, close the stand pipe a little bit. I mean a very little bit. A couple mm clock wise will make a big difference if it's wide open. The stand pipe may be the only adjustment you need to make. That will raise the water level a bit and may help with your micro bubbles. More importantly, it will increase the skim production by making it skim a bit wetter.
After another week or so, you can try making a minor adjustment to the volute. Again a mm open or a mm closed on the pumps volute will make a big difference in the bubble size and amount of bubbles so keep that in mind when you make those adjustments. Opening the volute up should increase the amount of air in the skimmer and also increase the bubble size. Closing it will decrease the amount of air but also decrease the bubble size while also increase the amount of water flowing into the skimmer. Once you make any adjustment, give it an hour or so to settle in after you make any adjustment so you can see how it effects the skimmer. Also keep in mind that the oils from your skin may also impact the skimmer and could cause the foam to go flat. As such, when you adjust the volute, you may have to wait a few hours for the skimmer to come back to normal foam production. It might help you to take notes on the effects from the volute adjustments. Just so you have reference points for fine tuning.
That said, some micro bubbles from the skimmer are normal. That is one of the reasons many of us use weirs or bubble traps after the skimmer compartment and before the return pump.
Happy New Year to you too!
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ssdawood
Member
Hey slief, which bubbleking you recommend for 90 gallon display 20 gallon sump and 20 gallon frag tank all plumbed together. Tank is medium stocked with a lot of corals.
What are differences between cone supermarin and mini. Is one design better than another.
Also are the new dc pumps good or should i get one with ac pump.
I see you are an expert in bubbleking so your input is appreciated.
What are differences between cone supermarin and mini. Is one design better than another.
Also are the new dc pumps good or should i get one with ac pump.
I see you are an expert in bubbleking so your input is appreciated.
slief
RC Sponsor
First, with the Bubble Kings, you will want to make your decision primarily based on the display size. The BK's are conservatively rated and you don't want to get carried away with the bigger is better mentality as sometimes, less is more. These skimmers are very efficient when properly sized.
You could get away with the Double Cone 150 which would work hard and consistent on your tank but is about maxed out on your tank size.. The Double Cone 180 will give you a bit more room if you decide to increase your stock load.
The other alternative would be a Mini 160 which size wise would be a perfect fit for you tank. My only gripe with them is that they are designed for space savings and have the pump built into the bottom of the skimmer. Ideal for sumps with very little space. Personally, I prefer my pump outside the skimmer body so I can access it easily without having to remove my skimmer, let alone pull it apart. Pump maintenance should be done at somewhat regular intervals. Every few months or so. Sometimes less depending on what gets into your sump and how clean the sump remains. As such, easy access to the pump is a very nice convenience.
Personally, I like the skimmer body design of the Double Cone and Supermarin. They both have a similar body design in that they have a traditional large diameter cylinder at the bottom that graduates to a conical shape as it makes it's way towards the skimmer neck. This helps the bubbles transition smoothly to the neck while reducing turbulence and increasing efficiency compared to a straight bodied skimmer. The conical shape at the also helps compress the foam into a more solid foam head. The Supermarin is suited more for larger tanks then yours so that pretty much rules the SM out for you.
As far as the pumps, I really love my RD3 Speedy. It's not a cheaply designed DC pump like some of the other brands out there. The RD3 is well made and well designed. The advantage the RD3 offers over it's AC counterparts is ease of adjustment. You push a button to increase water/airflow or decrease it. Contrary to what many believe, a well tuned skimmer doesn't necessarily mean it should have maximum air flow. There is a fine balance between air and water that should go into the skimmer and those needs vary from one tank to the next depending on sump depths, salinity, dissolved organics etc.
With the AC pumps, you manually adjust the flow by adjusting the volute which works just fine. Typically these skimmers are set it and forget it. Once you get past the break in period of about 2 weeks, you fine tune and pretty much stop messing with them. As such, there is nothing wrong with the AC pumps. In fact the Red Dragon uses the Askoll motor block which is arguably one of the best motors out there. When coupled with the custom Red Dragon volute and impeller, you have the best AC skimmer pump on the market. Not only for their reliability but also their foam making ability. The same can be said about the RD3. Like I said, I love my RD3 on my SM250 but there is nothing wrong with the less complicated AC Red Dragon.
slief
RC Sponsor
You could get away with the Mini 180 as well. If it were me, I'd lean towards the double cone 180 simply because of the pumps location and the RD3 pump. I also think the double cone will be a bit better for your system because of the body design.
reefkeeper2
Premium Member
I have a problem with my BK 250 internal that I have not been able to solve. Over time (a few days) salt creep clogs up the air inlet to the venturi causing the skimmer to overflow. It occurs just where the airline tubing and red plastic inlet meet. I have to take the red inlet tube off and scrape the hardened salt out of it. Any ideas what is causing this or how to fix it?
slief
RC Sponsor
That's kind of a common problem with any skimmer although your frequency at every couple days is unusual as is overflowing. I'd be curious to see what Klaus thinks about that. I clean mine every few months if that which is plenty but it never causes an overflow. I can't help but wonder if your overflows are more a result of being on the ragged edge as far as sump depth and the salt creep is only exacerbating the issue. When the air intake becomes restricted, the pump draws more water that would otherwise be displaced by air. The additional water raises the water level in the skimmer which is why you get the overflow. How deep is the skimmer in the sump?
A couple other thoughts. If it's really humid where your skimmer is located, moisture can build up in the silencer and then work it's way down the air tubing. You can try removing the foam from inside the silencer and see if that helps. If the foam gets clogged with dust or moisture, it can restrict airflow into the venturi port. Do you have the ozone port blocked off? If not, it might help to block it off or plug the port hole so it's not drawing water in from there..
An easy way to address the salt creep is with a cup of scalding hot water. Remove the tube from the bottom of the silencer and place it in the cup of water. The skimmer will suck the water through the venturi port which will help clean the salt build up.
In all honesty though, I do think the overflows are more related to the sump depth than the salt creep itself like I said. Thus, i'd be curious as to what model 250 you have and your sump depth. I'd bet if you lowered your sump depth 1/4" or raise the skimmer 1/4" the issue would subside if not be drastically reduced. Also, the deeper the skimmer, the more difficult it is to draw air. Like breathing through a snorkel when you have the top of the snorkel just above the waters surface. The deeper you are, the harder it is to breath. That could also accelerate the salt creep in the venturi port since air flow would be reduced by the depth.
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reefkeeper2
Premium Member
There is no ozone inlet as the skimmer is 9 years old. It sits in 7 inches of water. I disconnected the silencer a long time ago and vented the skimmer to the outside to help with the pH. The tubing I used is large enough for the volume of air because I don'the see any difference in the water level of the skimmer when I disconnect it. Nevertheless, could that be the problem? Should I try an even larger diameter tubing to the outside?
slief
RC Sponsor
I would guess it could be part of the issue. If there is any restriction at all, you might get some cavitation where the air enters the volute which could cause some water to wick it way into the venturi port. It's hard to say though. Sump depth certainly wouldn't be an issue so I would look at the tubing since size that isn't stock.
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
Anyone running a Mini Bubble King 200 VS13 with RD 3 Mini Speedy? I'm thinking about replacing my Skimz with this. Any issues with the DC pumps?
Well, I hate complaining but I'm the same boat or very a very similar one.. I purchased a used mini 180 which turned out to habe impeller vibrations
I delalt with a very nice rc member which was very nice to help me deal with the impeller issue and reimbursed a portion of the cost for the impeller (thank you)
Now the good part, after numerous pictures and communication emails, Michelle from PA sent a impeller over in within a week, so that was acceptable and I was a happy guy.... At this point I didn't understand the customer frustration when dealing with BK products...
Now... I live in Vancouver however I shop in us, so I had the rotor sent to my mailing address in us as shipping is cheaper and way faster in us.
Shockingly the rotor was packaged in a envelope... It arrived with the impeller sticking out and one tooth broken... this is a packaging mistake on PA's side... For what that rotor is worth and and how long customers wait, they should really box RE parts in better packaging ... I was extremely disappointed to get a already broken impeller and on top of it the needlewheel is shorter... Probably from the same motor block but different skimmer...
Now the frustration really starts... I've sent the rotor back and currently exchanging weekly emails with Michelle and waiting for RE to get a new rotor shipped to PA... Supposingly a shipment will arrive to PA sometime soon and hopefully my rotor will be on that shipment.
Its only been one month of waiting, however I can see how people get really antsy waiting for replacement parts... I really think RE should be better considering how expensive the product is and how difficult and time it takes to get replacement parts...
I have a most of Ecotechs line and owned most of their products and I can say their customer support is top notch... Something which RE needs to look into and possibly copy as the us market is huge and competition is also huge
Now I want to suggest to the reefers out there to purchase bearings for their skimmers and have a couple on hand... Its worth the 20$...
I ordered bearings with the rotor and managed to change the inner bearing on my impeller... This fixed the vibration I was experiencing although it wasn't the most convenient and easy fix, but the skimmer is operational until I get a new proper replacement impeller
Hi Guys,
I've just installed my new BK Double Cone 200 with RD3 speedy pump.
I've adjusted the red wedge pipe wide open and the pump is running at 25w.
The skimmer is in 23cm of water in my sump.
Right now, the water level in the skimmer is about 1-2 inches below where the lid screws on to the skimmer body.
Is this correct, will the water level rise up on it's own as it breaks in or do I need to make any adjustments ?
Thanks
Lee
I've just installed my new BK Double Cone 200 with RD3 speedy pump.
I've adjusted the red wedge pipe wide open and the pump is running at 25w.
The skimmer is in 23cm of water in my sump.
Right now, the water level in the skimmer is about 1-2 inches below where the lid screws on to the skimmer body.
Is this correct, will the water level rise up on it's own as it breaks in or do I need to make any adjustments ?
Thanks
Lee
ssdawood
Member
Hi Rich did you talk to Pseudo about his double cone 180. He is very happy with it and recommended it over the mini.
slief
RC Sponsor
Give it a few days to settle in before making any more adjustments. It will take a good week or two before it's ready for final adjusting. I assume this is a 50w pump? If so, 25w may be on the low side.
Hi, thanks for the response. After I typed my message yesterday I increased the pump power and this pushed the water further up the skimmer cone to where the cup begins. I left this overnight and came down this morning to the skimmer rapidly overflowing the collection cup.
So I reduced the pump power down and as I did a white creamy foam head began to appear and is now bubbling away at the level where the collection cup joins the skimmer body.
I assume this is about right and how it should work, could you confirm, this is my first BK so not sure what to expect.
Thanks
Lee
So I reduced the pump power down and as I did a white creamy foam head began to appear and is now bubbling away at the level where the collection cup joins the skimmer body.
I assume this is about right and how it should work, could you confirm, this is my first BK so not sure what to expect.
Thanks
Lee
jackson6745
Yeah Yeah
I saw it running on his tank last week, impressive. I can't fit that model because I only designed my sump with a 12"x12" footprint for a skimmer :hmm2: Limited to the mini models :headwallblue:
slief
RC Sponsor
I would definitely go with the Double Cone 180. The 200 has a much bigger neck diameter which will prove to be inconsistent with your tank size/load.
These skimmers are conservatively rated and you really don't want to oversize them. If you do, you will have to run them very wet to maintain any kind of consistency and you will have to deal with overflows as a result. When it comes to these skimmers, you are better off with an appropriately sized skimmer that works consistently hard than an oversized skimmer that is hardly consistent.
Bottom line. Get the 180, not the 200.
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