Bubble King Skimmer Club

[slief]

I bought it used.
This skimmer is on a 60 gallon with 7 fish and SPS with a 30 gallon sump. I bought this with intention to put this onto my 93g build I have in the works, buy once, buy right.
Yes, I did check the bearing and I didn't see anything that I could tell that was of any concern.
Bubble King absolutely sucks with after the purchase support, so I appreciate your effort slief.

Sadly, I think that skimmer is a bit oversized for your current volume. BK's are one of the few skimmers that are conservatively rated and shouldn't be oversized. With your tank size and load, you don't have much in the way of DOC's (dissolved organic compounds) to feed it in order to maintain a good foam head. The reason it would have skimmed well at the beginning is possibly because the DOC's had built up. Oversizing these skimmers tends to result in very inconsistent performance. They will skim well for a few days until the DOC's are reduced and then idle along until the build back up again. My gut feeling tells me that you might have different results with this on your upcoming tank.

While I don't know if that is the result of your issue, it could be part of it. If there isn't enough DOC's, the foam head won't be consistent and your bubble column may not be stable giving the perception of surging. When you opened the volute up to 11 turns, was it generating any foam? I wish you were closer. If I could see it in action and play with it for a few minutes, I'm sure I could get to the bottom of it in a hurry.

As for BK's support, I know for fact that things are changing for the better but it's still a work in progress. BK USA is still getting up to speed, building inventory and putting together staff to support the US market. Unfortunately, the logistics German manufacturer opening and staffing an office (with qualty personnel) in the US is a daunting task. Rest assured there will be some very positive changes in the very near future that will address support concerns moving forward. I think once everything is in place, BK support will be as good if not better than the competitors. I've had numerous conversations about this with the folks at BK. They are well aware of the issues of the past and are 1000% committed to insuring they a thing of the past. In the mean time, as you are probably aware, I watch the threads like a hawk to insure that BK customers like yourself are well supported regardless of whether you bought new or used and regardless of warranty status.

 

[Ryan Paggi]

I have a bubble King dc150 on my 30gal tank with a 10 gal sump and I'm having problems which keeping a foam head I just increased my number of fish from 5 to 9 and my tank has been running 8 months alge free. It skimmed really well in the beginning but now it doesn't want to keep the foam going. I just pulled it out and gave it a vinager bath which helped but it's not like it was. What I don't get is the nozzle control? I don't notice a difference between 2 turns out or four turns out as long as I open or close the stand pipe so what is it actually doing?

 

[UWUALineman]

You are restricting or increasing the amount of air which is being drawn through the silencer with the adjustment for air/water mixture. Like slief mentioned, the 150 is oversized for your tank, and bubble King typically rates accurately. Being oversized, it will skim, but albeit inconsistent and have tendencies to idle.

Slief, yes it was producing foam that far out.

 

[slief]

I have a bubble King dc150 on my 30gal tank with a 10 gal sump and I'm having problems which keeping a foam head I just increased my number of fish from 5 to 9 and my tank has been running 8 months alge free. It skimmed really well in the beginning but now it doesn't want to keep the foam going. I just pulled it out and gave it a vinager bath which helped but it's not like it was. What I don't get is the nozzle control? I don't notice a difference between 2 turns out or four turns out as long as I open or close the stand pipe so what is it actually doing?

Read my comment above. The Double Cone 150 is way oversized for you tank and will not be consistent. You do not have enough dissolved organic compounds (DOC's) in your water to maintain a solid foam head consistently. It will skim for a short while until the DOC's are depleted and then idle along until they build back up enough to generate foam at which point the cycle will repeat.

 

[slief]

Slief, yes it was producing foam that far out.

I would adjust it to the point that you are getting foam and stability and see how stable is stays. Personally, I use a Supermarin and it has a completely different pump. I have used the Red Dragon 1500's on an alternate Royal Exclusiv made skimmer and again, those pumps were different than the one you are currently using. Each system and load is different so what works for one person may not work for the next. If in fact it was skimming reasonably well at 11 turns, then that may be your sweet spot. I wish I had some hands on experience with that skimmer so I could give you better advice but like I said, each application requires varying settings based on load, sump depth, salinity etc. Every skimmer I have ever owned required playing with the settings to find the sweet spot and as the DOC's change or stabilize, a bit of fine tuning is always involved even after initial setup.

 

[UWUALineman]

Im to the point I think it's the motor. I can disconnect the motor completely from the skimmer body, adjust the air and it still does the surging. I've messed with back pressure on the motor, air mixture, water depth, same result. It's almost certainly something electronic or mechanical as it does it constantly.
Does anyone have, and willing, to send me a Mini RD to try? I know they are expensive, I can pay both ends of shipping etc. refundable deposit, whateverwould work?! So aggravating.

 

[slief]

Im to the point I think it's the motor. I can disconnect the motor completely from the skimmer body, adjust the air and it still does the surging. I've messed with back pressure on the motor, air mixture, water depth, same result. It's almost certainly something electronic or mechanical as it does it constantly.
Does anyone have, and willing, to send me a Mini RD to try? I know they are expensive, I can pay both ends of shipping etc. refundable deposit, whateverwould work?! So aggravating.

How old is the skimmer/pump?

 

[slief]

Im to the point I think it's the motor. I can disconnect the motor completely from the skimmer body, adjust the air and it still does the surging. I've messed with back pressure on the motor, air mixture, water depth, same result. It's almost certainly something electronic or mechanical as it does it constantly.
Does anyone have, and willing, to send me a Mini RD to try? I know they are expensive, I can pay both ends of shipping etc. refundable deposit, whateverwould work?! So aggravating.

FWIW.. The pump below should have the same Askoll motor block inside. You could always order one via Amazon. If you take the Laguna pump apart, inside is an Askoll 600 block. You remove the volute and impeller and place the Red Dragon volute and impeller on it and give it a shot to see if it works. If it works, you will need to remove the base off of your Red Dragon and glue it to the Askoll block. If it doesn't solve your issue, you could always rinse and dry the block, put it back together in the Laguna and return it to Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0079WZGLU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AWW3353IY15RZ

 

[UWUALineman]

How old is the skimmer/pump?

I believe around 1.5 years or thereabouts.
Thanks for the help all around slief. For 100 bucks that would beat the hell out of the price of a new skimmer just for a block.

 

[powder_blue]

I believe around 1.5 years or thereabouts.
Thanks for the help all around slief. For 100 bucks that would beat the hell out of the price of a new skimmer just for a block.

My 150 did great and it was a bit of a pain to dial in but it worked fine. Check and make sure that you have the volute pushed all of the way into the pump. I know it sounds funny but I made that mistake on my skimmer once. I ran mine for at 4 turns out in exactly 7" of water. 11 turns is way too many. It shouldn't surge after 3 turns or something in definitely off. Hope you get it working, it's a great skimmer.

 

[UWUALineman]

Thanks PB. I had it turned out around 4.5 turns throughout the course of using this pump.
After the surging arose, I can only get it to nearly stop at 11 turns out.
How do you like 180 DC?
I was considering that skimmer for my 93g setup as this skimmer went to crap. It may be a bit overkill.

 

[Confuse]

I am having some issues with my skimmer producing excess bubbles. It's not overflowing, it just produces too many bubbles and it pushes out my skimmer lid.

About a month ago, I turned off my skimmer because I was gonna clean it. Well, things got in the way and I didn't clean it and left it off for two weeks. After those two weeks, I turned it on again and it wouldn't stop overflowing. I ran it like this for two weeks and it overflowed for that entire time.

So this weekend I gave the entire body and cup a vinegar bath, except the pump. And the first day, it overflowed, by the second day and on, it just produces excess bubbles that would come out of the lid holes. And this has been going on since this weekend.

I'm running a double cone 200 in about 8" of water. I don't recall increasing the water level during this whole situation, so it should be relatively the same when it was working.

Any help is highly appreciated.

 

[slief]

I am having some issues with my skimmer producing excess bubbles. It's not overflowing, it just produces too many bubbles and it pushes out my skimmer lid.

About a month ago, I turned off my skimmer because I was gonna clean it. Well, things got in the way and I didn't clean it and left it off for two weeks. After those two weeks, I turned it on again and it wouldn't stop overflowing. I ran it like this for two weeks and it overflowed for that entire time.

So this weekend I gave the entire body and cup a vinegar bath, except the pump. And the first day, it overflowed, by the second day and on, it just produces excess bubbles that would come out of the lid holes. And this has been going on since this weekend.

I'm running a double cone 200 in about 8" of water. I don't recall increasing the water level during this whole situation, so it should be relatively the same when it was working.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Which pump are you running? Is it the newer RD3 speedy or the standard Red Dragon with the adjustable volute? From the sound of it, you have a fair amount of dissolved organics (DOC's) in your water to generate a foam head that is pushing through the lid. Also from the sounds of it, you skimmer is fairly well dialed in (air to water ratio) for your current amount of DOC's. At least from a foam making standpoint. If it were me, the only thing I would do is open up the wedge pipe more if it's not opened all the way already or lower the sump level about 1/4" and let the skimmer do it's thing. That will lower the foam head a bit more and dry the skimmate out some. Once the DOC's get to a lower level by being exported from your tank, you can raise your water level again.

On that note, have you treated your water with anything lately such as red slime removers? Those chemicals can cause your skimmer to go nuts.

 

[Confuse]

Bubble King Skimmer Club

Which pump are you running? Is it the newer RD3 speedy or the standard Red Dragon with the adjustable volute? From the sound of it, you have a fair amount of dissolved organics (DOC's) in your water to generate a foam head that is pushing through the lid. Also from the sounds of it, you skimmer is fairly well dialed in (air to water ratio) for your current amount of DOC's. At least from a foam making standpoint. If it were me, the only thing I would do is open up the wedge pipe more if it's not opened all the way already or lower the sump level about 1/4" and let the skimmer do it's thing. That will lower the foam head a bit more and dry the skimmate out some. Once the DOC's get to a lower level by being exported from your tank, you can raise your water level again.

On that note, have you treated your water with anything lately such as red slime removers? Those chemicals can cause your skimmer to go nuts.

I'm running the RD3 at a very low wattage due to the excess bubble production. Can't recall the wattage right now, but it's low. Originally, it ran at 36 watts. The wedge pipe is fully open too...forgot to mention that.

I haven't added any chemicals. However, the water has been skimmerless and without a water change for over a month now, if not longer. Could that be the cause of the excess foam?

By the way slief, thank you for your response and all the help you give out on this thread. I am very grateful.

 

[slief]

I'm running the RD3 at a very low wattage due to the excess bubble production. Can't recall the wattage right now, but it's low. Originally, it ran at 36 watts. The wedge pipe is fully open too...forgot to mention that.

I haven't added any chemicals. However, the water has been skimmerless and without a water change for over a month now, if not longer. Could that be the cause of the excess foam?

By the way slief, thank you for your response and all the help you give out on this thread. I am very grateful.

Excess DOC's will cause lots of foam and being skimmerless for that long will result in much higher dissolved organic compounds (DOC's). So yes, that is certainly causing your foam issue. Especially with it coming out the lid like that.

Running at a lower wattage is not out of the norm. I run a Supermarin 250 with the RD3 and mine is a 50 watt pump running at 38 watts. Every system is different. Nutrient levels, sump level, salinity all impact "ideal" settings when it comes to water flow and air ratio in the skimmer. That is the beauty of having a pump like the RD3 with the kind of adjustability it offers. Especially with it's small incremental adjustments. Something you don't get with the Chinese DC pumps that can only be adjusted in 4 or 5 steps.. The RD3 allows you to really make small adjustments to dial it in and fine tune much better.

 

[Confuse]

Excess DOC's will cause lots of foam and being skimmerless for that long will result in much higher dissolved organic compounds (DOC's). So yes, that is certainly causing your foam issue. Especially with it coming out the lid like that.

Running at a lower wattage is not out of the norm. I run a Supermarin 250 with the RD3 and mine is a 50 watt pump running at 38 watts. Every system is different. Nutrient levels, sump level, salinity all impact "ideal" settings when it comes to water flow and air ratio in the skimmer. That is the beauty of having a pump like the RD3 with the kind of adjustability it offers. Especially with it's small incremental adjustments. Something you don't get with the Chinese DC pumps that can only be adjusted in 4 or 5 steps.. The RD3 allows you to really make small adjustments to dial it in and fine tune much better.

Thanks again for the advice! I noticed the foam was going down enough where I could put the lid back on, so that's definitely a good sign. I'll adjust the wedge pipe next. The Skimmate right now is super dry and still mostly foam sits in the skimmer cup, but I hope if I raise the water a bit, it'll get wetter Skimmate.

 

[slief]

Thanks again for the advice! I noticed the foam was going down enough where I could put the lid back on, so that's definitely a good sign. I'll adjust the wedge pipe next. The Skimmate right now is super dry and still mostly foam sits in the skimmer cup, but I hope if I raise the water a bit, it'll get wetter Skimmate.

Glad to help. I didn't realize the foam was so dry... It certainly wouldn't hurt to wetten it up a bit. I prefer my skim a bit wetter. In that case, it certainly wouldn't hurt to close the wedge pipe some. Just do it a fraction of an inch at a time and let it sit for a couple hours or more so it can settle back in before making another adjustment.

 

[UWUALineman]

Just thought I'd give an update, I have gotten nowhere with anyone for help on the surging issue. I ordered a Laguna max flo 600 to scavenge the block to replace my rd mini 600. Should receive it mid week. Hoping for the best. My omega 150 is back in service until then and I ordered a vectra that will fit either the vertex or the bk. hope this solves the issues.

 

[slief]

Just thought I'd give an update, I have gotten nowhere with anyone for help on the surging issue. I ordered a Laguna max flo 600 to scavenge the block to replace my rd mini 600. Should receive it mid week. Hoping for the best. My omega 150 is back in service until then and I ordered a vectra that will fit either the vertex or the bk. hope this solves the issues.

I'm looking forward to your update! With a bit of luck, that'll slove your issue.

 

[UWUALineman]

I'm looking forward to your update! With a bit of luck, that'll slove your issue.

The max flo 600 motor block is not the replacement for the mini rd600. So, that's getting sent back and hoping for a bit of tech support to narrow down the block needed. Details will follow
From what it looks like on hagens site it looks like the 1350 block is similar, but I wonder of the actual output.