moondoggy4
Team RC
https://ca-en.hagen.com/File/bb252fcd-c63b-4be8-b686-86df232985f6 It does look just like the 900 model as well, I can text a picture if you like, not really computer savvy here.
Bubble King Skimmer Club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
UWUALineman
Member
Moon doggy I believe I am GTG with the 1350 block.
I will say this, within the past 2 days I have had WAY more interaction, positive movement to a resolution, and constructive dialogue with the individual to be involved with this CS makeover. This is an overdue makeover for BK, and I'm hoping this changes the face of their reputation for after purchase support. Great things to come I do believe for those who invest in a top of the line product.
I will say this, within the past 2 days I have had WAY more interaction, positive movement to a resolution, and constructive dialogue with the individual to be involved with this CS makeover. This is an overdue makeover for BK, and I'm hoping this changes the face of their reputation for after purchase support. Great things to come I do believe for those who invest in a top of the line product.
slief
RC Sponsor
Congrats! You got a great skimmer! I measure from the base of the skimmer (bottom of the sump) up.
slief
RC Sponsor
More often than not, you best setting will not be full power. My RD3 on my supermarin is a 50 watt pump but I found the ideal setting for my tank to be around 38 watts. Every tank is different. Things like salinity, sump depth dissolved organics/bio load etc all have an impact on the skimmers tuning. With the non variable speed Red Dragons, we would have to reach into the sump and adjust the volute a fraction of a turn at a time to adjust the water to air ratio. With the RD3, the same very fine tuning is handled with the push of a button. Increasing and or lowering the pump speed, increases or decreases the amount of air and flow into the skimmer. This has a direct impact on the bubble size as well as water level/foam head height inside the skimmer. As such, you will be using that feature/pump controller to fine tune the skimmer and you will also find some power savings because you will most likely not be running at full power.
slief
RC Sponsor
Congrats! You should love that skimmer. I absolutely love mine. Hopefully it is appropriate for you size display and load. I have mine on a heavily stocked 480g display with a 650'ish gallon overall volume and it's been one of the most consistent skimmers I have ever owned. Those skimmers are beasts!
I have my Supermarin 250 at about 9" sump depth and my RD3 pump running at about 38 watts. I will double check the depth when I get home but I am pretty certain that is where it's at. I have my sump setup so I can easily raise or lower the depth by moving my float switches up or down. I have used that sump depth control to fine tune my skimmer a bit beyond just the pump control and wedge pipe. That 9" depth works well for my load but I also tend to run my skimmers a bit more to the wet side.
Klaus Jansen
.Registered Member
Slief is right : ... full power of Airintake is not always better. Every tank is different in bioload and surface tension... Any tanks running better with lower airintake. Thats one of the reasons, why RE was the first company, where developed controllable DC-pumps for skimmer. Permanent overflowing of skimmers has to do with overkill Airintake and bad balance. Speedadjustable Skimmerpumps are one of the most important Points for perfect skimming. And the feeling, what speed is good for my tank...
best regards ... Klaus
best regards ... Klaus
Thanks again Slief, I had a RO sss regal 220 with a dc pump and couldn't really get a good explanation on the use of the Dc pump, I did finally read through some of the old post you wrote. I really liked the explanations you given, I'm also curios as far as bubble size going up the neck should i be seeing little bubbles in the neck at all and the foam start their or is the foam started below the neck and the water level never exceeding the the max water level line that BBK has labeled on the skimmer.
Thanks Klaus.
slief
RC Sponsor
Glad to help. First, you really need to let the skimmer break in for several days. Once the slime coat builds up in the skimmer body and neck, the bubbles will change. That said, I run a wetter skim and tend to have the water level where water becomes bubbles just above the bottom of the cup. Much of that has to do with the amount of dissolved organics (DOC's) in the water. The more DOC's in the water, typically the lower the bubbles in the neck as the foam will build and rise easier. While I have a pretty heavy load in my 480g display with 60+ fish (many of which are large tangs), I have a lot of very well established live rock, a deep sand bed in my refugium as well as a lot of chaeto and a lot of soft coral. The end result is I have lot of biological filtration to reduce my nutrients. I also run four 7" filter socks to further reduce the DOC's in my water along with a good sized UV filter. As such, my nutrients are pretty low and I run my skimmer wetter to compensate. As mentioned above, every system is different. If I were you, I would start around 9" sump depth, set the pump to about 37-40 watts and let it run for a few more days before making anymore adjustments. You could adjust the wedge pipe if you want to increase the bubble height but things will change in the skimmer over the first 2 weeks making any adjustments you do likely only temporary. In my case, I fine tune my bubble height via my sump depth. My sump depth is managed by my float switches. If I raise them, then my sump depth is increased and if I lower them it's decreased. Even very slight changes in sump depth can make a big difference. Same can be said about the wedge pipe. My sump depth is set so that my wedge pipe is 99% open. If I make a wedge pipe adjustment, I only move it a hair. Like a mm at a time or less if I can. It doesn't take much to really fine tune things. Especially with the RD3 speedy pump which unlike the Chinese DC pump that can only be adjusted in a handful of increments, the Speedy can be adjusted in around 50 or more. This allows for some serious fine tune'ability! You just have to take it slow and only adjust one thing at a time so you get a feel for it the impact each adjustment (sump depth, wedge pipe and RD3 Speedy) does.
slief
RC Sponsor
8-9" or so is ideal but every system is different. If you have a low bio load, you will likely end up running it at the deeper end of the range than with a heavier load. The max depth for that skimmer is about 12" which is pretty deep and most would never need to go that deep. If it's skimming well for you now, leave it there. If it's really wet and you want drier or darker skim, you could lower your sump level in very tiny increments and note the results until you find a depth that works to your liking. If it's skimming really dry, you could close the wedge pipe slightly or raise the sump level but I think you're plenty deep unless you have no waste in your tank.
OK Slief ill be patient with it and make the small adjustments down the road youve really cleared up allot for me man, one last thing i see allot of skimmers that have the foam just crazy going over into the pot is this something i should see down the road as well i mean i know theirs allot of variables and tanks being diffrent but im just curious.
Thanks.
slief
RC Sponsor
That depends heavily on the amount of DOC's in the water coupled with how wet you have the skimmer adjusted. The heavier the amount of DOC's the thicker and heavier the foam. The lesser the amount of DOC's the less thick and heavy the foam. Also, in an absence of DOC's the bubbles tend to burst at surface more as you don't get the same kind of foam fractioning. In my experience, it's the proteins or DOC's that kind of keep the bubbles or foam together. As such, a ton of thick foam is usually the sign of a lot of dissolved organics in the water which isn't usually a good thing in terms of water quality. Those that don't run a decent skimmer and setup something like a Bubble King that is really efficient will find that the skimmer will produce a crazy amount of foam in the short term and then settle in to a thinner foam as the skimmer catches up and reduces the amount of DOC's in the water. Once you get to know your skimmer and it's adjustments, you will get a pretty good feel for how well it's working and what's going on with your water quality in terms of dissolved organics in the water column.
slief
RC Sponsor
I also forgot to mention that a brand new system will not have much if anything in the way of DOC's just like a system with a very light fish load. The end result will be a skimmer that doesn't produce thick foam and produces very little skimmate.
Thats kind of what i thought but thought id ask, but really thanks for the info on this man. If i have any issues to come ill be in touch, thanks again.
Hi Evrybody,
I bought a new Bbk double con 150, I did set it up saturday, I did put the skimmer in the sump.
Set water depth to 6.75"
Open wedge pipe all the way
Open the white nozzle 4 0r 5 turns
The water seems to be pulsating into the skimmer. The water/foam level increases and decreases in rhythm. I also see air/water pulsating through the silicone tube from the volute into the red standpipe.
After reading comments on reef central, I did open and close the white noozle to increase and decrease the amount of air, but the skimmer still surging with the set ups.
Any recommandation?
Thanks
I bought a new Bbk double con 150, I did set it up saturday, I did put the skimmer in the sump.
Set water depth to 6.75"
Open wedge pipe all the way
Open the white nozzle 4 0r 5 turns
The water seems to be pulsating into the skimmer. The water/foam level increases and decreases in rhythm. I also see air/water pulsating through the silicone tube from the volute into the red standpipe.
After reading comments on reef central, I did open and close the white noozle to increase and decrease the amount of air, but the skimmer still surging with the set ups.
Any recommandation?
Thanks
UWUALineman
Member
SLIEF!!!!!!!!!! LoL
Reef, I'm currently in the same situation as you. First and foremost, be very patient.
This skimmer is extremely temperamental. I'm running my 150 at 7 turns out I believe on the nozzle and 7 inch water depth. I have found the higher you run the skimmer level the more air you need to add, there's just nothing else I have found to work. Continue opening the white nozzle until the surging possibly subsides.
It is not an ideal way to dial in the skimmer as I would prefer less air in mine and adjust with the wedge pipe.
Reef, I'm currently in the same situation as you. First and foremost, be very patient.
This skimmer is extremely temperamental. I'm running my 150 at 7 turns out I believe on the nozzle and 7 inch water depth. I have found the higher you run the skimmer level the more air you need to add, there's just nothing else I have found to work. Continue opening the white nozzle until the surging possibly subsides.
It is not an ideal way to dial in the skimmer as I would prefer less air in mine and adjust with the wedge pipe.
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