Bubble King Skimmer Club

Hi Adrian ....

the metallic screw (titanium-screw) on the side tube, is for fixed the red tube, after setup the waterlevel in your skimmer.... please read the user-manual, you can see it inside the manual ....

Hope it helps.... welcome to the BK-Club ...

best regards ... Klaus
 
BK Mini 180

BK Mini 180

I have a BK Mini 180 with a Vertex Vectra neck cleaner. I'm looking to add an Avast Skimmate locker to make emptying a little easier, and to also get the auto shutoff capability. Does anyone know what kind of fitting I need to connect a hose to the 180 collection cup?

Thanks
Bbwebb
 
Adrian.F said:
My SM 250 finally arrived and im so impressed with this skimmer. The weight of the tick acrylic is amazing. I read that the rd3 is going best at 36-38w is that correct on every setup? and the little metal screw on the side tube what does it actually do when you adjust it?
Click to expand...

Yes. I would start at 36 watts and expect to be between 36 & 38 watts for best performance. That titanium screw just locks the wedge pipe in place or keeps tension on it so you don't inadvertently bump the wedge pipe and change the water level inside the skimmer by mistake.
 
Last edited:
bbwebb said:
I have a BK Mini 180 with a Vertex Vectra neck cleaner. I'm looking to add an Avast Skimmate locker to make emptying a little easier, and to also get the auto shutoff capability. Does anyone know what kind of fitting I need to connect a hose to the 180 collection cup?

Thanks
Bbwebb
Click to expand...

This is what I use between my skimmer and my skimmate jug. In your case, you could just leave the valves open. You could also adapt some 3/8" semi rigid tubing as it will slip into the collection cup tubing. Then you could adapt the skimmate locker to a 3/8" john guest fitting and connect the semi rigid tubing to it. If you look at my setup below, after the valve, I have 3/8" semi rigid tubing that connects to a JG fitting on my skimmate jug.
image_zpsroczxbzr.jpg



This is how that little quick connection thing connects to the collection cup drain line.
image_zps5tkylnc1.jpg


You can get them here.
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Magnum-Disconnect-Double-PA0586/dp/B0002APYNQ
 
Last edited:
Slief,

I like the quick disconnect, that will make things even easier! I'm still not clear on how you are attached to the skimmer cup though. My cup doesn't have a drain line, just a hole and a silicone plug.
 
bbwebb said:
Slief,

I like the quick disconnect, that will make things even easier! I'm still not clear on how you are attached to the skimmer cup though. My cup doesn't have a drain line, just a hole and a silicone plug.
Click to expand...

Ughh.. I forgot that the mini's don't have the fitting below the cup and instead have a plug in the side of the cup at the bottom. If it were me, I'd tap that hole out for a 3/8 or 1/4" John Guest style fitting like this. You can find this and similar fittings at Lows. I'd bring the cup along and see if they have a fitting like this with or without the valve that has threads that are just a tiny bit larger in diameter than the drain hole. The use an NPT tap to thread the opening and some teflon paste on the male fitting threads to seal it when you install it.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_40793-104-PL-3042___?productId=3419556&pl=1&Ntt=watts+push
 
slief said:
I'd suggest a Supermarin 200. That would be my first choice. A double cone 250 would be a close 2nd choice.
Click to expand...

Slief, Thank you! How much clearance between my sump and and the top of my cabinet do I need to get the double cone 250 in?

From the floor of my cabinet to the top is around 32" and my sump is 20" high. Leaving around 12" of wiggle room. Will it fit?
 
OffDaHook said:
Slief, Thank you! How much clearance between my sump and and the top of my cabinet do I need to get the double cone 250 in?

From the floor of my cabinet to the top is around 32" and my sump is 20" high. Leaving around 12" of wiggle room. Will it fit?
Click to expand...

The skimmer is 24.5" high so it should fit fine and give you room to get the collection cup out. The collection cup is around 8" from the base of the flange where it connects to the skimmer body. You will want the skimmer in about 7-8" of sump depth from the bottom of the skimmer to the waters surface in the sump. As such, take that into consideration as some people need stands to raise their skimmers.
 
Whats the size of the base? Am concerned with being able to fit the base in between the top of the sump and top of the cabinet to get it into the sump, if that makes sense. I just want to make sire I can take it in/out for maintenance.
 
Just curious in knowing if flow/gph thru sump affects the bubble king mini 160 performance. In other words can too fast or too slow flow thru sump make bk skim more or skim less. I purchased a new DC return pump and not sure if it will matter if I have the pump ramped up or down.
Thanks for any info
 
OffDaHook said:
Thanks!
Click to expand...


Glad to help! :beer:

jcs11236 said:
Just curious in knowing if flow/gph thru sump affects the bubble king mini 160 performance. In other words can too fast or too slow flow thru sump make bk skim more or skim less. I purchased a new DC return pump and not sure if it will matter if I have the pump ramped up or down.
Thanks for any info
Click to expand...

That's a good question.. I would say it shouldn't have too much impact but if there are a lot of micro bubbles in the sump, it could impact the settings a bit. The again, there are no universal perfect settings for any skimmer as every tank is different in terms of load, dissolved organics, sump levels etc. The normal target tank turn over through a sump is around 4-5x the display volume which is normally what I suggest as a target for system design in general. I've run higher than that through my sump without much impact but I have large sumps designed for high flow.
 
slief said:
Ughh.. I forgot that the mini's don't have the fitting below the cup and instead have a plug in the side of the cup at the bottom. If it were me, I'd tap that hole out for a 3/8 or 1/4" John Guest style fitting like this. You can find this and similar fittings at Lows. I'd bring the cup along and see if they have a fitting like this with or without the valve that has threads that are just a tiny bit larger in diameter than the drain hole. The use an NPT tap to thread the opening and some teflon paste on the male fitting threads to seal it when you install it.



http://www.lowes.com/pd_40793-104-PL-3042___?productId=3419556&pl=1&Ntt=watts+push
Click to expand...


Thanks slief. Going to give this a shot today.
 
Not working

Not working

Hi I just install my new Bubble King® Double Cone 180 + RD3 Speedy
And is not working is not producing fine bubbles it proce some big and fat bubbles only I check the air line to make sure air is going true it and is good
Water level is 9"

Here is a video
http://youtu.be/GY06n0o0tmQ
Hope you can help

Thanks
 
jrizo1 said:
Hi I just install my new Bubble King® Double Cone 180 + RD3 Speedy
And is not working is not producing fine bubbles it proce some big and fat bubbles only I check the air line to make sure air is going true it and is good
Water level is 9"

Here is a video
http://youtu.be/GY06n0o0tmQ
Hope you can help

Thanks
Click to expand...

Are you running that in fresh water? Also, do you have the cover over the ozone port? There should be a little cover that goes over the stub on top of where the red tube connects on the wedge pipe support above the water line.
 
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