slief
RC Sponsor
Way too large for a 120 gallon display and would be inconsistent unless you run it really wet. The Double Cone 180 would be a perfect fit. Set the pump between 18 and 22 watts and it will be consistent, silent and reliable!
Bubble King Skimmer Club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
Way too large for a 120 gallon display and would be inconsistent unless you run it really wet. The Double Cone 180 would be a perfect fit. Set the pump between 18 and 22 watts and it will be consistent, silent and reliable!
slief
RC Sponsor
Made in Germany and designed for the Bubble King 160's. They are unlike any neck cleaner on the market and are truly a well engineered work of art! :thumbsup:
http://aquadriverusa.com/products/aquadriver-skimclean-helix-160
tenurepro
New member
I know the neck cleaners have been a thing for quite awhile but can someone tell me why they're such a good idea?
When I clean my skimmer (2-3 times a week) there is sludge on both sides of the neck of the collection cup and to be honest 65% of it is on the wet side with the lesser amount on the side where the liquid is collected.
I always figured that was just an easy place for the organics to start collecting and am glad they're out of the system. Why would I want to not collect stuff there and wash it back into the skimmer body? Sure some of it will then be picked back up by the foam head and moved to the collection cup but some of it is bound to end up back in the system.
Just trying to understand why people want them...
When I clean my skimmer (2-3 times a week) there is sludge on both sides of the neck of the collection cup and to be honest 65% of it is on the wet side with the lesser amount on the side where the liquid is collected.
I always figured that was just an easy place for the organics to start collecting and am glad they're out of the system. Why would I want to not collect stuff there and wash it back into the skimmer body? Sure some of it will then be picked back up by the foam head and moved to the collection cup but some of it is bound to end up back in the system.
Just trying to understand why people want them...
slief
RC Sponsor
First the neck cleaners keep the neck clean which allows the foam to rise smoothly up the neck. Excessive gunk on the inside of the neck creates friction which causes some of the bubbles to burst on the way up instead of flowing smoothly up the neck. The consistently clean neck keeps the skimmer performing at optimal efficiency. It also reduces maintenance significantly. Now that said, not all neck cleaners are created equal. Most neck cleaners have the blade vertical which smears the gunk around the neck and allows some of, if not most of the gunk to get into the skimmer body where some of the gunk will get caught up in the foam to be exported but not all of it. The Aquadriver Helix has the blade angled so that when the wiper is rotating, the scum is pulled upward to the top of the neck and doesn't get sent back down into the skimmer. It also has a built in sprayer that draws water from inside the skimmer body and squirts it on the inside of the neck and lid while the wiper is rotating. The constant stream of water that is shot on the the neck and lid (during rotation) improves the wipers efficiency and aids in exporting the grime into the collection cup where it belongs. The Helix is also unique in that it has a dual wiper system which keeps both the neck and lid free of gunk. The underside of the lid where the wiper attaches has a conical shape (see pictures below) which further improves skimmer performance by pushing the rising foam out to the edge of the neck. The Helix uses a powerful high speed gear driven motor that rotates at a very high rate of speed. Mine runs once a day for 15 seconds and my neck is always clean. I only remove my collection cup once every 6-12 months and even then, it's not needed. It reduces the maintenance on the skimmer and really improves the skimmers performance. Between the neck and lid wiper and the shape of the underside of the lid, it's like no other neck cleaner out there.
Here are some pictures of my Helix. Mine has the optional collection cup washdown which I have connected to a hose spigot in the closet next to the tank. I run it once in a blue moon to rinse my collection cup. Frankly, I don't care if my cup has some gunk in it so it's not something I use often at all.
In this picture you can see the shape of the underside that pushes the foam out to the edge of the neck.
You can see the built in gray nozzle that sprays water onto the neck when the wiper is rotating. There is another nozzle hole that you can see that shoots water onto the lid too.
In this one, you can see the complete Helix with the optional collection cup washdown. Also note the long silicone tube that goes into the skimmer body. That is where the water is drawn from for the built in neck and lid spray system. There are rollers under the plastic dome that the tubing is routed through. When the motor rotates, the rollers role across the tubing and draw water from inside the skimmer to be sprayed on the inside of the neck and lid. It works amazingly well.
Here you can see the lid wiper that is curved so that that the wiper pushes the gunk on the lid to the end of the lid where the acrylic ring is so it gets dispensed into the collection cup.
It's also very low profile and is only 1" taller than a tradional skimmer lid which is nice for tight spaces.
This video shows how it works. As I said above, there are other neck cleaners on the market but not all are created equal. This one is unlike no other and if you appreciate Bubble King quality, you would appreciate the Helix. This is the only neck cleaner that is recommended and sold by Royal Exclusiv in Germany. It's truly an engineered solution from the ground up that is built to last and improve the skimmers performance and not just a cheap skimmer lid with a cheap motor and a flimsy wiper blade attached to it. I've been using the Aquadriver neck cleaners for nearly 7 years now and they are truly one of the best neck cleaners money can buy. You can't beat the quality.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cm52tqfSovw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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That is a seriously nice piece of hardware and I can see how the cone shape in the center would be effective. I also get how it would be necessary if you use a separate collection container for the skimmate vs empting and cleaning the cup itself.
For those of us that empty and clean the cup every couple days would it help produce better skimmate and or make a noticeable enough difference that you'd recommend it?
For those of us that empty and clean the cup every couple days would it help produce better skimmate and or make a noticeable enough difference that you'd recommend it?
slief
RC Sponsor
It keeps the skimmer very consistent which is the most important part since consistency is what we strive for with a quality skimmer. In my experience, it makes a very nice difference. While I do have a separate container connected to my skimmer drain, I manually drain my cup on an as needed basis by opening a valve on my skimmer drain line and allowing to to flow into the jug. For a skimmer like the Mini's, I would tap the drain hole and thread a john guest valve into it and connect some tubing to that so it can drain into an external jug that way you never have to mess with the skimmer. The less you remove the cup and mess with things, the more consistent they run.
sensei
New member
I have a BK 250 SM Skimmer in my 600g system.
I have around 30 fish, some of them large 10" or more and 8 tangs
I am having problems regulating my skimmer.
I am not sure if I am doing it well.
I regulated the foam to be around 1.5 inches from the top of the neck so that the neck does not get gunky and skimmer works well one week and then the foam level goes up and I get the cup full in one day and if I lower the foam after a couple of days the foan goes down more and gets all the neck gunky.
the pump idisplay is at 43 now.
please let me know what you think?
can you explain how to set up the pump correctly?
I do not know if I should lower the watts of the pump or increase them??
thanks a lot
I have around 30 fish, some of them large 10" or more and 8 tangs
I am having problems regulating my skimmer.
I am not sure if I am doing it well.
I regulated the foam to be around 1.5 inches from the top of the neck so that the neck does not get gunky and skimmer works well one week and then the foam level goes up and I get the cup full in one day and if I lower the foam after a couple of days the foan goes down more and gets all the neck gunky.
the pump idisplay is at 43 now.
please let me know what you think?
can you explain how to set up the pump correctly?
I do not know if I should lower the watts of the pump or increase them??
thanks a lot
slief
RC Sponsor
Your load as far as fish goes is on the light side. I run the same skimmer on my 700 gallon system with over 70 fish in it and the skimmer could still handle more.
That said, lower the pump speed to between 36-38 watts. You are looking for the most dense foam possible and the sweet spot for the SM250 is right in that range. Higher will result in less contact time, larger faster moving bubbles and less efficient organic removal. Lower the level in the skimmer so the line where bubbles turn to foam is about 1" above the white collar where the neck/cup threads to the body. That is about as wet as you would want to set the skimmer. If you go much higher, you will have regular overflows. If the skimmer suddenly starts producing more skimmate, shut the pump down and remove the nozzle from the pump and inspect the venturi port where the silicone air hose connects to the pump. You are looking for salt creep which blocks off airflow and results in more water flow into he skimmer. This will lead to sudden overflows. I clean my venturi ports about once a month.
As for the neck getting gunked up, that is normal and is why many of us run a quality neck cleaner. That or you should remove the collection cup once a week and clean it. This is what I suggest as it's about the best neck cleaner money can buy and is designed for these skimmers. Mine runs once a day for 15 seconds and my neck is always clean and gunk free which not only reduces maintenance but it also keeps the skimmer performing optimally. I remove my collection cup every several months for cleaning.
slief
RC Sponsor
Glad to help. There is no video. I supposed I could do one but it's pretty simple. The nozzle is held in place via an o-ring. It pulls right out from the front of the pump. I have a thread in the Bubble King forum discussing the nozzle with pictures. It's covered in the first post here. I usually use a tooth pick to remove the salt creep. That or the tip of a fork. Take a look at the first post in this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2573406
bluecoyote79
New member
For a light to medium stocked system with 90 gallons total, would you recommend a bubble king double cone 150 or the double cone 180 with the DC pump?
I have recently purchased a bubble King mini 160 vs12. Put it in de sump, start it up and for some reason I can't get a proper skim from it. It feels like it's getting to much air or to less water. The skim won't go past halve the lower part, not even close to the collection cup. I'm having it in a red sea reefer 250, around 20cm(8") water height . Yet it won't skim. Did any of you have this problems in the start of the new skimmer?
Foto shows what I mean.
Foto shows what I mean.
slief
RC Sponsor
Sorry for the late reply. I don't monitor this thread as much as I should since we have a dedicated forum here. I would suggest the Double Cone 150. The 180 would work if you had a heavier load or if you run it really wet. Another alternative that would be set it and forget it would be the Mini 160. I run one on a 90 gallon tank and absolutely love it.
slief
RC Sponsor
I have recently purchased a bubble King mini 160 vs12. Put it in de sump, start it up and for some reason I can't get a proper skim from it. It feels like it's getting to much air or to less water. The skim won't go past halve the lower part, not even close to the collection cup. I'm having it in a red sea reefer 250, around 20cm(8") water height . Yet it won't skim. Did any of you have this problems in the start of the new skimmer?
Foto shows what I mean.
Close the wedge pipe some to get the water level up to about 1" below the white PVC collar at the top of the body. Also, you may want to loose the set screw that keeps the wedge pipe tight and make sure the wedge pipe is seated all the way down into the effluent fitting. If it's not all the way seated, the wedge pipe will not function and you won't be able to raise the level in the skimmer.
How long has the skimmer been in the sump? I assume you have it in salt water and not fresh water for testing?
Have tried that, yet turning it won't increase it. The only thing that would increase it is holding my thumb abit on the air intake so it would have abit less air. Or putting the silicone hose on the ozon opening. When I do that it skims really good yet I can't keep it like that since the silicone hose doesn't fit ofc.
Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G935F met Tapatalk
slief
RC Sponsor
Your wedge pipe must not be seated all the way in. Closing the wedge pipe by rotating it blocks the flow of water coming out of the skimmer. The more you close it, the higher the level inside the skimmer. If the skimmer is responding to the wedge pipe then it's not all the way down into the fitting. Like I said, loosen the screw and push the wedge pipe down all the way into the fitting. You can pull the skimmer out if you need to and inspect the wedge pipe so you can see if it's all the way down and familiarize yourself with how it work. if the wedge pipe is seated, it should be able to make the skimmer overflow because the water won't be able to leave the skimmer.
The reason holding your finger over the air intake or placing the hose on the ozone port works is because you are reducing the airflow into the skimmer which in turn increases the water flow. The wedge pipe is your friend. If need be, raise your sump level a bit higher. If you are at 8", raise it to 8.5".
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