Bubble King Skimmer Club

[Jeremy B.]

8" would be just fine for the Mini 180.

 

[boodlefish]

not so good night.

not so good night.

I have had a BK mini 200 running with out a flaw for just over a year now but...

I came home today to find my skimmer was off. it was plugged in but not working. i flipped my switch (DJ power strip) and the pump kicked on ran for a few seconds and then started pulsing and finally turned off! what the heck?

so i pulled my whole skimmer out to clean out the pump and look for any obvious sings of damage. well i pulled the pump apart and it all looked fine. i gave it a normal cleaning in the kitchen sink thinking that maybe it was just dirty or something...

i put it back together (not the first time i have cleaned this pump) hooked it all back up and the same thing happened. Ok for a couple of seconds then pulsing and pump cuts out. i then decided to give it one more go by plugging into a plug on a different circuit (just in case there is a weird harmonics issue) but the same thing happened. :furious:

can anyone help me?!? what should i do? who do i contact? its gen 1 and out of warranty

 

[Creetin]

I bet the bearing behind the needle wheel is crusted up and in need of a cleaning. Do you know the bearing I am talking about?

 

[boodlefish]

Creetin-

when i pulled the drive shaft out for cleaning main.t as per BK instruction manual. i gently scrubbed everything with a tooth brush and soaked the rear ceramic bearing in a mild vinegar solution. i am not sure how to remove the front bearing. i would like to try soaking that as well. it should be noted that both bearings seem extremely free and smooth when i manually spin them. if anyone has experience removing the front bearing i would appreciate a heads up- i want my most expensive piece of equipment to run as it should!

 

[Creetin]

I dont believe the front comes off, or am aware of it anyways. I just soak it overnight in a vinegar and water mix.
I would call proline. PA should be able to give you the number.
I keep a spare laguna mororblock for these types of situations so I am not out of a skimmer if the pump farts out. I have not had to use it thankfully in the 3 years I have had my bubbleking. Knock on wood.

 

[boodlefish]

Thanks Creetin-

i just bought a spare laguna/ askoll 1500 installed it yesterday and my skimmer is back on line.

The funny thing about my BK - the 200 mini is that it doesn't use a special volute it seems that all the original laguna/ askoll volute was slightly modified to accept BK's venturi.

this whole experience has weakened my confidence in BK and Red Dragon alike. i kind of feel like i bought an over priced name.:rolleye1:

don't get me wrong my skimmer does one heck of a job keeping my system clean but i am starting to suspect that i could have purchased a comparable product for a lot less.

i am just happy its working now!

 

[Creetin]

I cant comment on the mini's But I am really happy with the deluxe I own.
It does seem like a weak point of the skimmer to be modified laguna parts, I Guess seeing that the pricepoint is set quite a bit less than the deluxe's that a compromise in hand made parts for the pump would be made.
RE did not skimp on anything with my deluxe and is all hand made parts. There is nothing RE did not modify or hand make itself for this model. But the pricepoint is substantially more.
I still believe you got a pretty good designed skimmer body.

 

[MichaelInRC]

I am looking for either BK160 or BK 180,
but I got few questions before I can jump in to this.
1) My stand has height of 25", the actual space I had after place in a sump is ~23". AM I able to lift the collection cup of either BK160 or BK 180 in such tight space? what is the exact height of both skimmer, and how much space is required to lift up the collection cup?
2) My main tank is 46g and my sump is ~30g, will it be over skim if I am running BK180?

 

[Jeremy B.]

The funny thing about my BK - the 200 mini is that it doesn't use a special volute it seems that all the original laguna/ askoll volute was slightly modified to accept BK's venturi.

The Gen1 mini's had a modified front cover, and customer impeller. Other than that the pumps were stock. The Gen2 mini's have an entirely custom front cover.

 

[Jeremy B.]

I am looking for either BK160 or BK 180,
but I got few questions before I can jump in to this.
1) My stand has height of 25", the actual space I had after place in a sump is ~23". AM I able to lift the collection cup of either BK160 or BK 180 in such tight space? what is the exact height of both skimmer, and how much space is required to lift up the collection cup?
2) My main tank is 46g and my sump is ~30g, will it be over skim if I am running BK180?

First off, the Mini 180 is too big for this application. I would recommend going with the Mini 160, which has a total height of 22", and needs right at 3/8" to get the cup off, maybe slightly less. The 160 would be perfect for this setup!

 

[flying53brian]

BubbleKing 180 Gen1 for sale

BubbleKing 180 Gen1 for sale

I have a 15 month old Bubble king 180 and I will throw in a second Red Dragon pump for it. I have been wanting to try something different so if interested please PM me. I paid $899 but know they sell for less now.

Please PM me for Details and price for it and that includes the second pump.

Thanks for looking!

If this is not allowed please remove and sorry

 

[BFG]

I dont believe the front comes off, or am aware of it anyways. I just soak it overnight in a vinegar and water mix.
I would call proline. PA should be able to give you the number.
I keep a spare laguna mororblock for these types of situations so I am not out of a skimmer if the pump farts out. I have not had to use it thankfully in the 3 years I have had my bubbleking. Knock on wood.

Do you know which Laguna motor block model would I need for my SM250?

 

[Jeremy B.]

That should be an Askoll 2000. HTH!

 

[shaggss]

Jeremy

I have a new Bubble King Mini 160 and would like to buy a spare pump. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

 

[tazmanian_cowboy]

Hi Guys, I have a bk 300 deluxe external. Since there are no manuals, I have a question. can this be gravity fed? I believe it runs with like 792 GPH so my overflows would have more than enough flow. Will it only take what it needs? Has anybody done this and how have you accomplished it? I would like to do this to get the raw tank water into the skimmer rather than mixed sump water as I currently have it set up.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Jeremy

I have a new Bubble King Mini 160 and would like to buy a spare pump. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

The Red Dragon is the only one that will fit/work on the Mini line. It's not like a Vertex IN series or Octopus skimmer that you can modify to use different pumps. Give me a call at 317-895-9005, or shoot me an email to jeremy@premiumaquatics.com and we can get you taken care of on it.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Hi Guys, I have a bk 300 deluxe external. Since there are no manuals, I have a question. can this be gravity fed? I believe it runs with like 792 GPH so my overflows would have more than enough flow. Will it only take what it needs? Has anybody done this and how have you accomplished it? I would like to do this to get the raw tank water into the skimmer rather than mixed sump water as I currently have it set up.

I do not recommend gravity feeding skimmers. Efficiency wise, it is the best way to skim, however there is too much variance in the flow rate to be able to dial in the skimmer. As the water flow slightly decreases, so will the operating water level of the skimmer. When it increases, the water level will increase with it. You will constantly be chasing your tail to get the skimmer dialed in. Either run a "tee" off of your return pump and feed it that way, or put in a small submersible pump in the sump to feed it.

 

[tazmanian_cowboy]

I do not recommend gravity feeding skimmers. Efficiency wise, it is the best way to skim, however there is too much variance in the flow rate to be able to dial in the skimmer. As the water flow slightly decreases, so will the operating water level of the skimmer. When it increases, the water level will increase with it. You will constantly be chasing your tail to get the skimmer dialed in. Either run a "tee" off of your return pump and feed it that way, or put in a small submersible pump in the sump to feed it.

I was thinking to have a 3" stack about 4' tall and reduce it going into the skimmer. It would be a t pointing down off of my drain line which has two tanks worth of water flowing through it. when the stack is full the water would just flow past it and into the sump.

I currently have it off of my manifold, but don't like the idea of sending processed water back through it. I want clean water! :bigeyes:

Do you think this would work Jeremy or would you still advise against it?

 

[Jeremy B.]

I'm not sure if I'm following what you're wanting to do here?

 

[boodlefish]

The Gen1 mini's had a modified front cover, and customer impeller. Other than that the pumps were stock. The Gen2 mini's have an entirely custom front cover.

is there much performance difference with the gen2/ modified front cover?