Bubble King Skimmer Club

[flameangel88]

Im also thinking of getting a bk now after reading all the reviews! I have a 160g display with a 80g sump. Which model would you guys recommend? I also run bp on this system and its a primarily sps tank so the water has to be pristine. I was thinking a skimmer rated for around 500-600g? What do you guys think?

I recommend going with the 300 Deluxe. The internal version is $230 more for the 300 vs 200 and less $100 on the external between the 300 vs 200.

If you upgrade the tank down the road you'll have more than enough on the 300 deluxe..

 

[EvilE]

do these bubblekings have a hang on skimmer?

 

[125mph]

Hi guys,

I have a bk 160 mini. How often do I need to take it apart and clean the pump and all that stuff inside? I see some black stuff on the bottom by the pump inside.. i think its some debris that got sucked in over time.

I've had the skimmer for about three months so far.

Thanks,

 

[Jeremy B.]

@EVilE - BK does not have a hang-on version.

@125mph- I recommend pulling the pump out and soaking it in vinegar overnight every 3 months to clean any calcium / mg deposits out of the unit.

 

[Rouselb]

It sounds like you are running the red nozzle too far closed and pumping a lot more water than you are air/water mix, causing the power consumption on the pump to shoot way up - although I"m surprised it would shoot up that much if that is indeed the case!

Why is the power consumption so high? Is this typical, i cleaned both units and now they are both around 75W although the pump states 45W max. Any ideas?

 

[karn888]

My BK Deluxe 300 Ext has been running for over 2 weeks already, but I still can not get it to skim dry. The skimmate is way too wet.

Right now, the setting is wedge pipe all the way open and the outlet pipe is at highest position. The reason for this is that skimmer is sitting a little bit lower level than the sump and the outlet must clear the top edge of the sump to go back in. The feed pump is Eheim 1260 with ball valve to lower the water flow.

The strange thing is that I tried to lower the water level in the skimmer by lower the the water input from the feed pump. When I turn the wedge pipe to more close position to raise the water level, the water in the skimmer does not come up. It seems like there is nothing happen at all.

Please advise.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Why is the power consumption so high? Is this typical, i cleaned both units and now they are both around 75W although the pump states 45W max. Any ideas?

75w is about right for this pump. I think there was an issue with all of these pumps in measuring wattage draw in Germany (~45w) to over here in the states around 75w - 85w on the pump. Obviously the difference comes in with measuring between 220v and 110v. 75w is in the range of what that pump should be running at though.

 

[Jeremy B.]

My BK Deluxe 300 Ext has been running for over 2 weeks already, but I still can not get it to skim dry. The skimmate is way too wet.

Right now, the setting is wedge pipe all the way open and the outlet pipe is at highest position. The reason for this is that skimmer is sitting a little bit lower level than the sump and the outlet must clear the top edge of the sump to go back in. The feed pump is Eheim 1260 with ball valve to lower the water flow.

The strange thing is that I tried to lower the water level in the skimmer by lower the the water input from the feed pump. When I turn the wedge pipe to more close position to raise the water level, the water in the skimmer does not come up. It seems like there is nothing happen at all.

Please advise.

How old is your tank? Also, when you lowered the flow through rate of the water with the feed pump, you completely negated that by closing the wedge pipe, which is why you didn't see any difference.

 

[Greg 45]

300 bk ext. karn888
I am running same skimmer similar pump
wedge pipe all the way down wedge pipe full open
est 600 gph est
bubble level starts at screw on top
seems to work fine
hope this helps

 

[karn888]

How old is your tank? Also, when you lowered the flow through rate of the water with the feed pump, you completely negated that by closing the wedge pipe, which is why you didn't see any difference.

This is the newly set up tank. I have been running ZEOvit for about two months using the old live rock from the old tank. The PO4 was high before, so the PO4 was released from the live rock and the PO4 level during the start of the tank was around 0.30 Now, it is 0.13 (using Hanna Checker)

The question is should I redo the plumbing work, so that I can raise the whole skimmer and lower the telescopic pipe? Or should I do anything differently?

Thanks
Karn

 

[karn888]

300 bk ext. karn888
I am running same skimmer similar pump
wedge pipe all the way down wedge pipe full open
est 600 gph est
bubble level starts at screw on top
seems to work fine
hope this helps

Hi Greg

What do you mean by "bubble level starts at screw on top"? How do I determine what is the bubble level?

I think my problem is that my telescopic pipe must be at the highest position so that the outlet can clear the top edge of my sump. And therefore, I am not able to freely control the level of the water/foam (I believe)

Thanks
Karn

 

[karn888]

How old is your tank? Also, when you lowered the flow through rate of the water with the feed pump, you completely negated that by closing the wedge pipe, which is why you didn't see any difference.

Hi Jeremy,

I still don't understand why restricting the water input can negate the the use of wedge pipe. Or do I understand correctly? Do you mean that I am not able to use the wedge pipe to fine tune the skimmer because I lowered the water in flow?

So, how can I fine tune the water/foam level?

Karn

 

[Jeremy B.]

Karn,

If you increase the water flow going into the skimmer then the water level inside the skimmer will increase. If you decrease the water flow going into the skimmer then the water level inside the skimmer body will decrease. If you raise the telescoping pipe up, it will increase the water level, if you lower the pipe the water level will decrease. If you open the wedge pipe up the water level will decrease, if you close the wedge pipe the water level will increase.

All three of these adjustments go hand in hand with one another. If you do two opposite adjustments such as you did....

"The strange thing is that I tried to lower the water level in the skimmer by lower the the water input from the feed pump. When I turn the wedge pipe to more close position to raise the water level, the water in the skimmer does not come up. It seems like there is nothing happen at all."

....nothing will happen here because you essentially did two adjustments that cancelled each other out.

 

[ryanuuy]

I recommend going with the 300 Deluxe. The internal version is $230 more for the 300 vs 200 and less $100 on the external between the 300 vs 200.

If you upgrade the tank down the road you'll have more than enough on the 300 deluxe..

I see. Performance wise, the external and the internal are the same right for the bk 300 deluxe?

 

[ryanuuy]

Also does the BK deluxe series perform better than the supermarin series? I was thinking of looking into the supermarin 300 as an alternative to the 300 deluxe.

My tank is a 150g SPS reef with an 80g sump.

 

[sreefs]

I think the supermarin is a step up from the deluxe, also a supermarin 250 and maybe a SM 200 would easily handle a 150g with a 80g sump. I will let Jeremy confirm but a SM 300 would be over kill on a 150g IMO
Pat

 

[ryanuuy]

I see. Ive been reading quite a bit on this as well and i think the supermarin 250 would be the way to go for my tank.

Waiting for Jeremy to confirm this as well!

 

[marcin11379]

Hi
I just bought the BK 200 Mini from RC member and I have problems with the pump. RD does not want to turn the turbine. Power is in pump but the impaler is only shaken in place. Yesterday I cleaned pumps with RO water and vinegar but Still nothing.Any advise ,suggestion ?
Thx Marcin

 

[Jeremy B.]

I think the supermarin is a step up from the deluxe, also a supermarin 250 and maybe a SM 200 would easily handle a 150g with a 80g sump. I will let Jeremy confirm but a SM 300 would be over kill on a 150g IMO
Pat

A Super Marin 200 is what I would suggest using all the way up to 200g, maybe 250g depending on stock load. The SM 250 is going to be too big for the 150g system by a long shot.

 

[Jeremy B.]

@ryanuuy, the 250 and 300 models are way too big for your system, look at something in the 200 model range if you're going with a SM or Deluxe.