Bubble King Skimmer Club

[n-kleine]

Hi Bro,
Me too, it was a tough choice for me. I had put out 3 brands of skimmers(on my thread, as a poll). And finally went for the BK.
I checked out the WM skimmer you had said about. Looks good but the heart is super weak. It's a modified EDEN pump. It can't even be compared to the Red Dragon pump. And beats it hands down on performance. I know first hand coz iv owned the Skimz skimmer (who manufactures this particular WM model)
Check out ATB too they have extremely nice skimmers and Anton's customer service is just superb.
If still $$ is a factor check out Bubble Magus, but the ones with the Eheim pumps. It's the heart of the skimmer that matters
Sorry for my rant. Hope it helps.

Hey Reef_Noob can you post a few recent pics of your BK in action. Thanks

 

[Reef_Noob]

Hey Reef_Noob can you post a few recent pics of your BK in action. Thanks

Hey kleine....sure i will post a more recent pic....but just for interests sake you can view some pics of my BK on my thread...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2022954&page=8

These are the initial pics...now its skimming dark, stinky stuff ..will post updated pics soon..

Thanks for askin

 

[layer3switchguy]

Nice tank and build thread! Thanks for sharing!

I may roll the dice on the skimmer and go with the MF-201, the damn BK is just so expensive... If it was a few dollars cheaper, I would jump all over it!

 

[blackstallion17]

bubble king mini 200 for sale if any 1 wants it in the selling forum...thanks bk!

 

[blackstallion17]

Nice tank and build thread! Thanks for sharing!

I may roll the dice on the skimmer and go with the MF-201, the damn BK is just so expensive... If it was a few dollars cheaper, I would jump all over it!

Whats wrong with the atb you have??

 

[layer3switchguy]

Whats wrong with the atb you have??

Nothing, it's been a good skimmer, but this is for another tank...

 

[Jeremy B.]

Hi Jeremy,

I'm hoping you could help me with the SM 300 with the 2 pumps. Been having a horrible time with it. Its very sensitive. Its on a 260g, 9 inches stable water level.

The problem is that when it builds a foam head, it skims perfectly, but if there are any disturbances in the sandbed (as in small particulate matter released) it collapses. This is normal for many skimmers. But the problem is, that once it occurs, it takes a couple of days to build a steady foam head. Any attempt to increase the height of the water level to make it easier for the foam head, results in overflow.

Have opened the screw on the RD2000 volute all the way out. The greater amount of water has stabilized things to some extent, but still a long way off.

Any recommendations?

Sounds to me like a couple of things at play possibly.... Either the tank is very new without much of a bioload, or the skimmer is just way too big for the size tank it's on. What size system do you have it running on?

 

[Bello]

Thanks for your reply, Jeremy.

The tank isn't new and I believe you may be right about it being way over-sized. The DT is 260g with frag tank and sump, system volume max about 320g. I don't feed much, to be honest. I'm also running zeo on the tank.

What are my options, assuming the skimmer is in fact, over-sized? This is depressing.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Jeremy B.]

Honestly, I would have recommended a Super Marin 200 for that size system, the SM 300 is just way too big for it. I'd suggest either letting it go the way it has been going, and not make any adjustments while it tries to build a foam head back and keep it that way, or sell it and downsize to something more appropriate.

 

[Bello]

Thanks for the reply Jeremy!

I very recently tried a number of things, adjusting the air/water ratio's on both pumps (troublesome on the RD 1500) etc. Didn't make much of a difference. I'm sure that I'll suffer a massive loss in trying to sell it in my country. I did have the tank running on an Vertex Alpha Kone 200 which seemed fine, in retrospect.

Would increasing the bio-load by say adding a bunch of small fish etc be a really dumb idea? Else, I'll have to try and leave things as you said, and hope that it gets better.

Thanks for your time!!

 

[jbanks]

+1....More bio-load.... fish and coral..

 

[Bello]

Thanks Jonathan! Love your tank, btw!

I kinda like the current open scape with fewer fish, that I have currently.

But what the hell...... its worth a shot!

 

[Bello]

Thanks Jonathan! Love your tank, btw!

I kinda like the current open scape with fewer fish, that I have currently.

But what the hell...... its worth a shot!

 

[doggydoc]

Question about my BK 180

 

[doggydoc]

Sorry. Here goes my question. After being in use for 8 months now I am getting an excessive amount of air bubbles leaking out from the skimmer...apparently coming from the bottom of the red tube? Skimmer is still working GREAT. I am still skimming good amount and have no issues with the tank. Water level is the same as rec. Please see attached pic.
Skimmer has been cleaned before but still not able to clear out amount of bubbles coming out from the red tube. There are also NO CRACKS on the body of the skimmer.
Any suggestions?

 

[Jeremy B.]

I'm assuming you are visually witnessing the bubble spewing out of the exhaust of the skimmer?

I'd suggest opening up the air silencer and pulling out the foam fill. It's most likely pretty clogged up, and creating a decrease in air draw / increase in water flow, and causing bubbles to spew out of the exhaust of the skimmer. Another thing that can cause this is debris in the pins of the impeller - again, decreasing air draw, and increasing water flow, having the safe effect.

 

[doggydoc]

Tank is 90 gallons total water volume. Its been set up for 18 months. I do have a mix of sps an lps and do feed heavily. Never had a problem with nitrates.
Water level is currently at 9 inches (its been lowered to 8 and raised to 10) and no change in amount of bubbles at all. It does produce good waste but I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY be monitoring to avoid floods and or under skimming. I am at the point that I am spending more time worrying about the BK rather than enjoying the tank.



Skimmer has been cleaned properly 2x before. I just CAN'T get it dialed in. No cracks on body and pump does not seem to have any impeller issues. Or at least anything that I can hear!!!
So PLEASE anyone here can shed some light....I am about to throw the towel and start searching for another brand!!!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. ANY INPUT WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

 

[doggydoc]

Well again wanted to thank the RC community and Jeremy for directing me to the right fix for my BK. Ended up taking it apart again and found lots of debris on the surface of the pinwheel.
Cleaned it thoroughly and gave it a vinegar bath...4 hours later....
Tadaaaaaaaa
Working like BRAND NEW.
NO BUBBLES GREAT SKIMMAGE!!!
Thanks Jeremy.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Glad to hear it's back and rocking again!

 

[jbanks]

Thanks Jonathan! Love your tank, btw!

I kinda like the current open scape with fewer fish, that I have currently.

But what the hell...... its worth a shot!

You're welcome & Thanks Bello. I appreciate the kind comment!