Bubble King Skimmer Club

Jeremy,

Im planning on a 150 gal aquarium with a 30 gal sump. It will host about 4 medium tangs, 12 small fish (2" damsels, blennys, 3" angelfish etc) and 3-4 SPS corals and 9-12 LPS.

Thinking of getting a BK skimmer that is sized correctly for the tank. Im thinking Mini 180. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
Jeremy,

Im planning on a 150 gal aquarium with a 30 gal sump. It will host about 4 medium tangs, 12 small fish (2" damsels, blennys, 3" angelfish etc) and 3-4 SPS corals and 9-12 LPS.

Thinking of getting a BK skimmer that is sized correctly for the tank. Im thinking Mini 180. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
setting up a 280g dt, 80g frag and approx 80g sump. I'm thinking about the BK SM250. Thoughts on this being the right size for my set up?
 
My bubble king mini 200 gen 2 pump stops working. After I unplug it and plug it back in it cycles on and off what can be causing this? After cycling it stops working. I do routine maintenance on the skimmer full break down and clean up ever 6 months. I even tried a new needle wheel I had no luck. The back bushing seems a little worn but the armature is not hitting and the needle wheel seems to spin fine. Just not sure what it could be.

Sorry for the repeat. Added a few details.

Thanks
Anthony
Click to expand...

I am having similar issues with mine except it will just quit running. I have had the skimmer for about 2 years now and it seems this has started within the last 6 months. I pull it out and break it down with a vinegar soak, put it back together and it works great. Then about a month later it stops again and I go thru the same procedure. It never lasts more than 4-6 weeks before shutting down again. Is this normal? I know they need periodic cleaning as do all pumps but this seems a little excessive. Is there another underlying issue causing this?
 
WestTexasReefer said:
I am having similar issues with mine except it will just quit running. I have had the skimmer for about 2 years now and it seems this has started within the last 6 months. I pull it out and break it down with a vinegar soak, put it back together and it works great. Then about a month later it stops again and I go thru the same procedure. It never lasts more than 4-6 weeks before shutting down again. Is this normal? I know they need periodic cleaning as do all pumps but this seems a little excessive. Is there another underlying issue causing this?
Click to expand...

Do you dose kalk? Also how high do you keel p alk and cal? Tanks with high alk and cal tend to make more cleanings nec.
Dosing kalk near pumps will cause them to get caked up faster with ca buildup.
 
SPotter said:
setting up a 280g dt, 80g frag and approx 80g sump. I'm thinking about the BK SM250. Thoughts on this being the right size for my set up?
Click to expand...


I think th 250 would be a great fit. I run similar water volume and think it can handle more.
These skimmers like to work.
 
I have a question. Has anyone hooked up their BK skimmer cup drain fitting to a waste collector?
What type connector do you use on the skimmer cup drain outlet?
I'm yet to see a BK- waste collector setup.
Is it coz it affects the skimmer performance?
 
Reef_Noob said:
I have a question. Has anyone hooked up their BK skimmer cup drain fitting to a waste collector?
What type connector do you use on the skimmer cup drain outlet?
I'm yet to see a BK- waste collector setup.
Is it coz it affects the skimmer performance?
Click to expand...

I don't run one because i like to clean the neck and cup every 3 days. Anything more than that and the skimmer does not run effectively. It loses performance. Its with all skimmers. If the neck gets caked up it will ruin performance.
Now if you have a neck cleaner then you could run one, But i still do not like having wires running to the top of my skimmer. If i had a cleaner and a waste container you would want a way to shut it off when the container fills up. If not then a skimmer mess would happen, and we all know what this gunk smells like. LOL Is it nice? Yeah, but it makes it a little more difficult down the road to clean, and adds an extra expense.
As for the connector you can just get 3/8ths id hose for it and run a new line instead of connecting 2.
 
Jeremy B. said:
Alex - we need to have Klaus put you on payroll for all of the work you do in this thread! Thank you very much!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I like my BK, If i can help i will try. I am the guy that finds every bump in the road unfortunately, But it makes me learn everything.
 
Creetin said:
I don't run one because i like to clean the neck and cup every 3 days. Anything more than that and the skimmer does not run effectively. It loses performance. Its with all skimmers. If the neck gets caked up it will ruin performance.
Now if you have a neck cleaner then you could run one, But i still do not like having wires running to the top of my skimmer. If i had a cleaner and a waste container you would want a way to shut it off when the container fills up. If not then a skimmer mess would happen, and we all know what this gunk smells like. LOL Is it nice? Yeah, but it makes it a little more difficult down the road to clean, and adds an extra expense.
As for the connector you can just get 3/8ths id hose for it and run a new line instead of connecting 2.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Creetin.
What you said makes a lot of sense.
Yes il keep it simple for the moment. :)
 
Hey Guys! I am planning a new cube build 93g with 15g sump. So roughly 100g after rock and sand etc. My question is should i go mini 160 or 180? I dont wanna go to small or to big and i dont wanna waste 1000$ and not be happy with my choice. What do you recommend??
 
Hi Addicted2Reef2

Go for the 180 it rocks!!
What's your plan for the tank SPS, heavily stocked? 180 will cover these needs quite well.
I have a tank of similar capacity as yours and I'm more than happy with my 180 Gen2 :D (sorry for the wide grin, can't help it coz about 15 mins ago I had cleaned the skimmer cup and it's already pulling out dark particles)
 
Anyone out there having noise issues with the MINI 200? I bought one in June and after two new pump bodys, two pinwheell assemblys and another air Venturi nothing changed. Finally got a new one in last week and it started doing the same thing, loud rattling humming noise. I am very dissapointed in this model skimmer. I have had other BK's which never gave me a problem.
 
Is there mini stars or snails getting into the pump? Every once in a while i get one sucked into the pump and have to inspect. I also use a mesh bag to trap them and use a grated vent for my return pump. Once in a while one does sneak in. (Small one) I'll hear the pump squealing and i know that a snail had gotten in. Some snails can breed in your tank, I would look for them in your sump.
I would not think after all that replacing the pump is the main cause. JMO Look for any particulates like carbon or gfo as well. Its been known to leak into the sump and go into the pumps.
 
Nothing in the pump. It does this in my test tank also has nothing in it. This is the second one in 6 months to do this.
 
I can back up bayoupr on this one. I got his first one back to test and it is indeed making this very strange, loud sound, that I could only narrow down to the red pipe that goes from the pump inlet to the inside of the body. There has to be a tolerance issue there that is causing it to vibrate. I'm working on it now and trying to come up with the exact issue, where it might be cut too loose or short.
 
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