The Alpha's are in that 9" - 9.5" range, not the SM's. The SM's can be ran that deep, but I think you'd be better off around 8". HTH!
Bubble King Skimmer Club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
The Alpha's are in that 9" - 9.5" range, not the SM's. The SM's can be ran that deep, but I think you'd be better off around 8". HTH!
:thumbsup:
Alex T.
Active member
Just received the BK Supermarin 200 today from member n-kleine used for one month.
It's sitting in RODI/white vinegar and will be running for the next 24 hours to get it sparkling clean. Once my new tank and sump are set up, it will be placed in its' new home. I can't believe I was wondering if I should go with the 250 Supermarin. This thing should be more than enough for my 195. I've never seen one in person. You hear all the time how well made these are but you just never understand until you hold one in your hands and feel the weight of the collection cup. Is this considered overkill for a 195 medium bioload of fish but heavily stocked with SPS?
It's sitting in RODI/white vinegar and will be running for the next 24 hours to get it sparkling clean. Once my new tank and sump are set up, it will be placed in its' new home. I can't believe I was wondering if I should go with the 250 Supermarin. This thing should be more than enough for my 195. I've never seen one in person. You hear all the time how well made these are but you just never understand until you hold one in your hands and feel the weight of the collection cup. Is this considered overkill for a 195 medium bioload of fish but heavily stocked with SPS?
Reef_Noob
New member
Congrats on your BK!!
You are absolutely spot on regrading the build quality and attention to detail that goes into a BK. And holding one in your hand makes you just feel proud to have acquired a piece of extreme craftsmanship. That's what I feel everytime I do maintenance on my BK not forgetting the weight of the skimmer cup
Personlly I feel there is nothing like overkill. Getting a powerful and bit overrated skimmer always helps keeping water quality top notch and helps SPS thrive.
Do post some pics of your new acquisition
Happy Reefing!!
urbaneks
New member
Jeremy, I have the same issue on my collection cup. I have some Weldon 4 here at the house, will it work to bond the two materials or is Weldon 3 a must? Thanks for all of your answers on this thread over the course of time. I've referred to this a number of times and you've been a great resource. I don't know if you realize how helpful this is for a lot of us.
Thanks,
Urbaneks
urbaneks
New member
Jeremy,
One more questions, I've seen a few people in this thread attach a hose to the silencer in order to pull air from outside their stands. Does this improve performance? If this is a common practice what is the maximum length the hose can be before the pump performance is compromised?
Thanks again,
One more questions, I've seen a few people in this thread attach a hose to the silencer in order to pull air from outside their stands. Does this improve performance? If this is a common practice what is the maximum length the hose can be before the pump performance is compromised?
Thanks again,
shaggss
Active member
This is usually done to draw fresh air with a lesser CO2 content than inside to increase your pH.
As for the length of hose I'll let Jeremy answer.
urbaneks
New member
shaggss - Thanks for the extra information. I'm not having pH issues, I'm just having a difficult time getting the bubble king to produce consistent skimmate. I was wondering if the fresher air would aid the skimmer in skimmate production.
urbaneks
New member
The skimmer is new to my system but is a year+ old. It did get a good cleaning before going in my tank so I know it needs some break in. With that said, it will get going after about 4 hours and then lose it's head as soon as I feed the tank.
Where do you run the water level inside your skimmer? Just tonight, I moved the water level inside the skimmer up to the point where the clear plastic hits the white portion of the collection cup. This is well above the sticker on the skimmer. I based this on several posts by Jeremy where he said that the line on the sticker is too low.
Where do you run the water level inside your skimmer? Just tonight, I moved the water level inside the skimmer up to the point where the clear plastic hits the white portion of the collection cup. This is well above the sticker on the skimmer. I based this on several posts by Jeremy where he said that the line on the sticker is too low.
shaggss
Active member
That's about where mine is too. And as Jeremy has said, the sticker is not really a limit. You need to adjust it to your system. Don't be too hasty though, and yes mine does loose it's foam head occasionally. No big deal really. I find just the slightest adjustment can tip things too far so let it settle for a day or two after an adjustment and see what happens.
BubbleKing. 180 0r 200
Which one would work best on a 180/150g heavy bioload of fish and corals w/30g sump
I've always believed that you get a skimmer for size or one step up that way the skimmer is always working and keeping up with the load .if BK skimmers are good for doing that then there is no real need to oversize?..Then why oversize
I see lots of people going way oversize with their skimmers. I know skimming is the most important thing in reefing but is bigger always better, I mean if it is one of those basic low to mid skimmers( no names ) yea step up a few sizes but with a BK then they are made to work, Right?
I dont know skimming and want to get the right skimmer and not have to spend money going from skimmer to skimmer.So which would work best again the 180 or 200Thanks
Confused when comes to skimmers
Which one would work best on a 180/150g heavy bioload of fish and corals w/30g sump
I've always believed that you get a skimmer for size or one step up that way the skimmer is always working and keeping up with the load .if BK skimmers are good for doing that then there is no real need to oversize?..Then why oversize
I see lots of people going way oversize with their skimmers. I know skimming is the most important thing in reefing but is bigger always better, I mean if it is one of those basic low to mid skimmers( no names ) yea step up a few sizes but with a BK then they are made to work, Right?
I dont know skimming and want to get the right skimmer and not have to spend money going from skimmer to skimmer.So which would work best again the 180 or 200Thanks
Confused when comes to skimmers
Yea thanks, the mini , i dont have much room or the extra 800 dollars for the SM200. LOL !
drdoolittle
Active member
Hello, does anyone know how to clean an Alpha 250 silencer? the air suction seem to have develops some kind of restriction into the pump. i would like to clean whatever inside of it.
thanks
Ed
thanks
Ed
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