Bubble King Skimmer Club

[n8rad]

seriously if you talking a 180 heavy bioload..your only doing yourself a favor and saving up that $800
I have the same specs as you and was thinking of getting a bubble king in the range of the 300 series, but after talking to multiple people that have the SM version of bubble king there is not reason to mess with any other models IMO
They are the pinnacle of bubble king designs IMO.

 

[bayoupr]

drdoolittle, take a pocket knife or razor blade and work it in the area where the white top and red body meet. The tops of these silencers are made to come off letting you clean the inside sponge. The top is not glued in.

 

[Creetin]

seriously if you talking a 180 heavy bioload..your only doing yourself a favor and saving up that $800
I have the same specs as you and was thinking of getting a bubble king in the range of the 300 series, but after talking to multiple people that have the SM version of bubble king there is not reason to mess with any other models IMO
They are the pinnacle of bubble king designs IMO.

I would not say they are the best of the BK design, Theres a reason the deluxe's cost more. They are a great skimmer though.
I agree though if you can get the sm over the mini for a 180 gal i would.

 

[drdoolittle]

drdoolittle, take a pocket knife or razor blade and work it in the area where the white top and red body meet. The tops of these silencers are made to come off letting you clean the inside sponge. The top is not glued in.

Thanks, i was able to remove it and sure enough. it was clog. Cleaned it up was good to go again.

thanks again.
Ed

 

[bayoupr]

I run mine without the sponge. It's supposed to muffle the air sucking sound, but I find there is no difference, IMO.

 

[n8rad]

I would not say they are the best of the BK design, Theres a reason the deluxe's cost more. They are a great skimmer though.
I agree though if you can get the sm over the mini for a 180 gal i would.

The only reason the deluxe models are more is because there is way more material involved.

 

[Toomnymods]

What would the bubble king experts recommend for a 350 gallon display tank 75 gallon sump and 40 gallon frag tank??

 

[Jeremy B.]

@Toomnymods

I would suggest using a 300 series....

Vertex Alpha 300
BK Deluxe 300
Super Marin 300

Any of those would be more than capable of handling your size system with no issues at all.

 

[tntman]

I'm after a SM200 for my 120g, do you think it its overkill? I have quite a heavy bio load. What is the recommended water depth that it should sit in?

 

[jjablonski]

Don't afraid , I'm using SM250 for 100g with SPS. Probably you have to add microelements like Grotech ABC+M, (I’m dosing 4 ml ABC+M every day)
Recommended depht is 20-25 cm.

 

[tntman]

Many thanks!!! So you reckon I should go for a SM250 instead! 25cm is what my sump water is at! That's perfect!

If you don't mind, i havent been able to get an exact measurements of the SM200.. I like the idea of the SM250! Can you measure your footprint? Many thanks!

 

[jjablonski]

My SM 250's footprint is about 50x30cm, if you can't manage it, try use 2-nd connection and have footprint 48x36cm.
It's my fourth skimmer and it's perfect to my system. Mini BK 200 was too small the SM perfectly clear water. NO3<1 and PO4<0,04.

 

[jjablonski]

So you reckon I should go for a SM250 instead!

I can not advise which SM will be better for you.
Each tank is different. Amount of water, the amount of live rock, fish and their size, does all off this impact on water parameters
Probably the SM 200 will be OK. For me the Mini BK 200 was a bit too small.

 

[tntman]

Many thanks for your information!

Your equipment is quite similar to mine! We have expensive German taste!

I am currently buying my flow box. I saw that you have 2 x 6105 and a wavebox. Do you think that this is too much flow? Are you using the wide diffuser on the 6105? How do you have yours mounted?

I tried a Ecotech MP40 and didnt like it, as it was like a noisy pig! The wide flow dispersion was quite nice though. Do you think a wavebox is necessary?

 

[sfexplicit]

Which Bubble King for a 200G sps tank?

 

[WestTexasReefer]

I have a mini 200 and noticed last week it was not producing much if any foam so I took it apart, soaked it in vinegar and gave it a good cleaning. It is foaming some but not producing a thick foam like is usually does and the water in the body of the skimmer is very turbulent. It is not producing much skimmate at all. I cleaned all the air lines thoroughly when I had it apart thinking it wasn't getting enough air. Any ideas on what could be causing this and how to fix it?

 

[Jeremy B.]

@sfexplicit - YOu could do the 200 Deluxe or Super Marin 200. In my opinion you do not need to go to the 250 series.

@westtexasreefer - Just let it slime back up and you'll eventually be fine with it. As long as there are no air obstructions (including inside the silencer), then you should be good.

 

[urbaneks]

Jeremy,

The outer portion of my collection cup came loose from the base, I read in another post that you recommended Weldon 3. I have some Weldon 4 here at the house, will it work to bond the two materials or is Weldon 3 a must[/QUOTE]

 

[Jeremy B.]

I have never used Weldon 4 before, so I can't really say. You're just trying to seal acrylic to pvc, so whatever Weldon would recommend for that.

 

[psulion]

I just purchased a bubbleking supermarine 250 for my 220 reef. I know the recommded water depth is 7-8 inches but the manual says 20-25cm (8-10 inches). Right now it is in my sump at a depth of 9.5 inches and skimming like a beast. Any reason to raise it up to the 7-8 inches since it seems to be working very well.