Bubble King Skimmer Club

[joaovieira]

Joao, here is what I replied to your inquiry on the previous page...

@joao, A 250 model will be too big on a 180g system, period. It's just too much skimmer for that small water volume. You will get much better performance sticking with a 200 series from Royal-Exclusiv.

I was afraid that the question previously posted was misleading, so that was the reason why i posted a new one. In the previous post i referred a 180 g tank, but the total volume is 195 g including 180 g display tank + 15 g sump. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thanks for all attention provided. :thumbsup:

 

[Garfield90]

Hi guys,
I´m planning a +-1200 gallon build, 870 tank + 270 filtration. I´ve thought of getting the BK 500 (whatever the skimmer, it needs to be settled external) but i´m really wondering if is worth spending more $ on the 650 and stay more confident about the system´s nutrient export capacity.
Any advice?
thanks

 

[fishflorist]

disaster

disaster

Hi everyone.

my bro is using BK deluxe 300 int, it run about 5 month, and is very efficient.

But last week his skimmer start to make large noise, at first he thought it is come from the air pipe, but after checking almost every part of the skimmer he still can not find why the skimmer is making that noise.

So he followed the BK manual - maintainance part, he opened the shell of the pump. then he found the needle is abraded. see the picture.

But there is nothing jamed in it , the needle and the pump is fairly clean. only some brown algea fluff in it.

does anybody had this problem or heard of it ?

the skimmer is still in warranty period so will BK provide the needle free ?

 

[Jeremy B.]

@Garfield90, I have a friend that lives pretty close to me who uses the BK650 on a 1500g display, plus about a 200g sump. I'll confirm with him exactly what he's doing these days, but if I remember correctly he is running the skimmer on for 3 days and off for approximately 1 day.

@fishflorist, I've seen this many times in the past. When something gets stuck in the impeller it rubs up against the inside of the pump housing and eventually wears down the pins. I'd suggest purchasing a new impeller to fix the issue, then try and make sure you're running bag filters in the compartment right before the skimmer.

 

[Garfield90]

Jeremy,
Thank you so much. I think I'll finally choose the 650 model. I prefer, as you say, run the skimmer on or not at my own pov, than be anxious about it.
It's a really huge skimmer, but my plans are to dose phytoplankton and other coral foods almost daily, but not suffer from high nutrients in the water.
Thank you again!

 

[Jeremy B.]

You're very welcome! Post some photos of that beast once you get it going!

 

[Alex T.]

I just wanted to thank everybody for their help. After a few small water changes to get rid of any residual "Prime" still left in the water, my BK Supermarin 200 settled down on Friday and started producing some skimmate. With only one small fish and a handful of frags in a 195 gallon tank, here's what she pulled in roughly 4 days:

Thanks again:thumbsup:

 

[fishflorist]

@fishflorist, I've seen this many times in the past. When something gets stuck in the impeller it rubs up against the inside of the pump housing and eventually wears down the pins. I'd suggest purchasing a new impeller to fix the issue, then try and make sure you're running bag filters in the compartment right before the skimmer.

Thanks Jeremy !

But he is running bag filter all the time, and wash it twice a week. the water is always running through the bag. and the bag is I guess 200micron at least, very thick one. Plus, there is a large sponge in the overflow area, that makes sure that nothing big or nothing hard will have change to be suck into the skimmer pump. That's kinda weird.

I contact Royal Exlusive but no reply until now.

BTW, do you have this impeller in your shop ? I cant find. And does BK supply the plastic needle part seperately ? I found the impeller assembly is quite expesive .

 

[Jeremy B.]

You can still get shell or debris into the sump regardless of running the bag filters. It's not that easy, but it's not 100% safe either. There's nothing else that could have caused the impeller to wear like that. Something had to of gotten inside the pump and wore it down, as there is nothing else in there that could have caused that at all.

The impeller assemblies are one unit. They are not made to come apart to have the heads replaced, or shafts replaced, etc. We are out of stock on the impellers right now but they are in transit. Price on the impeller is $199.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[naterealbig]

Hi all, my name is Nate and I have been a member of the bubble king club for a couple of months now. I did not buy mine new, but purchased from someone who went through premium. I am running my external model 200 on a 150 gallon SPS reef tank, and have been very happy.

I have run into a bit of trouble the last couple of days however. Yesterday, I noticed a "buzzing" noise coming from the pump. I cycled the pump on and off, but it didn't help. I checked on the skimmer today, and the noise had gotten louder, so I decided to take it apart.

Inside, I found some rust on the impeller & motor block, what looks like some rubbing on the impeller magnet, and some rust and what looks like a small crack on the actual needlewheel. I assume that I am looking at a new impeller here, but would be greatly appreciative if I could get a couple expert eyes on it.

I have included pictures of the skimmer and pump for identification, and pictures of the inside of the volute, the inside of the motor block, and of the impeller itself. Please let me know if there is anything that needs to be addressed besides the impeller. I would also be grateful if you could advise in the way of parts. Perhaps now would be a good (better than never I suppose) to get some spare parts on the shelf as well.

Regards,

Nathaniel

 

[naterealbig]

 

[naterealbig]

 

[Alex T.]

I really don't know of anything in the housing that would rust. All exposed metals are titanium to my understanding. If you run GFO, it could be the ground up particles working their way into the skimmer and lodging there over time. Why not soak it in vinegar and RO water overnight and see if that's it? The buildup could be what's causing the rubbing that you see evidence of on the impeller.

HTH

 

[naterealbig]

I thought about a foreign object maybe, but I don't run anything in my tank. It's so new, I'm not even dosing yet. Not a spec of coraline or calcium deposits anywhere. I will do the try the soak, but I really don't want to have to hook it up and take it apart again.

What is really concerning me is the apparent crack on the pin-wheel. Is there anyone that can confirm that the "crack" should or should not be there? I'm new to the BK's, so please forgive my ignorance .

Thanks!

 

[naterealbig]

OK, so with a light tug on the pin-wheel, it comes off the shaft. At this point I'm absolutely sure the crack is not supposed to be there. No obstructions around the impeller shaft, pin-wheel, shroud, and magnet. Definitely no grains of FeO2.

It is apparent that the shaft is oxidizing, causing the shaft to swell, which caused the crack in the pin-wheel, which is allowing the impeller to spin off balance. Hence, the spots of wearing on the impeller.

Either Titanium rusts, this shaft is not Titanium, or there is something in the material in the pin-wheel which is oxidizing.

Here are some more pics:

 

[Alex T.]

OK, as you can see from the picture in my previous post, the skimmer was working well. I woke up this morning to a grinding/humming sound. I disconnected the skimmer pump plug and removed the pump. I took the four screws off the housing cover and when I removed the impeller assembly I noticed that the magnet had some play and that the back end white piece between the magnet and the motor was loose. On the previous post by naterealbig I see that his magnet is tightly held to the top part that reads "Duk". My magnet moves up and down about an eighth of an inch but does not spin on the shaft.

This skimmer is less than 6 months old. Is there something I can do? I have livestock coming Monday and really don't want to be without a skimmer when introducing them. You can see the picture below that the bottom white gaslet to the magnet has broken loose. If someone has some advice I'd really appreciate it. If I need a new part I really need to get on that today as well.

Help!!!!

 

[Jeremy B.]

@Nate, it looks like to me that the impeller has probably not been cleaned that much in the past, and it's had calcium / magnesium deposits build up on it. When these deposits sit on the metal corrosion starts to occur underneath. Think of it as the same idea as to what happens with a tooth in your mouth underneath the plaque buildup - decay. You would need a new impeller assembly to get back up and running.

@Alex, if I'm not mistaken that skimmer is still fairly new. You might contact the person you purchased it from and see if he can get you the original receipt to get warranty on it. The impeller appears it's in really condition otherwise, so I'd try to go for warranty on it.

 

[Alex T.]

@Nate, it looks like to me that the impeller has probably not been cleaned that much in the past, and it's had calcium / magnesium deposits build up on it. When these deposits sit on the metal corrosion starts to occur underneath. Think of it as the same idea as to what happens with a tooth in your mouth underneath the plaque buildup - decay. You would need a new impeller assembly to get back up and running.

@Alex, if I'm not mistaken that skimmer is still fairly new. You might contact the person you purchased it from and see if he can get you the original receipt to get warranty on it. The impeller appears it's in really condition otherwise, so I'd try to go for warranty on it.

Jeremy, can't understand what you meant. Are you saying the impeller is in "good" or "bad" condition otherwise. Also, what does it appear that the issue is?

 

[Jeremy B.]

The end plate broke off the bottom of the impeller, which is the white piece you're seeing. My guess is that the magnets has probably broke free of the shaft as well. Other than that it looks like the impeller has been well taken care of and not neglected.

 

[fishflorist]

hi Jeremy, sent you a pm