Bubble King Skimmer Club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
M007
Acro Whore
The Mini is 5 years old and services my previous 120. Great unit at the time but the new units are superior.
jedimaster1138
New member
I only have experience with a few other skimmers...a tiny little micro for my nano tank, a Tunze 9002 (couldn't ever really dial it in, but I was a rookie then) and a Reef Octopus NWB-110
The Bubble King is in an entirely different class. It's quite literally completely, utterly silent. I honestly don't know it's on unless I stick my head next to the cone and hear the bubbles. No vibration, hum, etc from the pump. I could always hear my RO 110.
Performance is superb. I'm in week 3 and it's pulling out the above brown, ever thickening coffee ish sludge that smells like a sewage treatment plant (and I've been in one, so trust me) The DC controllable pump is very nice as I'm able to keep it down low for now as it breaks in. Though at this point it might be broken in given the nasty ness of what it's pulling out.
The only negative is that the controller/PSU for the pump is actually a pretty big box and my OCD wants me to stick it someplace pretty inside my stand. It's just large, that's all. Built like a tank though - a main battle tank.
Yeah these skimmers are not cheap...but this is certainly a case of you get what you pay for. You might be laying out serious coin, but you're getting a Lamborghini of a skimmer.
Which skimmer
Which skimmer
I am planning my upgrade my tank is 125 plus 29 biocube frag tank and 2 20 gallon sumps/refugium plumbed together. Thinking about going bubble king but don't know which model to go with mini 160, 180, or 200. Tank is a mixed refs and will be heavily stocked.
Which skimmer
I am planning my upgrade my tank is 125 plus 29 biocube frag tank and 2 20 gallon sumps/refugium plumbed together. Thinking about going bubble king but don't know which model to go with mini 160, 180, or 200. Tank is a mixed refs and will be heavily stocked.
125mph
New member
I have a bubble king 160 mini (gen2) and its been acting crazy for the last six months.. What to do?...
So the skimmer will go crazy and overflow, usually after I replace my filter sock. It looks like lots of foam and bubbles from the lower compartment of the skimmer and I have to tone down the water flow rate by turning the cylinder in the skimmer. After several hours, it will go back to normal and then I can turn the flow back up. I don't mind doing this but sometimes I forget and the skimmer overflows for hours, sometimes it will go outside my sump and cause a mess on the floor.
I have given it pump a vinegar bath and it helped for a few weeks but now its back to the same behavior.
Where can I get a new pump? Or what can I do to fix this?
So the skimmer will go crazy and overflow, usually after I replace my filter sock. It looks like lots of foam and bubbles from the lower compartment of the skimmer and I have to tone down the water flow rate by turning the cylinder in the skimmer. After several hours, it will go back to normal and then I can turn the flow back up. I don't mind doing this but sometimes I forget and the skimmer overflows for hours, sometimes it will go outside my sump and cause a mess on the floor.
I have given it pump a vinegar bath and it helped for a few weeks but now its back to the same behavior.
Where can I get a new pump? Or what can I do to fix this?
If you're looking at a Mini then I would go for the 200. If you're going to a Double Cone then go with the 180. The Double Cone skimmers are stronger than the Mini's, so a Double Cone 180 would perform with a Mini 200.
Your filter socks are the cause of this, not the skimmer itself. We get this all of the time with our skimmers here, as well as many other customers that call in about the same thing. Just make sure you clean the filter socks really well, and 2-3 cycles through the washing machine are usually best. However, you will still probably get the overflowing to some degree.
125mph
New member
Jeremy, thanks for the tip! I will triple wash my socks now... What causes the skimmer to go crazy with old socks though? Is it too much dirty stuff coming through the sock and hits the pump?
With the newer socks it's usually the residue left over from the material in the manufacturing process. With socks that get washed it's a combination of any residue that could still be linger, plus a lot of times a very minuscule amount of detergent in your washer, although never enough to really bother anything in your tank due to the volume.
M007
Acro Whore
I have experienced this as well. I found that hand agitation in RO water before install helps a lot.
Just received a new BK Mini 180 (triple boxed!) from PA. Set up in an established system at 1pm yesterday, producing foam in the neck by 6pm, already some dark brown skimmate in the pot this morning. Very impressed with build quality and foam production. And how quiet the skimmer runs. Just barely fits in the Elos sump for the System 120 (90g) - measured before ordering!
luyi356661
New member
I HAVE A OLD VERSION 250 DELUXE internal,should i put the drain pipe above water or below it?thanks a lot
Rookieofsalt
Member
Does PremiumAquatics has a Motor Block for BBking Mini200, RD1500 available?
Rookieofsalt
Member
Is that the same as laguna max flow 1500 that required to remove the base plat and glue it back on? sorry, i am a newbie in bbking mini.
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