Bubble King Skimmer Club

[mojo~]

my mini 160 came today. Simply awesome. I have had well over 17 skimmers now. I bought some just to review and have passed them on. I will say I am impressed by the build quality . No instructions or anything included that I could see.


*** found some online and printed tehm off.

 

[mlb75]

OK now that I'm officially a member of the club I feel a little better asking questions. I've had my SM250 running for about a week now and it seems to be a little jeckle and hyde, one minute it'll pull some funk then nothing for awhile. I know I need to be patient but since that's not my strong suite what can I do to get through this quicker or how long should I expect before it becomes the machine I know it's capable of?

The way I have it now it's in pretty consistant 9" of water and the intake is from full close 1/4 turn to the dots lining up plus another 1.5 turns open. To get any kind of skimate though I have to have the outlet closed ~65-70% doesn that sound normal? Also this is nowwhere close to a low nutrient system at the moment...

Any other reccomendations as to how to get it running full strength?

Thanks


BTW this definitely the nicest skimmer I've ever seen right down to the rubber feet to isolate vibrations etc amazing build quality!

 

[Jflip2002]

I'll be the newest member soon enough! I bought the mini 200 from "TheReefKeeper". Hopefully I have better luck with it than he has had.

 

[Creetin]

MLB as you will see after some more Beak in time the skimmer will become more steady. While it sheds the production oils and such it will become stabil. Foods and water top offs ect will make the skimmer lose foam head quickly while breaking in.
I would not worry just yet give it some time. Also if you dont have an air meter might want to look into one. IMO

 

[Creetin]

Mojo, Finnally decided to try BK out?
Welcome to the darkside. You will now judge everything on the quality of a BK.
I found the only other skimmer i want is another BK.

 

[mlb75]

Are the evil production oils mainly in the pump or are they on the body of the skimmer?

 

[mojo~]

Yea I couldnt take thinking I have tried and reviewed most every popular skimmer out there. I am impressed by te build quality and how quiet it is. It seems to be skimming pretty well for only being 12 hours in.

 

[mojo~]

Honestly I can hear it over any other sounds my tank makes. I ll be sure to write a revie on it shortly.

 

[Creetin]

Mlb not only in pump, But the majority is in the acrylic. Let those bleed out. Usually takes a good month to free 100 percent of them. Youre skimmer should slowly improve every day over the next couple weeks.

 

[mlb75]

good to hear thanks I'll just wait and see.

How far do most have the exit pipe closed? It seems mine needs to be about 3/4 closed to get anything does that sound normal?

 

[mojo~]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14343917#post14343917 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mlb75
good to hear thanks I'll just wait and see.

How far do most have the exit pipe closed? It seems mine needs to be about 3/4 closed to get anything does that sound normal?

It will depend somewhat on your water level the skimmer is running in.

 

[Creetin]

MLB,,
I own a deluxe and they are different beasts to tune.
I know that the supermarines are more touchy to water heights in the sump because of the submerged water outlet.
Closing and opening the wedgepipe has lesser of an effect than raising or lowering the water in the sump.
I would try different heights in the sump. a half inch up or down can make alot of difference in skimmer performance.
First try lowering it a half inch and see if it does any better. Thats where a good airflow meter comes in play. I see them on ebay for around $15-25. Or borrow one from a friend if ya can or a local reefer.

Your skimmer is still new, so i would wait a week or so to start fiddling around with it.

 

[mlb75]

thanks for all the help I'll watch it for the next week or so then report back with what a progress update.

 

[Daren]

Hello, I still havent fine tuned my SM200. I am wanting to purchase a air meter, but there are so many different ones. Which is the one preferred. I look at the Dwyers and they all measure different. Which one is most using for their Bubble Kings?

Thanks,
Daren Brantley

 

[ksed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14347179#post14347179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Daren
Hello, I still havent fine tuned my SM200. I am wanting to purchase a air meter, but there are so many different ones. Which is the one preferred. I look at the Dwyers and they all measure different. Which one is most using for their Bubble Kings?

Thanks,
Daren Brantley

The one you might be looking for is the Dwyer RMB-53D-SSV
10-100SCFH/5-50LPM air (5"scale) . The D beside the #53 is for dual scale come in handy.
Hope this helps!

Kevin

 

[Daren]

Thanks for the info. I will start looking for that model.

Thanks again,
Daren

 

[TheReefKeeper]

Ok here's the update. As most of you probably saw I listed and sold the mini 200 but the buyer backed out. I received the new impeller today and a new pump a few weeks back. So I basically have a new power system. I am pleased to say this thing kicks I can't even believe the impeller played that much of a factor. So need less to say I am keeping it and I am very happy after almost a month. Thank to all that helped and defiantly a huge thanks to Albert at proline top notch customer service.

 

[jnb]

great!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14358162#post14358162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TheReefKeeper
Ok here's the update. As most of you probably saw I listed and sold the mini 200 but the buyer backed out. I received the new impeller today and a new pump a few weeks back. So I basically have a new power system. I am pleased to say this thing kicks I can't even believe the impeller played that much of a factor. So need less to say I am keeping it and I am very happy after almost a month. Thank to all that helped and defiantly a huge thanks to Albert at proline top notch customer service.

 

[fishyheaven]

so its been like an month now and i still can not set the bk180 up right... For awhile it was skimming out green water but now i am running into a super wet skim. the cup gets full within a few hours. I tried the knot for like 3 hours and no matter where i turn, it overflows.. the water level is at 9". Same as before but all of the sudden it started to overflow.

Any idea??

Thanks,

 

[jthao]

lower the water level if you're getting too wet of a skim. also make sure you have the air opened all the way up. the more "closed" the air hose, the higher your water level inside the chamber.