I figured it would be expensive. Just out of curiosity, what would be a ballpark figure? I know I won't be able to afford it now, but maybe on my next build.
Bubble King Skimmer Users. Post your pictures and skimmer setup here!
- Thread starter slief
- Start date
I figured it would be expensive. Just out of curiosity, what would be a ballpark figure? I know I won't be able to afford it now, but maybe on my next build.
slief
RC Sponsor
I want to say they are around $700.
Just setup my SM200 this past weekend. Looking at some of the photos and following the conversations here people are talking about the additional red line coming off the pump. I see clorox just put a black cap on it. I didn't receive a red line or cap with my skimmer unless it got discarded on accident. Do I need to cap that other inlet on my RD pump beside the air intake? What are the effects if I leave it open?
ReefClownMIA
.Registered Member
Josh,
Can you send me a PM with your order details please. I'll see what we can do.
Thanks,
Marco
slief
RC Sponsor
The tubing and the cap are usually packed inside the skimmer body in a zip lock bag. The extra nipple on the pumps inlet is where the red ozone tube connects to the skimmer pump. It goes from the pump to the underside of the wedge pipe brace. If you aren't using ozone, you need to cap that off with the normally supplied cap otherwise it will draw water in from that fitting and mess up the water to air ratio making tuning a bit more difficult. You can cap it off directly on the pump and not use the red tube or you can connect the red tube between the pump and the underside of the wedge pipe brace and cap it off on the top side of the wedge pipe brace where the ozone generator would normally connect. In the absence of ozone, I would cap it off on the pump as it's one less tube connection to worry about when you clean the pump. If you are in a hurry to get the skimmer running, you can take a 1" or so length of airline tubing and melt one end and crimp it shut. The heat the other end up a bit so you can stretch it over the ozone port on the pump. It would be smart to use some silicone grease over the port so that the tubing can be easily remove. An alternative would be to run to Pep Boys or an autoparts store and grab a packet of plastic vacuum port caps. They normally come in a variety size pack for a few dollars and there is at least one size that will fit the ozone nipple on the pump.
In the mean time, where did you order the simmer from? Send me or Marco (ReefClownMIA) a PM with your address and where you got the skimmer from and we will send you a new Ozone tube and cap if you can't find the one that should have come with the skimmer.
slief
RC Sponsor
Just double checked the Supermarin Skimmers. They don't actually include the red tubing as the SM200 doesn't have the ozone connection on the wedge pipe support. Instead you would connect the ozone directly to the pump. We do have a cap for you if you don't have something to plug it up with. You can certainly run the skimmer without the cap if you want to. You will get a tiny bit more water into the pump which won't make a big difference.
UWUALineman
Member
Nice Confuse!
I've upgraded to the 180 from the 150 for my upcoming tank transfer. There is a substantial size difference but the motor and skimmers are tanks! Looking forward to the getting it in water.
I've upgraded to the 180 from the 150 for my upcoming tank transfer. There is a substantial size difference but the motor and skimmers are tanks! Looking forward to the getting it in water.
Scythanith
Premium Member
So I have never been 100% happy about my setup. I have the pipe almost completely and the pump running at full power to get the skimmate to the right height. The bubble line is pretty much at the neck bayonet. The water height is right within the RE specs from the manual. I love the skimmer, just seems like I really have to back the water flow off and keep the pump cranked to get the right height within the chamber.
I don't have any great pictures of just the skimmer but here are a couple that show the general layout. Any help would be appreciated.
Here is a link to my build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2279526
I don't have any great pictures of just the skimmer but here are a couple that show the general layout. Any help would be appreciated.
Here is a link to my build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2279526
slief
RC Sponsor
So I have never been 100% happy about my setup. I have the pipe almost completely and the pump running at full power to get the skimmate to the right height. The bubble line is pretty much at the neck bayonet. The water height is right within the RE specs from the manual. I love the skimmer, just seems like I really have to back the water flow off and keep the pump cranked to get the right height within the chamber.
I don't have any great pictures of just the skimmer but here are a couple that show the general layout. Any help would be appreciated.
Here is a link to my build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2279526
I am not really following what your issue is. I just checked your build thread because you left out some important info such as the model/size of the skimmer, your display size and fish load. It looks like you have a Double Cone 250 skimmer, 250 gallon display and from what I can tell, you don't have many fish in there. When you say you have the pump at full power, I assume you are talking about the RD3? What is the sump depth in the skimmer chamber from the bottom of the skimmer to the top of the sump water line?
The best pump setting for the Double Cone 250 is about 37-38 watts. The lower the setting the finer the bubbles so I would start at 37 watts. Given your load, you are going to need to have the skimmer in at least 9" or more of water to get the water level where it transitions into foam up about 1" from the collar where the cup threads onto the body. You can close the wedge pipe to raise the water level inside the skimmer but if you have to close it more than half way, you should really raise the sump level. Closing it more than half way will likely cause a bit of surging in the skimmer because you end up restricting the flow out of the skimmer too much.
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Scythanith
Premium Member
Ok I will try to fill in the blanks
Skimmer: BK DC 250 with RD3
Tank: 270g display with 2 x ~40g sumps
Fish load: light (marine betta, magnificent foxface, longnosed hawkfish, 2x golden rhomboid wrasse, sandy basslet, royal gramma, yellow tang)
The RD3 runs at full watts. the skimmer is sitting in a smidge over 10" of water. If I dial the watts down, then the skimmer will not fill the reaction chamber high enough to do as you say it should. That's even with the wedge nearly closed shut. Even now running the RD3 at full power I have the wedge closed about 75% or more.
I just thought it was weird when I read all of your descriptions of running your pumps at a lower wattage.
When I get home I can dial down the wattage and see what happens again.
Skimmer: BK DC 250 with RD3
Tank: 270g display with 2 x ~40g sumps
Fish load: light (marine betta, magnificent foxface, longnosed hawkfish, 2x golden rhomboid wrasse, sandy basslet, royal gramma, yellow tang)
The RD3 runs at full watts. the skimmer is sitting in a smidge over 10" of water. If I dial the watts down, then the skimmer will not fill the reaction chamber high enough to do as you say it should. That's even with the wedge nearly closed shut. Even now running the RD3 at full power I have the wedge closed about 75% or more.
I just thought it was weird when I read all of your descriptions of running your pumps at a lower wattage.
When I get home I can dial down the wattage and see what happens again.
slief
RC Sponsor
Ok I will try to fill in the blanks
Skimmer: BK DC 250 with RD3
Tank: 270g display with 2 x ~40g sumps
Fish load: light (marine betta, magnificent foxface, longnosed hawkfish, 2x golden rhomboid wrasse, sandy basslet, royal gramma, yellow tang)
The RD3 runs at full watts. the skimmer is sitting in a smidge over 10" of water. If I dial the watts down, then the skimmer will not fill the reaction chamber high enough to do as you say it should. That's even with the wedge nearly closed shut. Even now running the RD3 at full power I have the wedge closed about 75% or more.
I just thought it was weird when I read all of your descriptions of running your pumps at a lower wattage.
When I get home I can dial down the wattage and see what happens again.
You really don't have much of a load in your system and very little dissolved organics which is why you have to run the skimmer so deep to get the foam up into the neck. The lower pump setting will provide better foam but you may have to run the skimmer deeper as a result or live wih inconsistency. The 250mm skimmers do best at 37 watts but they still need dissolved organics for proper foam fractioning. I have the same size skimmer although it's a supermarin and I have 60 fish to feed that skimmer. Many of which are large tangs.
Scythanith
Premium Member
Gotcha. Thanks for the info slief.
BfishLpond78
FUPA
Ballpark figure in the auto neck cleaner without the fancy sprayer?
dmcrete
New member
skimmer PLEASE !!!
skimmer PLEASE !!!
nice looking tanks,, and Skimmers,, I am needing a larger skimmer, started dosing vodka in my 175 gallon system, and I want a 300 gallon plus Maybe,, if anybody has something large for sale,,, PLEASE Let me know,, Thanks Guys And Gals,, Dennis
:beer:
skimmer PLEASE !!!
nice looking tanks,, and Skimmers,, I am needing a larger skimmer, started dosing vodka in my 175 gallon system, and I want a 300 gallon plus Maybe,, if anybody has something large for sale,,, PLEASE Let me know,, Thanks Guys And Gals,, Dennis
:beer:
slief
RC Sponsor
If you are talking about the neck cleaner like the one I use, this particular model was several hundred when I got it. There is a new version coming out very soon from the same manufacturer that will range from about $550 for a smaller skimmer to around $675 for the 300 series skimmers. That is including the wash down. If you don't need the wash down, they will run about $100 less.
Hi,
I have a couple of questions in regards to the operation of my BK with the view to trying to get the most out of it
I have a DC 200 with the RD3 speedy pump. I've had it for a year and it's been working well.
I run a Zeovit system with a total volume of approx 180gallons with 19 fish. (most small).
Currently struggling to keep my No3 and PO4 intact so I'm questioning whether my BK is working as well as it should.
My first query is in regards to the wattage display on the pump. When I press the buttons to increase the wattage, let's say to 60, a second later it reverts back to a lower setting, currently this i runnig at 36W. I've never understood this so perhaps someone could explain what the two numbers mean.
Secondly, after reading this thread, I saw that a lot of recommendations were to have the red wedge pipe wide open. I had a look at mine and it's almost completely closed. It's been like this for most of the time, and I do get what I think looks like a good foam head, but now I'm not sure if the skimmer is performing optimally.
It's currently sitting in approx 8 inches of water.
Below is a pic of the foam head I get and I fill about 3/4 of the collection cup with medium brown stuff about every 5 days
Any advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks.
I have a couple of questions in regards to the operation of my BK with the view to trying to get the most out of it
I have a DC 200 with the RD3 speedy pump. I've had it for a year and it's been working well.
I run a Zeovit system with a total volume of approx 180gallons with 19 fish. (most small).
Currently struggling to keep my No3 and PO4 intact so I'm questioning whether my BK is working as well as it should.
My first query is in regards to the wattage display on the pump. When I press the buttons to increase the wattage, let's say to 60, a second later it reverts back to a lower setting, currently this i runnig at 36W. I've never understood this so perhaps someone could explain what the two numbers mean.
Secondly, after reading this thread, I saw that a lot of recommendations were to have the red wedge pipe wide open. I had a look at mine and it's almost completely closed. It's been like this for most of the time, and I do get what I think looks like a good foam head, but now I'm not sure if the skimmer is performing optimally.
It's currently sitting in approx 8 inches of water.
Below is a pic of the foam head I get and I fill about 3/4 of the collection cup with medium brown stuff about every 5 days
Any advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks.
