Bubble Master Skimmers more info wanted???

[UCanDoIt]

fishsoldseprtly - I love your choice of skimmers if that's what you own in the "POWERED by..." Yes, you are right, there is more finicking with the BM than other high end recirculating skimmers. But once tuned in, it's a "set it and forget it" type of skimmer... but getting there could take 2-3 weeks.

 

[rpeeples]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9165620#post9165620 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lvpd186
I guess I would take a little issue with point 9. I have not done any modifications to my skimmer and it is performing great. So far it has been "plug & play," and better then any other skimmer I have owned. Also I would quantify a "good skimmer" by how it performs and one of the ways to determine performance is by skimmate. In saying that I'm not sure I get your point. One of the early complaints (if you want to call it that) about this skimmer was the material, ie they used thinner acrylic then some of the other skimmers used in comparison. People said some of the other skimmers are built like a tank. Great, if I ever go to war I'll take a skimmer with me (lol). I don't see why skimmers have to be over-built. Sure its nice when it feels solid, but I think my BM feels solid enough, I'm not worried about it breaking when I handle it. Its not like it needs to be "built like a tank" just to sit in a sump and make bubbles. Also this skimmer costs less then every other skimmer it was tested against and it either performed just as well or better then the more expensive skimmers. I'm not even going to get in to pump efficiency or ability to draw air (but they would add to the quantification of a "good skimmer") BTW I will try and take some pics of my sump tonight and post them.

What point don't you understand that skimmate production is only one aspect of a skimmers overall performance? Actually this is only "my point of view" so I can see why some would argue this point since you or others may find skimmate the defining charactertic of a great skimmer..... No problem for me as I like to look at several characteristics.


I HAVE ALWAYS STATED....this skimmer produces foam like no other skimmer that I have witnessed.... ASM, AQUA-C, GEO, H&S, PM....I am sure BKs/Deltec do, but with a marked increase in price.

Lastly, will this skimmer still skim 12-18 months down the road, assuming normal maintenence is performed? How will these pumps hold up? The ThreadWheel?

Can you answer this question? But again, maybe that is not important to you.

Based on my experience I like the ability to fine tune a skimmer with simple, easily performed action. IMO, the out of the box skimmer does not allow this. However, with a 20-30 $ mod I was able to achieve this. But again, maybe you like the riser pipe and that is your opinion. Also, water height in the skimmer can be an issue. Does everyone have a sump water level of 6 - 8 inches? I didn't therefore I needed to build a stand. Perhaps your H2O runs at 7" in the sump....this is a bonus for you.

Folks, if you have a BM250 I would certainly like to see the bio-loads and skimmer setups in the sump. We can all hide behind a keyboard but pictures tell a thousand words. I will continue to post pics of my skimmer and tank.

 

[ricka]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9166079#post9166079 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rpeeples

Folks, if you have a BM250 I would certainly like to see the bio-loads and skimmer setups in the sump. We can all hide behind a keyboard but pictures tell a thousand words. I will continue to post pics of my skimmer and tank.

I need to do a bit of housecleaning before I'm ready to post new pictures, but here's what my tank looked like before I realized that my skimmer was too small.

I have 5 fat tangs and a few other fish.

--Rick

 

[rpeeples]

Lastly, I am not trying to beat-up on the BM250......

I honestly tried to evaluate its performance based on my experience with no ulterior motives other than to give a little knowledge and first hand experience back to fellow reefers who may be looking to purchase this skimmer. I do my own water changes, test my own water, I assemble my tank, I purchase my own live stock, I feed my own fish, and I clean my own skimmer, etc. Another words, I am exactly like most of my fellow reefers out here.

Would I purchase this skimmer now? This depends on if I can get a replacement pump within a few days? If I couldn't then no I would not purchase this skimmer. But if lets say I had an electrical surge and a pump blew out, it would be comforting to know I could have Greg (ReefGeek) ship me a pump the next day.

What is quality? Conformance to requirements? Does this skimmer conform to my requirements? Obviously each of us has our own requirements?

 

[skimmy]

i think you could find stuff to whine about with any skimmer company, even the big boys.
i said it before, i think the real amazing thing is that this skimmer line has only been on the market for about 3-4 months now, in that time ATI has listened to and addressed issues with their design on a couple different occasions, and continues to plan more changes in the design as well as add recirculating models.
i havent seen any other skimmer company pay that close attention to public opinion and then change design that quickly just to accomodate the market. that behavior is virtually unheard of these days and should be praised and emulated, imo.

with that being said, the things i would like to see done differently would be the pump attachment, the addition of a gate/ball valve for every model, and the re-addition of the correct air meter would be a nice little plus.
the basic design of this skimmer is awesome and it performs awesome, despite it's minor shortcomings, i have been totally awed by these skimmers and their power.

 

[rpeeples]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9166236#post9166236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by koraltek
i think you could find stuff to whine about with any skimmer company, even the big boys.
i said it before, i think the real amazing thing is that this skimmer line has only been on the market for about 3-4 months now, in that time ATI has listened to and addressed issues with their design on a couple different occasions, and continues to plan more changes in the design as well as add recirculating models.
i havent seen any other skimmer company pay that close attention to public opinion and then change design that quickly just to accomodate the market. that behavior is virtually unheard of these days and should be praised and emulated, imo.

with that being said, the things i would like to see done differently would be the pump attachment, the addition of a gate/ball valve for every model, and the re-addition of the correct air meter would be a nice little plus.
the basic design of this skimmer is awesome and it performs awesome, despite it's minor shortcomings, i have been totally awed by these skimmers and their power.

koraltek.....Do you feel as though my comments are whining? Where you referring to my posts? they could come across to some folks as whining but I never intended for them to be "victim" statements. I think my writing speaks for itself.

I think I even praised Oliver in an earlier post as you have done above.

However, as long as we have certain biased contributers (and I am not talking about you) who are un-purely motivated then yes I will continue to provide my feedback.

 

[lvpd186]

Here is my sump.

And here is the skimmer (it was cleaned out last night):

What point don't you understand that skimmate production is only one aspect of a skimmers overall performance? Actually this is only "my point of view" so I can see why some would argue this point since you or others may find skimmate the defining charactertic of a great skimmer..... No problem for me as I like to look at several characteristics.

Like I said skimmate production IS one of the ways to judge a skimmers performance. I never said it was the only aspect, thats why I brought up, in passing, the efficiency of this skimmer as well as its air draw ability. To me these are also very important aspects of what makes a great skimmer.

Lastly, will this skimmer still skim 12-18 months down the road, assuming normal maintenence is performed? How will these pumps hold up? The ThreadWheel?

Can you answer this question? But again, maybe that is not important to you.

Of course this would be important to me. I didn't spend the money for a disposable skimmer. I will be able to answer the question 12-18 months from now like you will be able to as well.

Based on my experience I like the ability to fine tune a skimmer with simple, easily performed action. IMO, the out of the box skimmer does not allow this. However, with a 20-30 $ mod I was able to achieve this. But again, maybe you like the riser pipe and that is your opinion. Also, water height in the skimmer can be an issue. Does everyone have a sump water level of 6 - 8 inches? I didn't therefore I needed to build a stand. Perhaps your H2O runs at 7" in the sump....this is a bonus for you.

All I said was I didn't have to do any mod to get the skimmer to work great. I'm not a big fan of the stand-pipe, but it works. I would rather have a gate valve but IME its not a necessity as your review made it out to be. In your review you mentioned several times that you shouldn't have to mod it to get it to work. I just brought up the point that you don't have to. If you had to change or mod the skimmer to fit your set-up is that a design flaw in the skimmer, IMO its not. Your taking a working product and changing it to fit your specific needs. I don't see how that is a problem with the skimmer itself. My skimmer is sitting in 10" of water and from the pic you can see that it is working fine. My bio-load consists of (2) tangs, (1) flame hawk, (1) bluechin trigger, (1) clarki clown and (3) damsels. All of this in a 120g. tank with a 40g. sump. I'm not hiding, I'm just not agreeing with you.

BTW, nice tank ricka!

 

[skimmy]

i wasnt singling ya out, and god knows i do enough of my own whining about skimmers...lol
theres nothing wrong with being objective with an $800 piece of equipment...
my only point was that they ALL have shortcomings...
i think criticism is a good thing.

 

[rpeeples]

Lvpd, is your model the 200? I can assure you the 250 will not run in 10" of water. I believe ATI/ReefGeek recommends 8"?

I agree with you that using the term "Design Flaw" is incorrect.

The skimmer will perform with the riser tube therefore I miscalcualted by stating the above.

 

[lvpd186]

No, mine is the BM250. I initially set the baffle height at 8", but the splashing sound got to me so I increased the height of the water in the sump. I will probably add a gate valve mod to make it run more quiet. No problem on the "design flaw" comment, it might not be a flaw because it works but I think most people would agree that in the end a gate valve is better. And on a side note if my post came across a little harsh I didn't intend it to be. We are all here to toss around ideas and opinions to learn how to create our own perfect mini-ocean.

 

[rpeeples]

lvpd,

It's all good lvpd....I am just a little defensive myself given the exchanges I have had on these threads with the reefer who does not do water changes nor owns the BM250 yet she thought to create the thread...... BTW....Thanks UCanDoIt.

I am a little confused by your pic.....my BM250 has 2 pumps, the picture above only has 1?

I guess the algae is getting to me.....

 

[lvpd186]

One of the pumps is partially hidden by some bubbles and the drain pipe. If you look close though you can see both air lines. UCanDoIt may not own a BM skimmer but she has contributed quite a bit of info. It was her lfs guy that did all of the side by side testing early on in the thread and she posted all of the pics and the info. Plus she has helped quite a few with different skimmer questions both on this thread and on others. I think the only reason she doesn't own a BM is because she uses recir-skimmers (I think I read that on a few posts) and right now ATI doesn't have one.

 

[rpeeples]

Yep...I been eating to much fish food. I see the pump.

 

[mavgi]

The BM250 can skim without any mod on the skimmer body wet/dry .

i saw some pictures here before of the 160 BK (mini) and i saw in some other website the performance of the BK200 (mini) to ,

Ucandoit in the past if i am not wrong even on this thread i write that i thought to buy the the MINI BK but it wasn't an option for the US then i got the BM250 , the MINI BK skimmers can't beat the performance of the BM250, no way !!!

i also was able to skim with the BM250 with 1 pump , more then that with this skimmer there is a lot of way's to play and get more option then any other skimmer .

about ATI company i never will be afraid to buy from them product : the way they take care of a customer , the way they try to make change and to perform better results and products ,i didn't see in any other skimmer company ( i don't get any present for what i said ) everyone here can follow the thread and see the way that Mr' Oliver from ATI treat all ATI customer .
also i believe everyone that have this skimmer , even the first pre order owner member here can said and know how Mr' Greg Morgan from reefgeek take care about us .

About the BM skimmer IMO those skimmer will lead here in the market ATI now in process of lots of good other product and i believe when they will be ready we will see the external skimmer and then we will see alot of other great RC member use and buy more more ATI or BM skimmer . again the way this company move and change things in short time to get better performance not happened in any other company and IMO this will be the main reason that will cause ATI to give to us a better product then any other company .

again i don't care about the skimmer manufacturer because the truth is that all the companies will keep selling skimmers (the bad or the good ) even if we like the product or dislike it , and to be honest the BM skimmers are great investment not just because the price also because the performance .

 

[Khaley]

BM200 shipped today â€"œ (With much help) 120g (4x2x2) plumbed today - built DIY sump (150g) in basement today - ran plumbing from 1st floor to sump today - am now letting 220g of water run (lots of swearing and a few moments of terror) - live rock on Friday and skimmer should be in then - will send pics and thoughts when I get the live rock and finish the set up

Two things:
1. I am a novice and this is my first large (for me / everything is relative) skimmer / tank - so my comments will be confined to ease of use - I have no techno skill and do not pretend to know anything about how this is supposed to go For me this will all be a learning experience â€"œ my only first hand experience with skimmers has been a Sapphire skimmer on my nano and what I see in the LFS

2. I am not going to DIY this thing - this will be an out of the box plug and play set up. At most I may have to rig a platform out of PVC for the skimmer to sit on but as the top section of the sump is only about 8" deep I may be ok.

I hope my lack of experience will answer the question: How easy is this (BM200) skimmer to use / set up? How does the skimmer perform without mods on a new system? If this will not be helpful please shoot me a PM and I will simply continue lurking in the shadows, no harm no foul. ;-)

Any input will be gladly accepted!

 

[Creetin]

No mods are nec, What i seen you can get better adjustment out of a gatevalve mod, But isnt needed. Mine has been running stock since it broke in.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Some here wanted to do a mod so they did. You will be fine the way it is.
Start out with it at the lowest setting and a couple weeks later adjust accordingly.
People here like to fiddle, and some if they anxious they start fiddling.
Youre fine and if you have any questions regarding your skimmer just shoot.

 

[mavgi]

Hi Khaley

congratulation on your skimmer and the new tank , Creetin right in 100% don't worry and not need to mod the skimmer let it break in and enjoy from it

 

[rpeeples]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9169570#post9169570 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mavgi
The BM250 can skim without any mod on the skimmer body wet/dry .

i saw some pictures here before of the 160 BK (mini) and i saw in some other website the performance of the BK200 (mini) to ,

Ucandoit in the past if i am not wrong even on this thread i write that i thought to buy the the MINI BK but it wasn't an option for the US then i got the BM250 , the MINI BK skimmers can't beat the performance of the BM250, no way !!!

i also was able to skim with the BM250 with 1 pump , more then that with this skimmer there is a lot of way's to play and get more option then any other skimmer .

about ATI company i never will be afraid to buy from them product : the way they take care of a customer , the way they try to make change and to perform better results and products ,i didn't see in any other skimmer company ( i don't get any present for what i said ) everyone here can follow the thread and see the way that Mr' Oliver from ATI treat all ATI customer .
also i believe everyone that have this skimmer , even the first pre order owner member here can said and know how Mr' Greg Morgan from reefgeek take care about us .

About the BM skimmer IMO those skimmer will lead here in the market ATI now in process of lots of good other product and i believe when they will be ready we will see the external skimmer and then we will see alot of other great RC member use and buy more more ATI or BM skimmer . again the way this company move and change things in short time to get better performance not happened in any other company and IMO this will be the main reason that will cause ATI to give to us a better product then any other company .

again i don't care about the skimmer manufacturer because the truth is that all the companies will keep selling skimmers (the bad or the good ) even if we like the product or dislike it , and to be honest the BM skimmers are great investment not just because the price also because the performance .

Mavgi, still waiting on some pics of your skimmer/sump/tank setup. DId you say you would post some pics?


And would love to see some shots of your skimmer using one pump to skim as well.

Picture tells a thousand words.

 

[rpeeples]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9170463#post9170463 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Khaley
BM200 shipped today â€"œ (With much help) 120g (4x2x2) plumbed today - built DIY sump (150g) in basement today - ran plumbing from 1st floor to sump today - am now letting 220g of water run (lots of swearing and a few moments of terror) - live rock on Friday and skimmer should be in then - will send pics and thoughts when I get the live rock and finish the set up

Two things:
1. I am a novice and this is my first large (for me / everything is relative) skimmer / tank - so my comments will be confined to ease of use - I have no techno skill and do not pretend to know anything about how this is supposed to go For me this will all be a learning experience â€"œ my only first hand experience with skimmers has been a Sapphire skimmer on my nano and what I see in the LFS

2. I am not going to DIY this thing - this will be an out of the box plug and play set up. At most I may have to rig a platform out of PVC for the skimmer to sit on but as the top section of the sump is only about 8" deep I may be ok.

I hope my lack of experience will answer the question: How easy is this (BM200) skimmer to use / set up? How does the skimmer perform without mods on a new system? If this will not be helpful please shoot me a PM and I will simply continue lurking in the shadows, no harm no foul. ;-)

Any input will be gladly accepted!

Welcome. I think you will receive a lot of different feedback on this site depending upon who responds.

I would suggest setting the skimmer in 6-8 inches of water and turn her on. Then after you had it skimming for a few days or run into any snags run it through the thread.

I like to run my skimmer is vinegar and warm water for 24hours before sending into service. I found it helps break the skimmer in.

As creetin stated, set the exhaust at its lowest setting.

 

[mavgi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9170731#post9170731 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rpeeples
Mavgi, still waiting on some pics of your skimmer/sump/tank setup. DId you say you would post some pics?

***WHERE I SAID THIS ? ?
YOU CAN LOOK ON THE THREAD AND SEE SOME PICTURE OF MY SKIMMING RESULT IF YOU WANT .****


And would love to see some shots of your skimmer using one pump to skim as well.

****SPEND FROM YOUR TIME AS I DID AND YOU CAN DO THIS ON YOUR SKIMMER TO , IF YOU WILL LOST A PUMP I WILL HELP YOU TO SKIM WITH ONE PUMP...... *****