<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9165320#post9165320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rpeeples
UCanDoIt, DON"T GO THERE...... but you did!
****UcanDoIt, if you quantify a "good skimmer" by skimmate alone then I can see why you don't do your own water changes. Holy Cow!
It is obvious and apparent you do not read these threads unless what is written helps your marketing campaign for the ATI BM product line.
Again, I tried to evaluate this skimmer based on several factors and hoped that my previous post and write-ups on BM250 took these other factors into consideration.
Here is the write-up in case you forgot in can also be found on page 23 of this thread:
Sorry for the delay and as promised. Pics will follow.
I had the BM250 for about 8 weeks now. Below is my synopsis/summary of my experience with this skimmer. Please forgive any typos or grammatical errors, as I am an analyst by trade Æ'º
1. Order Shipment: Supply and Demand at its finest. I had to wait nearly 6-8 weeks from the time I placed the order until the time I received it. Perhaps this has changed.
2. I purchased mine from ReefGeek (Greg Morgan) nice guy to deal with.
3. Packed very well, I recall two large boxes with A LOT of peanuts.
4. Setup: instructions on how to setup up the pumps was not included nor any type of owners manual. I believe they come with one now. If not, your retailer can assist.
5. Skimmer Build: Looks like a Bubble King right? That it does but the materials used are of far lesser quality. This should be expected since a comparable BK would run you about a grand more. The welds and lines on the skimmer are clean. So the material I would rate as 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 and would rate the craftsmanship at 9.
6. Skimmer design: ATI obviously mimicked the BK Body and Bubble diffuser, which is probably why the bubble production and foam is incredible once you get the skimmer dialed. I will also conclude that dialing the skimmer in is one of the biggest complaints I have about the skimmer. The THREAD Wheel is another reason why bubbles/foam are produced in mass quantities. I am not a skimmer expert by any stretch of the imagination, however I do believe the THREAD Wheel is here to stay as you will begin to see widespread use of this $3.00 dollar modified engineered piece of hardware. I would even go as far to say that Bubble King would begin using this Thread Wheel in the near future.
7. Skimmer Adjustments: Absolutely by far the greatest shortcoming of this Skimmer's design and efficacy. I will summarize what I have found because I could spend all day writing on this topic alone.
-The skimmer will not perform if the H20 level it is running in is over 9" period, so if your water height is of this measurement, plan on building a platform for your skimmer to sit upon. My sump runs about 10". At first I used a 3-inch stand, then had to move to a 4.5" stand. The ultimate reason for this is the exit/exhaust of the skimmer is poorly designed. If you take a look at some of the BM threads here on RC you will see a lot of different setups ranging from 45 degree PVC elbows to the entire riser tube being removed from the exhaust outlet.
-In order to avoid this design flaw I had to retrofit a $750.00 skimmer. That¡¦s an oxymoron if you ask me. How can a skimmer that costs $750 need retrofitting? My point exactly. Anyways I built my own gatevalve for the skimmer of which I will post pics later this evening. This basically allows me to adjust the water level in the skimmer thus allowing me to adjust the type of skimmate production (Dry/Wet) I am shooting for.
If anyone tells you this skimmer can run in 8" of water or greater, and can produce a dry foam, and the skimmer will not overflow, I will give them mine.
8. Pumps: The Sicci or Sicca pumps (2 of them for the 250) are low wattage pumps which do not run hot and do not make any noise what-so-ever. That¡¦s the good point. The way the pumps attach to the skimmer body is debatable. The pumps attach to the skimmer body via a 2-inch rubber hose. The 1/2 the hose is placed into the pump output side while the other end is placed into the inlet of the skimmer. I would say this is rather a "cheap" way of reducing vibration and sound of the pumps/skimmer. However it does work but make sure you don't bump the pumps or you will lose your connection. Again, don't Bump the Pump
8.1. Venturi vents/hose tub rigging/silencer: One piece of "T" fitting PVC is drilled (2 holes) to allow the venture hoses to run into a clear acrylic tube silencer which is packed with polyester type wadding. Don¡¦t forget, this tube is also connected to the riser, which is meant to control water height in the skimmer. This design works fine if you don¡¦t have to move the riser tube but as stated earlier you will be moving this riser tube to adjust skimmate production types. I bypassed this completely by installing a separate external air inlet and gatevalve modification. Pictures will be provided this evening. In summary this setup (Venturi /hose tub rigging/silencer) is a poor design, which will require modification. Additionally, any modification done will require metric PVC or you will have to use US standard PVC and modify the dimensions with the use of a Dremmel or similar type of tool.
8.2. Air Intake and Pump Operation: I noticed when I would shut down my pumps to do various operations such as feeding, cleaning, modifications, etc and then re-start the pumps they would not turn on. One pump would sound like it was sucking air and/or the impeller was rattling. I tried wiggling the pumps, slightly nudging the pumps (be careful-¡§ Don¡¦t Bump the Pump¡¨) but it would still not start. One pump would return to full operation but the other pump would not. I called ReefGeek and they informed we the pump was not getting enough air and that I should blow in the air tube. I am not sure how convenient this would be if I was sitting at work and I had a power blip in which I temporarily lost power. You can draw your own conclusion on this observation. As an added point I had to purchase a $50.00 impeller assembly from ReefGeek in order to see if this might be an impeller problem. For a skimmer that is less than 8 weeks old and you paid $750.00 you can draw your own conclusion.
8.3. Pump Availability: Let¡¦s say the pump totally fried and needs replacement? Guess what, you will have to wait at least two more shipments (according to ReefGeek) in order to get a replacement pump. Notice a time frame is not given so it may take 10 days or 10 months before the 2nd shipment comes in. And in order to have one of these pumps delivered after the second shipment arrives it will cost $149.00/pump plus shipping. Again, you draw your own conclusions.
9.0 Skimmer Efficacy (does it perform): Yes it does! However not until after you have done the above modifications. As I stated previously the bubble and foam production is simply amazing once this skimmer gets dialed in but does it outweigh the modifications and finagling plus the $750.00 price tag, which does not include shipping or the gatevalve costs? Again, you can draw your own conclusions.
I know this is a very long reply but I wanted to give fellow reefers an honest insight into the performance of this skimmer. To many times you will see posts that are clearly biased and do not give you the upsides and downsides to a product, especially noticeable on the Bubble Master threads. I hope you found this to be an informational and hopefully objective opinion of this skimmer.
I will post numerous pictures of my experience later this evening and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions about this skimmer.
Thanks and may your corals grow and nitrates stay low.
Ron Peeples
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:rolleye1:
