The Bubble-Magus Club

[Tuscaquatics]

TB Aquatics should have some or even Cad Lights. PM me if you want more info.

I have had ZERO problems with my Atman pump. We will see how it does long term.

TB doesn't have 'em and Cadlights wants $175 plus shipping for the NAC6.

There is one on Ebay for $175 shipped and there is the BM100 or 105 for about 10 bucks more. In fact, the BM100 is only $179 shipped. I'm just worried that if I jump above the NAC6 I might be flirting with overskimming my 55g/30 sump.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bubble-Magus-BM100-Protein-Skimmer-for-160-gallons-Tank_W0QQitemZ220545587187QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item33598a97f3#ht_1651wt_958

 

[chartwell]

Since I whined about my Atman pump on here I need to report back that I took the pump completely apart, did a ceremonial dance around it, put it back together making sure everything lined up "just so" and it works again!!

 

[sammy113]

NAC6 won't over skim a 55G + 30G sump. In fact you're just right with that skimmer. You should always go at least double the water volume when choosing the right skimmer. Talk about over skimming? How does it sounds to you my 20G Cube with a 7G Sump with a NAC7 up to 165G lol

 

[Tuscaquatics]

NAC6 won't over skim a 55G + 30G sump. In fact you're just right with that skimmer. You should always go at least double the water volume when choosing the right skimmer. Talk about over skimming? How does it sounds to you my 20G Cube with a 7G Sump with a NAC7 up to 165G lol

Yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure the NAC6 will be fine. I'm just wondering if it would be OK to go bigger since I'm building the sump around it from scratch so size isn't too big an issue.

On Ebay, the BM105 is as much as the NAC6.

That's pretty much the only place to get one except Cadlights.

 

[reeftivo]

Yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure the NAC6 will be fine. I'm just wondering if it would be OK to go bigger since I'm building the sump around it from scratch so size isn't too big an issue.

On Ebay, the BM105 is as much as the NAC6.

That's pretty much the only place to get one except Cadlights.

IME, an oversized skimmer (to a degree) will work in any system as long as the bioload and water quality are consistent for it to pull skimmate. IMO the NAC6 or 7 are the best bang for your buck. They do use pumps that do not have the best rep but if they upgraded the pumps (askol,aquabee,eheim,sicce etc.)then you would be looking at a 300+ dollar skimmer. If you don't already own one of these skimmers then I can tell you that the build quality is much better than many skimmers over 300 bucks. When I first looked at mine I thought holy smokes $179 bucks for this beast, what a steal! I have a few skimmers that all perform well (ATB, ATI, Octopus, ASM, Bermuda, Euroreef, Deltec) and this skimmer has been performing just as well if not better at this point (2-weeks now) for me. The only things that I wished they would change is the pump option, shorten and widen the bubble box and offer a NW. I'm not sure how the thin cage over the mesh will hold up over time and I've heard of many that have come apart on them. Maybe they should use another layer of enkemat with a nut that can be removed for changing the mat and dump the cage completely.

At any rate, IMO the NAC6 is worth every dollar I spent.

 

[Tuscaquatics]

IME, an oversized skimmer (to a degree) will work in any system as long as the bioload and water quality are consistent for it to pull skimmate. IMO the NAC6 or 7 are the best bang for your buck. They do use pumps that do not have the best rep but if they upgraded the pumps (askol,aquabee,eheim,sicce etc.)then you would be looking at a 300+ dollar skimmer. If you don't already own one of these skimmers then I can tell you that the build quality is much better than many skimmers over 300 bucks. When I first looked at mine I thought holy smokes $179 bucks for this beast, what a steal! I have a few skimmers that all perform well (ATB, ATI, Octopus, ASM, Bermuda, Euroreef, Deltec) and this skimmer has been performing just as well if not better at this point (2-weeks now) for me. The only things that I wished they would change is the pump option, shorten and widen the bubble box and offer a NW. I'm not sure how the thin cage over the mesh will hold up over time and I've heard of many that have come apart on them. Maybe they should use another layer of enkemat with a nut that can be removed for changing the mat and dump the cage completely.

At any rate, IMO the NAC6 is worth every dollar I spent.

So, seeing as how I can get a BM105 for 179 shipped, should I just go with that over the NAC6?

 

[reeftivo]

BM 105? do you mean the BM100? The NAC6 is the new model replacing the BM100.

 

[Tuscaquatics]

BM 105? do you mean the BM100? The NAC6 is the new model replacing the BM100.

Nope, I mean the BM105...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bubble-Magus-BM105-Protein-Skimmer-for-160-gallons-Tank_W0QQitemZ220545587535QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item33598a994f#ht_1651wt_958

 

[reeftivo]

Nice! I didn't see that one. That pump doesn't look like an atman 2500. Almost looks like an eheim. If you have space then I would go with the 105 because it looks like with the position of the pump output into the bubble box, there would be less turbulence and would be easier to tune (not that the NAC6 is hard). It also looks like you could easily mod a different pump on the 105 if you chose to later on.

The 105 will also be easier to clean and access the pump so for $179 I'd go for it!

 

[rtparty]

It says it is an Atman 2500 and also be careful. If that is coming from China then taxes will kill you getting through customs. the $179 is just shipped. I have heard stories where taxes and fees were $100. That is probably a rare case being that high but just know that may happen.

 

[Michi]

Hello Reeftivo!

Sounds like you tuned your nac6a! What have you changed on it?
I thought about making a new bigger bubble plate of acrylic tubes and plates.
Maybe this would help against the turbulence in the body.
But i am really happy with the skimmer so far! Its skimming very well!

Michael

 

[reeftivo]

It says it is an Atman 2500 and also be careful. If that is coming from China then taxes will kill you getting through customs. the $179 is just shipped. I have heard stories where taxes and fees were $100. That is probably a rare case being that high but just know that may happen.

Guess I should have scrolled own a bit further-LOL!

From the two sites I just looked at shipping would be $$$

Re-consider the NAC6 (same air draw and body)

 

[rtparty]

So far I hear everyone speak of a lot of turbulence in the body on the NAC6. Maybe I am just used to skimmers that work sort of like this one but I think the turbulence is negligible. Yes there is some but the NAC6 is skimming like a beast for me.

This was about a week ago. That was 5 days of skimming on a system that is curing one rock. The rest of the rock was either fully dead or already cured. The skimmate I get now is even darker and drier.

It is sitting in 8.5" of water set at 4 right now. In the pic it was set at 3.5 or so.

 

[rtparty]

Double post sorry

 

[Michi]

Hi Ryan!

Looks really impressive!Later i will take a picture of mine too!
I didnt say that the performance of the skimmer is bad! I really love it!
But i think with less turbulence it could be possible to skim dryer at lower bioloads cause the foam gets more stable. I am not sure about that, but i think it was worth a try.

Please excuse my poor english! Its not that easy for me to describe technical things in english.:hmm2:

Michael

 

[reeftivo]

Hello Reeftivo!

Sounds like you tuned your nac6a! What have you changed on it?
I thought about making a new bigger bubble plate of acrylic tubes and plates.
Maybe this would help against the turbulence in the body.
But i am really happy with the skimmer so far! Its skimming very well!

Michael

Hi Michael,

NAC6 is doing great as is but you're right about the turbulence. It would perform even better with a wider and lower profile bubble box. I think the reason they didn't go that route is because of patent issues related to the Bubble Kings. BKs 160, 180 and 200 are very similar in design to the NAC series with the exception of the cup transition (and pump-obviously). With the progression of mine I dont plan to mod right now but who knows. I think the bodies could handle more air definately. More air using 2 or three layers of PF4 or 5 enkamat mesh would do the trick. Balancing it may be difficult though with the current impeller. You could try the bubble plate mod and see how it goes. If you do you may want to countersink the holes for even less turbulence out of the box.

 

[Michi]

I think that the body could handle more air, too. Because of that i asked one page before, if its possible to mount a aquabee on it. But this could be tricky because of the measures and the position of the hole in the body.
Another possibility would be to put the pump outside, like the bm 105 has it.

I also thought about putting more layers on it. But i didnt get it so far. It is not that easy with that impeller-design, as you said.
Making a bubble plate wouldnt be that hard, but i dont have a tool to countersink the holes. This would surely be the best to enhance performance.

 

[reeftivo]

looks great rtparty!

regarding the turbulence; I refer only to the air/water surface turbulence which is much more subdued in my other skimmers. The skimmer is great out of the box and is truely a plug and play skimmer. I think we all just constantly think of ways to improve something even if it works well.

Hey, is that an Eshopps sump? It looks like those pics are in about 11 inches of water.

 

[rtparty]

looks great rtparty!

regarding the turbulence; I refer only to the air/water surface turbulence which is much more subdued in my other skimmers. The skimmer is great out of the box and is truely a plug and play skimmer. I think we all just constantly think of ways to improve something even if it works well.

Hey, is that an Eshopps sump? It looks like those pics are in about 11 inches of water.

I agree that the turbulence could be cut down but I am not sure I would be willing to be the guinea pig:rollface: :lmao:

If someone can design a better bubble plate that would be awesome. Once you guys started talking about countersinking I was totally lost.:hmm2:

It is a sump that I made myself. It is 13 inches in that chamber but I have the skimmer on the stand that raises it to 8.5".

 

[reeftivo]

Nice!

The countersinking refers to the holes in the bubble plate. If they are countersinked on the underside the jetting affect out of the holes is reduced thus lowering turbulence.

The nice thing about trying a bubble plate mod on these is that you dont have to ruin the existing one.