The Bubble-Magus Club

[dmorel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13421537#post13421537 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kaskiles
Ok, well in less than 7.5 hours, the BM100's Atman pump has stopped working. Unplugging and plugging back in wouldn't restart, and blowing in the airline while plugged in also wouldn't start it.

I've pulled the BM100 out of the sump now, and put the NW110 back in... I'll have to take the BM100 apart, get the Atman out and take a look at it.

Seems like I have the same issue as dmorel did with the BM100

SUPER sorry to hear that. I LOVED the BM100, it was my dream skimmer, quiet, easy to tune, awesome skimmate.

This (old and used) EuroReef I got to replace it is too damn loud and finicky. Maybe I'll try and play around with my two dead pumps again. They seem to like to start up if you let them sit long enough, could probably get a day or two of use out of them now.

 

[thabet_2]

before this thread dies, some updates,
The internet dealer offered m a new impeller design (same as ATI impeller!!) he offered a good deal and I took it, should be there in a week and I will update.
An issue:
My skimmer started shooting lots of bubbles back in the tank, with the baffles, some still get back in the display, it is setting in 13.5 inches of water, no matter how dry/wet I set it to skim, I still get them, noise levels increased, and skimmate production is green with "jelly" stuff in it, its like green chunks of jello, smells so bad that my wife asked me not to clean it while she is awake, it started when I started dosing sugar for NO3 reduction.

Will update on the new impeller, any suggestions on the noise, micro bubbles or green jello are welcomed (not the ones to taste the jello)

 

[limitdown]

Try putting a piece of sponge between the last baffle to help break up the bubbles.
Let us know how the skimmer works out

 

[kaskiles]

BM100 update
After my last post here, Chris at Nuocean noticed the post and diagnosed the issue, and sent out replacement parts before I even contacted them.

The parts he sent were exactly the two that needed to be replaced, so I assume that noise is a pretty good indicator of the impeller not spinning correctly in the pump...

The new needle wheel impeller piece looked exactly like the old broken one, but fit way more snugly on the magnet. I actually had to use some of those rubber ended easy grip clamps to snap it into place on the magnet. I guess when that impeller fails in the pump, it also snaps the ceramic shaft that it spins on. This was the only other part I had to replace in the pump.

I reassembled the pump, and ran it for one week in a pail with old tank water. No failure and very low noise. I then assembled the entire skimmer, placed the skimmer in old tank water pail, and it wouldn't start. After about 1 hour, I had exchanged a couple emails with Nuocean, and learned I basically had to blow in the air intake (or start it out of water and then lower it in...). I then ran the skimmer successfully in the pail of old tank water for an entire week.

I have the skimmer back in my sump now, for the last couple of days. It's been running really quiet, and the foaming in the reaction chamber looks good. I haven't noticed any excessive micro bubbles escaping the skimmer yet, I'll keep an eye out for that.

 

[stonedage]

can someone tell me how much they paid for a BM100 or the 105? I will be buying one of these as soon as they come back in stock at nuocean( as long as i get one befor they sell out) there is no price on them since they are out of stock. will the 100 or 105 work on a 75gal? is the only diff between the 2 that the pump is external on the 105? any other tips on where i can find one besides ebay? are the 100s pumps now working better? any other info on the 100/105 would be great
Thanks

 

[crazywesc]

Will the 155 handle a heavy stocked 90g reef? I have been thinking about getting the msx/oct 160 but now I cant make up my mind since I have been reading about the BM.

 

[kaskiles]

I paid $120.00 for the BM100 skimmer from Nuocean back on Aug 27th of 2008. I paid an additional $17.67 for shipping to Florida, I assume your shipping to Canada would be higher...

I don't know if the BM100 would work on 100 gal, but it is about 6" in diameter and the Atman/ViaAqua pump seems to foam it up pretty good.

I'll have to let you know how my pump holds up, I've only had it running continuously in my tank for 5 days now (the pump ran outside the tank with the new needle wheel for about 2 weeks prior to me putting it in the tank).

 

[bristle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13544008#post13544008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stonedage
can someone tell me how much they paid for a BM100 or the 105? I will be buying one of these as soon as they come back in stock at nuocean( as long as i get one befor they sell out) there is no price on them since they are out of stock. will the 100 or 105 work on a 75gal? is the only diff between the 2 that the pump is external on the 105? any other tips on where i can find one besides ebay? are the 100s pumps now working better? any other info on the 100/105 would be great
Thanks

I paid roughly $178 CAD with brokerage, shipping and duties from nuocean to Ottawa.

 

[salty child 79]

I have the BM 150 on my 45g BB SPS and it does exactly what it is supposed to. I get almost a full cup of skimmate every week and it restarts perfectly everytime.

I used to have an ASM G3 Mesh modded on my old 150g and this skimmer blows it away in build quality, noise(silent), and easy of water level adjustment. I would def put the bm150 on a 150g tank full of sps.

I will post some pics in a few days.

 

[stonedage]

so this seems like it is one of the most overlooked great skimmers out

 

[HermitCrabFan]

any word on how peoples 160's are still working? thinking of getting one, either that or a msx 200, still trying to decide, the fact I can run the bm 160 out of sump is a big plus.

the website doesn't seem to be getting any in till next month, so I guess I have a month to decide what I want to get

 

[jmart55]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13556497#post13556497 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stonedage
so this seems like it is one of the most overlooked great skimmers out

IMO Yes! They are built well and perform. My 150 is performing better than my Euro-Reef RS135 ever did and taking up much less space. I have no experience with the aqua bee pumps but so far I have been happy. I would put this skimmer toe to toe with anything in its price range.
Chris said 160's probably won't be in until mid-November, bummer cause I'm dying to get one.

 

[stonedage]

what about the cup drain, is it functional or is it to small to actually drain the junk out?

 

[sal9012]

I have the 100 on my 65G, medium stock, normal feedings and it does what's supposed to do. No noise now (got new impeller from Chris) no restart issues, no bubbles and about 1.5 cups of nog a week. Very picky with the water level in the sump. great skimmer for the money.

 

[HermitCrabFan]

if I hear no complaints on the 160 by time they are back in stock I think I'll go with that, from what I can gather the dwell time and amount and size of bubbles is what matters most, with a recirculating I can vary dwell time by changing water flow going into the skimmer so smaller diameter 6 inch, vs a 8 inch straight non recirculating skimmer doesn't mean it would perform less. or maybe it would since it's still less water volume.

maybe someone who has dealt with skimmers before can clear that up


I just hope I can get one of the Nov shipments he gets in and not have to wait more months till another shipment.

had tank up about a year now with no skimmer and I think it's really time I get one soon

 

[tangtang clown]

I would go with the recirc version. Unless you have a very steady water level in your sump. I have a mag 12 as a feed pump and it has a venturi on the intake to put more air in the skimmer.
I am going to add a gate valve in the feed line so I can adjust the dwell time.

 

[whosinpower]

I have the 160. I have had no problems with it once it was dialled in. Did have a problem with it overflowing - but that was due to gluing a frag or two with reef epoxy - next day it settled back down. Skims like a champ, is quiet and have had no problems with restarting. I have it running externally.

 

[HermitCrabFan]

can it be easily varied between a very dry to a very wet skim? still talking about the 160.


now I just wish I didn't have to wait near a month to get one. I guess patience is a virtue.

also, I take it you've had no leakage problems with running it external? that's what I plan to do till I get a bigger stand and sump.

 

[trilinearmipmap]

For people who don't want to wait a long time to get one, contact the Fish Street store on E-bay. I emailed this store (they are in Hong Kong), on EBay they only list 220 Volt pumps and only certain models of Bubble Magus are available, however when I e-mailed the store they can sell me the model I wanted with a 110 Volt Aquabee pump. Just another option rather than waiting for the place in New York to get them back in stock. In any event I decided against purchasing the Bubble Magus and I am waiting to get my Bubble King, however it was a very close decision for me.

 

[dmorel]

I received a new impeller from Chris a few weeks back, maybe a month now actually. I was traveling on business three weeks in a row though so didn't get a chance to play with it until last Saturday.

It works. Been running a week solid.
But, the BM 100 is no longer silent for me. In fact, it's down right loud.
The new pump that was sent just isn't the same as the one that died. I swear you couldn't even tell it was on when I first got it, but now it's louder than my fan.
It did run a solid week so I'm happy to say the new impeller design seems to have fixed the overheating issue with the atman pumps. I'm probably going to be shutting it down this afternoon and it will end up in storage until I trade it at one of my local club meets. I really need to find something that works AND is quiet.
sigh.
-dm