The Bubble-Magus Club

[felix morales]

freaking out!!!!
i order one yesterday and this morning my mag-7 skimmer pump just dead on me.... To make thing worse David e-mail me that BM-105 no longer being made with the 110V pump... so instead of wasting my cash on a new pump i upgade it to BM-150 which come with 110V made in germany. BUT 2 WEEK'S FOR DELIVERY!! Man i guess i be doing a lot of water changing for the next 2 week's..... this is starting out to be a bad day.............

 

[nuocean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13571010#post13571010 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 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

[violation]

 

[dmorel]

Yes, that's what I was talking about above.
It's not silent, I wish it was. Like I told you before Chris I LOVED this skimmer out of the box, but ever since that first pump died, I've not been able to get back to anywhere close to that level of satisfaction. I can't blame you, you've made every effort to get things worked out for me, in fact have probably gone above and beyond so props to you...
FWIW, the meshwheel runs well. Getting good bubbles and skimmate, but their is something fundamentally wrong somewhere in the set up at this point. Can't imagine what it is having tried everything and taken this skimmer and the pump apart a dozen times, I just can't get it quiet.

thanks.
-dm

 

[thabet_2]

did you make sure that the white ceramic rings are installed, I am expecting my mesh wheel next week and I am not sure if they are still needed, for the original setup they are a must, otherwise you will get allot of noise and heat

 

[dmorel]

Yes, though just for clarity's sake... the impeller with the mesh wheel goes into the pump... after that the ceramic shaft goes into the impeller... there is a ceramic ring already sort of attached to the mesh wheel... you place one more ceramic ring on the shaft, then close up the pump.

I have so many parts lying around right now that I want to make sure that's right...

 

[thabet_2]

I would try it without the additional ring as the mesh has one already and see how it goes, also, I thing it would be better to install the ceramic shaft first to me sure it sets properly and well aligned, I learned the hard way, my atman pump got noisy and generated allot of heat, when I checked the shaft was not setting properly

 

[dmorel]

it's running now without the additional ring, still loud

But... Maybe I will try ONE LAST TIME to take it apart and install the shaft first. I've always been doing that after...

thanks.

-dm

 

[thabet_2]

good luck, I hate to see someone leaving the club.

What pump are you using on this one now?

While you are working on it, try cleaning the silencer, mine gets loud when it gets some salt on the walls, also check the screws that fix the pump base to the skimmed base, mine where loose, when I fixed that, otherwise got loud, also check the venturi for any debris.

 

[nuocean]

David,
Thabet gave some good pointers, but if the problem still persists we will replace the pump for you; I’ve sent you an email with RMA instructions. The voltage in your house may have something to do with the noise, is there any way you can test it?

 

[dmorel]

I don't have a kill a watt or anything.
I'm about to try taking the whole thing apart one last time, try all the suggestions that thabet_2 made.
I have used a few different outlets, and my house was completely rewired less than two years ago, so I don't *think* that's it, but without a kill a watt tough to say.

I'll keep you posted via email on how I make out.
As I've said before, you've been nothing short of awesome in your support. I think I'm just getting unlucky....

-dm

 

[eagleONE]

out of curiosity, has anyone had any trouble with microbubbles coming out of the return? I just found this recently too.. it's weird... and I've been running my 100 for quiet some time now.

 

[thabet_2]

I have noticed that as well, it could be because my BM100 is setting in 13 inches of water while the recommended is 10 only, this will crate a back pressure and could cause Micro bubbles, I also noticed that the foam head is less thick and the skimmer tends to skim wet, I am considering reducing the water level (a new sump for me) and will see what happens, first I want to try the new mesh wheel

Have you changed any of the operating conditions that have caused the micro bubbles? what is the depth of water the skimmer sets in? a pic will be a great help

 

[thabet_2]

David,
Did you try it again? was the issue solved?
Regards

 

[kaskiles]

My BM100 has produced micro bubbles that make their way back into the tank on occasion, so far I think it's due to:
1. Feeding suppressing the foam
2. Moving/twisting the skimmer in the sump
3. Adjusting the flow around
4. Aiming the skimmer outlet towards my sump pump baffle

 

[thabet_2]

kaskiles, thanks for the tips, moved the outlet away from the baffles,

another update, today I received a big shipment from fish street, it took it 5 days from HK to Jordan, I was impressed, more impressed with customs, 30$ customs on a 200$ shipment!!! among BOYU WM3 Wave Maker, 3 inlet programmable timer (that is a real TOY) and other small misc. there was the new mesh wheel, walked home 6 PM, it was running 6:30, the skimmer was given a nice cleaning with vinegar and hot water, it started immediately, the noise level was higher, but the WM3 covered the noise, not too loud and will not complain, after inspecting the old pin wheel, I recognised that I forgot to install the little white ceramic ring, I guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow after I get back from work!!!
, the bubbles are smaller and the reaction chamber is whiter (finer bubbles), foam head started building in a few minutes,

After all, have to admit that this skimmer exceeded my expectations, when I paypalled the fish street guy, I thought that this will be my last spent money on this tank and WHEN the skimmer fails I would say that I have tried

David, any luck with your noise issues?

by the way guys, you might want to check the Boyu Wave maker, it coes with 4 pumps rated at 5000 litters each, on my 250 litters tank I ended up using only 2, my LPS (most of the corals, did not like the idea, but I found that my tank had more settled waste than the 1 spot I used to vacum

 

[eagleONE]

My water level is is approx 10 inches and I still have microbubbles. The odd thing is my skimmer hasn't moved since installation and before I didn't have a problem with bubbles...but now I do. What do I do?

 

[thabet_2]

how long did you have it running? any cleaning since installation? any changes to other parameters?
I think Microbubbles are created as a result of a sort of back pressure, I am still trying to figure out where is that on my system, it could be that dry skimming will make a heavy foam head and create a sort of pressure, but this should be the normal case, I am still working on mine and will let you know if I find a solution

 

[thabet_2]

I think I found the solution to the noise issue, after installing the mesh wheel, my skimmer gained more noise, last night it was not acceptable anymore (second time I agree with wife on tank being noisy), I had a look and noticed that I was restricting water more to get the bubbles to break higher, this means I was getting less water/pressure from the pump, which could be caused either bu a restriction on the movement of the impeller or higher Air getting sucked in, there was no restriction as I have already dismantled the pump to install the ceramic ring (ended up without it, no space) so more air was first suspect for this case, I installed an air hose on the silencer to install an air valve and it caused enough restriction to reduce noise and increase the water head, did not install a valve and things are running smoother now,

David, you might want to lay with Water/.Air ratio and see if this gets it silenced


On another note, the mesh wheels come with a ceramic ring, but when I installed it, I could not close the pump and when I forced it, it did not spin, any ideas around this? are they needed?

good luck

 

[tangtang clown]

Any one have pics of performance?

 

[stonedage]

could some one with a BM100 please tell me how much room i need from the bottom to the highest point needed for cup removal clearance, im building a stand and want to be certain that i will have enough hight if i put a shelf in above my sump, thanks