Bubble King Setup, Tuning and trouble shooting thread. Post your questions here!
- Thread starter machodik
- Start date
Very very glad to help! :thumbsup:
It reduces the maintenance on the skimmer since you rarely need to remove the collection cup (I only remove mine every several months) and it also improves consistency since the grime in the neck never builds up but you still maintain the slime coating. The grime as it builds up, impacts how the foam rises. It creates friction causing some of the bubbles to burst while it also reduces the diameter of the neck causing the skimmer to skim wetter as it builds up. So maintaining a virtually grime free neck helps keep the skimmer more consistent and the slime coating which is part of the break-in process keeps the foam rising up the neck smoothly.
What model pump does it have? If it’s the RD3, what speed do you have the pump set to? How long has it been running in the system? How many fish are in the system? If the fish count is really low relative to the size of the skimmer (and this is a fairly big skimmer), you won’t have enough dissolved organics (proteins) to be making as good of foam as would be ideal and instead of all the bubbles sticking together into chains that form foam and rise to the surface, some of lots of bubbles will end up escaping the skimmer through the effluent pipe. This phenomenon is common when the skimmer is oversized relative to the load.
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Hi,
Apologies for the late response I have been away.
It's the Rd3 model vs13.
Yes I don't have a lot of fish at the moment only like 5 as this is a new tank. The skimmer has been running for nearly 3 months now and it does produce skimmate into the cup. I have it sitting on a egg crate around 21cm deep. The pump is set at 28w.
literally my display tank is covered with micro bubbles and I know it's from the skimmer because I can see it coming out of the pipe (the long pipe to control the water level inside the skimmer) and when I switch the skimmer off within 5 mins the tank looks clearer.
Surely it shouldn't matter if the skimmer is oversized? A lot of people with other skimmers have it 5 times bigger than the tank and don't have this issue.
It's really frustrating to see micro bubbles all in the tank
Hi,
Apologies for the late response I have been away.
It’s the Rd3 model vs13.
Yes I don’t have a lot of fish at the moment only like 5 as this is a new tank. The skimmer has been running for nearly 3 months now and it does produce skimmate into the cup. I have it sitting on a egg crate around 21cm deep. The pump is set at 28w.
literally my display tank is covered with micro bubbles and I know it’s from the skimmer because I can see it coming out of the pipe (the long pipe to control the water level inside the skimmer) and when I switch the skimmer off within 5 mins the tank looks clearer.
Surely it shouldn’t matter if the skimmer is oversized? A lot of people with other skimmers have it 5 times bigger than the tank and don’t have this issue.
It’s really frustrating to see micro bubbles all in the tank
In a case with only 5 fish, that skimmer is like 10x oversized. What people don’t realize is that the proteins in the water from the dissolved organics created by the fish are what allow the bubbles to stick together in chains that create the foam. That sticking together helps the bubbles rise to the surface. In the absence of enough dissolved organics (proteins), you end up with bubbles that blast around the inside of the skimmer. Many of which won’t rise to the surface and end up coming out of the effluent pipe like you are experiencing and with only 5 fish in there, you might as well have no fish in there since you just don’t have much in the way of dissolved organics for that size skimmer. I would reduce the pumps speed some and close the wedge pipe more. That should help reduce the amount of micro bubbles. The other thing you could do is install a bubble trap in your sump or add some foam around (not on) the return pump so as to create a wall around it to prevent micro bubbles from getting sucked in.
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Anyone who has the same issue as me with micro bubbles and with a low bio load... ignore the above advice it is incorrect.
After getting a lot of advice from other forums and lfs, I was told it doesn't matter if the skimmer is oversized... you shouldn't get Microbubbles...
I have 3 fish currently in my tank with a over sized skimmer and I am no longer getting Microbubbles. I took everything apart and took apart the pump and cleaned it out and finally I no longer have Microbubbles leaking into the tank :bounce1:
I think cleaning the pump solved the problem. Yes the skimmer is foaming but obviously not a big amount due to the low bioload but it is working
Good to hear you got it resolved through cleaning. That said, a lack of dissolved organics can in fact result in microbubbles. This is particularly common when a skimmer is setup in a brand new tank where there is a lack of dissolved organics and something I've experienced in my own new tanks with a wide range of skimmers as well as some tanks that I've installed for others over the years. Either way, I am glad it is working better for you now.
Have had my BK mini160 with the RD6 pump for about 3 weeks now. Its not performing as I'd hoped it would in my scenario. I have a few questions please.
I've tried anywhere between 7.5 and 8.5 inches of sump depth as well as running the pump from 50% to 75%. The issue is with foam production or the lack thereof. The tank is mature at 2+ years and my prior skimmer pulled plenty of skimmate prior to it being replaced.
I'm sure its a simple adjustment but cant seem to get it right.
The directions say there should be a maximum water level mark on the skimmer body but that doesn't appear to be on mine. I also have an extension on my bubble plate of acrylic that extends up from the plate in a cylinder shape that's about 2-3 inches that doesn't appear anywhere in the images or manual.
I currently have the water level 3/4 of an inch below the collection cup. I do have skimmate but its collecting on the skimmer body and not extending up into the collection cup. I've tried removing the resonator and running just the bare intake in hopes of getting more air but that didnt seem to make much difference.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
I've tried anywhere between 7.5 and 8.5 inches of sump depth as well as running the pump from 50% to 75%. The issue is with foam production or the lack thereof. The tank is mature at 2+ years and my prior skimmer pulled plenty of skimmate prior to it being replaced.
I'm sure its a simple adjustment but cant seem to get it right.
The directions say there should be a maximum water level mark on the skimmer body but that doesn't appear to be on mine. I also have an extension on my bubble plate of acrylic that extends up from the plate in a cylinder shape that's about 2-3 inches that doesn't appear anywhere in the images or manual.
I currently have the water level 3/4 of an inch below the collection cup. I do have skimmate but its collecting on the skimmer body and not extending up into the collection cup. I've tried removing the resonator and running just the bare intake in hopes of getting more air but that didnt seem to make much difference.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
The bubble plate extension is the new design.
The high water mark is no longer included on the skimmer bodies. Ideally you’d want the line where bubbles turn to foam to be about an inch below where the cup sits on the body but depending on the load you might need to go higher than that. You just don’t want to go up beyond the bottom of the collection cup unless you don’t mind water seeping out between the cup and body. Particularly if the load is light relative to the skimmer size. How many fish are in the display? As I recall it was around 10 fish? I think the issue is the light load so I’d raise the level up inside the skimmer by closing the wedge pipe a bit more. Get it to the bottom of the cup. That should improve the skimmate production. I would do that with the pump set to about 50% and see how dense the foam looks.
The air draw and water flow is tied directly to the pump speed. The higher the speed, the greater the flow into the skimmer. You want to use the pump speed to get the most dense foam head possible and use the sump depth of wedge pipe to adjust the level inside the skimmer. The lighter the load, the higher the line where bubbles turn to foam (break line) will need to be inside the skimmer. As you increase the speed, the contact time is reduced and there is a point of diminishing returns in terms of speed as you end up creating turbulence in the skimmer and too many bubbles which can make the foam head unstable due to lots of bubbles bursting at the surface instead of creating nice dense foam. Since very tank is different in terms of load, there is no right speed for the pump. It really boils down to fine tuning the pump speed for your load and finding a setting that results in the thickest foam.
Also keep in mind that you need dissolved organics to create good consistent foam. Your load is VERY low and the fish you have aren’t creating that much in the way of dissolved organics even for the 160 sized skimmer. This is one the reason why you will need to raise the level inside the skimmer as you are running it to dry for your load (or lack of). By doing that, you are effectively reducing the total volume needed to fill the neck with foam in order to see skimmate in the cup vs collecting on the sides of the neck and upper body.
Glad to help.
ferntreegully
New member
skimmer pump
skimmer pump
Hi,
i have a RE double cone 180 and rd3 mini speedy 2000 pump for supermarines 250 + 300 white body red front . I think this must be a past model.
My question , could this pump be not suited in some way to big ? . I have my skimmer in 9.5 -10 .5 deep depending on day of adjusting ,it is set up to skim wet and struggles to push foam over into cup ,pump speed is at 27. I dont get much skimate at all .
so skimmer is too deep pump speed is to high from what i have read here.
tank ; 120 gallon with rock taken out
18 fish 30 inch approx
1 eel s/flake 12 inch approx
sump 3 seperate tanks 90 gallons approx
frank
skimmer pump
Hi,
i have a RE double cone 180 and rd3 mini speedy 2000 pump for supermarines 250 + 300 white body red front . I think this must be a past model.
My question , could this pump be not suited in some way to big ? . I have my skimmer in 9.5 -10 .5 deep depending on day of adjusting ,it is set up to skim wet and struggles to push foam over into cup ,pump speed is at 27. I dont get much skimate at all .
so skimmer is too deep pump speed is to high from what i have read here.
tank ; 120 gallon with rock taken out
18 fish 30 inch approx
1 eel s/flake 12 inch approx
sump 3 seperate tanks 90 gallons approx
frank
That's not really the right pump but I don't think that is the issue. Your fish load is on the light side for that skimmer. I normally would not recommend that skimmer for anything under 130 gallons and at that, it would be a heavy load.
I'd drop the pump speed to 20w ( I normally recommend 18-24 watts for that skimmer) which will allow for better contact time and set level inside the skimmer using the wedge pipe so the break line which is the line where bubbles turn to foam is set just above where the cup attaches to the body. While you are at it, I'd make sure the nozzle doesn't have any salt building where the hose connects to the nozzle.
