Bubble King Setup, Tuning and trouble shooting thread. Post your questions here!

[machodik]

Got it Scott. I think I will raise the sump depth and at the same time using a stand to raise my skimmer .

Well I will try to let my sump water down further one cm and if that is the sweet spot then it means I have to find a stand that will raise my skimmer water level back to 22.5 cm while my sump depth is at 27 cm then. In this case the stand should be around 5 cm high (may be an acrylic stand looks nicer then ).

[slief]

This thread will be dedicated to setting up, tuning and trouble shooting Bubble King Skimmers. Feel free to ask any questions related to choosing the right skimmer as well as setting up, tuning or trouble shooting your skimmer.

[machodik]

Hi Scott,

That's good you create a posting for this subject . Sorry to post on the other topic , can you transfer all related earlier post of mine to this area. Thanks

[machodik]

After the water level goes down 1 cm more the skimmer looks not much change:



Furthermore , when you said break In , usually this took a week ? How can I say my skimmer already hit the sweet spot , as of now no overflowing issue have been notice almost 5 days now .

[slief]

Originally Posted by machodik

After the water level goes down 1 cm more the skimmer looks not much change:



Furthermore , when you said break In , usually this took a week ? How can I say my skimmer already hit the sweet spot , as of now no overflowing issue have been notice almost 5 days now .

It takes 1 to two weeks for the skimmer to completely break in. Overflowing typically happens in the first 24 hours. You won't know if you hit your sweet spot until the skimmer is completely broken in. I wouldn't expect to see much change with 1 cm of drop in water level. It will be subtle. You are making good foam and the skimmate looks fine. I'd say your skimmer is working well right now and it doesn't appear to need any adjustment.

[machodik]

Exactly a week since it was set up.....does this means my skimmer broken in?;

[slief]

Originally Posted by machodik

Exactly a week since it was set up.....does this means my skimmer broken in?;

I would say your skimmer is broken in and appears to be skimming quite well.

[machodik]

Thanks Scott, finally I got the answer for the heigh (water level ) of my going to build new sump .

[biecacka]

Will be posting pictures of my new set up soon, it's in 8.5inches of water. Trying to dial it in but when I upload photos through photo bucket it shows my whole album.


Corey

[biecacka]

Here it is I think.

Corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

Here it is I think.

Corey

Is this what you are trying to post? If so, I would say you are pretty close to a good setting to ride out through breakin. That is some very dense and good looking foam. It would appear that you have a fair amount of DOC's in your water. If it starts to come out the vent holes once you put the lid on, close the wedge pipe a tiny bit to wetten it up. In the mean time, put that lid on and see how it does.

[biecacka]

Thank you. When you say wetten it you mean add more water into the chamber, correct?


Corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

Thank you. When you say wetten it you mean add more water into the chamber, correct?


Corey

Yes. Closing the wedge pipe will raise the water level in the skimmer body causing the skimmate to be more wet and not stay in a foam state as long. You could also bump the pump speed by 1 watt but I like the foam I see there so if anything, I would close the wedge pipe a tiny bit and see what that does. In the mean time, I would put the lid on and see how it does as it is. If you find the foam filling the cup up and coming out the vent holes then close the wedge pipe ever so slightly. It won't take much but a fraction of a turn. That heavy foam is an indicator or plenty of DOC's. It's looking good though. Much better foam than the videos I saw with it at the high pump speed.

[biecacka]

Originally Posted by slief

Yes. Closing the wedge pipe will raise the water level in the skimmer body causing the skimmate to be more wet and not stay in a foam state as long. You could also bump the pump speed by 1 watt but I like the foam I see there so if anything, I would close the wedge pipe a tiny bit and see what that does. In the mean time, I would put the lid on and see how it does as it is. If you find the foam filling the cup up and coming out the vent holes then close the wedge pipe ever so slightly. It won't take much but a fraction of a turn. That heavy foam is an indicator or plenty of DOC's. It's looking good though. Much better foam than the videos I saw with it at the high pump speed.

There are PLENTY of DOC's in the tank. I know it's a lite load in there but it's been semi skimmer less for awhile.

Corey

[biecacka]

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...98F0787388.mp4


Here is where it stands now, maybe some fine tuning is needed. I'm close tho I think. It hasn't broke in all the way yet so I want to get it close to he sweet spot the let it settle for a few days u til it's broken in. Then I will really dial it in and start taking back my tank!!!!


Corey

[biecacka]

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...82B7B8544.mp4]

Now, lowered to 27 per sleifs thoughts


Corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...82B7B8544.mp4]

Now, lowered to 27 per sleifs thoughts


Corey

That's looking pretty good from a foam quality standpoint. I assume you put the lid back on it. How long has it been running that way with the lid on? How is the foam collecting in the cup with the lid on? I might suggest closing the wedge pipe a fraction of a turn if by tomorrow the foam isn't spilling over very slowly into the cup. My guess is that it will be though. Especially as the dissolved organics start building up in the neck which with foam that dense should be happening as I type this.

[biecacka]

Originally Posted by slief

That's looking pretty good from a foam quality standpoint. I assume you put the lid back on it. How long has it been running that way with the lid on? How is the foam collecting in the cup with the lid on? I might suggest closing the wedge pipe a fraction of a turn if by tomorrow the foam isn't spilling over very slowly into the cup. My guess is that it will be though. Especially as the dissolved organics start building up in the neck which with foam that dense should be happening as I type this.

Been running this way with the lid for about 3.5-4 hours maybe. I'll leave it be until tomorrow to see how it pans out over night.
Thanks for all your help Scott

Corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

Been running this way with the lid for about 3.5-4 hours maybe. I'll leave it be until tomorrow to see how it pans out over night.
Thanks for all your help Scott

Corey

Glad to help. Will look forward to the update and hopefully some nicer brown stuff collecting in the cup. Be sure to take a picture of the cup with the lid on tomorrow so we can see what's going on in there. Removing the lid impacts the pressure in the skimmer neck a bit and tends to flatten the head out as you may have noticed. As such, seeing what's happening in the cup with the lid on can be somewhat telling.

[biecacka]

got it plugged up and closed that wedge just a tad to see how it pans out


corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

got it plugged up and closed that wedge just a tad to see how it pans out


corey

Sounds good.

[biecacka]

Ok Scott, no real change and nothing in the cup. Wedge is about 30-40% closed and power is on 30. So should I lower the skimmer and if so how much? Or is it okay to just bump up the power to maybe 32 or so and see what that does.

Corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

Ok Scott, no real change and nothing in the cup. Wedge is about 30-40% closed and power is on 30. So should I lower the skimmer and if so how much? Or is it okay to just bump up the power to maybe 32 or so and see what that does.

Corey

Sure. You could bump the power and see what it does.. You could even drop the power and close the wedge a bit more. Ideal sump depth is normally around 8-8.5" but since you are a really low load, you could go 9" without an issue and lower the pump speed a tiny bit. That will reduce bubble size further which is always a good thing. Keep in mind, you are still breaking in. While you can settle at a sump depth, once the skimmer breaks in, you will still need to find the sweet spot which you should be getting close to.

[biecacka]

Ok. Break in time is about a week or so? How will I know when it's broken in?
I have 10 fish going into the display next week possibly. Taking my count to 30. I can leave it where it is for now. I'm just curious about it is all.

Corey

[slief]

Originally Posted by biecacka

Ok. Break in time is about a week or so? How will I know when it's broken in?
I have 10 fish going into the display next week possibly. Taking my count to 30. I can leave it where it is for now. I'm just curious about it is all.

Corey

There is no way of telling for sure that break in is complete other than knowing the minimum time is about a week at which point there will be a good slime coating inside the skimmer. At the 2 week point, it is without a doubt broken in.

Since you aren't seeing anything in the cup yet, I would close the wedge pipe slightly and see what that yields in terms of skimmate. Lowering the skimmer is at this point isn't really needed since you're not broken in yet and you're going to be adding more fish. Once we find the sweet spot for you pump after more fish are in there, then we will see if the sump needs adjustment. When you close your wedge, set it so the transition from heavily aerated water to where it turns to foam is just above the base of the neck. This transition will appear as an obvious line. Since your load is light, I would target that transition to be about 1/4" up from the white ring where the collection cup connects to the body of the skimmer. Make you wedge pipe adjustments slowly and give it a minute to settle down. A little tiny turn of the wedge will make a big difference in the level inside the skimmer.

The other alternative would be to increase your wattage in 1 watt increments as that will also raise the level in your skimmer but I did like the foam I saw. It's kind of a matter of experimenting to see what results in the best foam that is pushing the waste up the neck the best couple with a water level inside the skimmer that results in that waste going over the neck and into the cup slowly. Every tank is different which is where fine tuning for the individual tank comes into play. There really is no right or wrong but the general idea is that the lower the pump speed, the longer the contact time and the smaller the bubbles. With a lower speed comes the need for a high level in the skimmer which is where sump depth and or wedge pipe adjustments come into play. This isn't much different that any other skimmer in terms of the end result. You just have a better ability to fine tune the skimmer and foam with the RD3. Don't be afraid to play with different settings over the coming days. When I setup my Supermain 250, I played with it for nearly a month making little changes here and there to get a feel for what worked best for me in terms of pump speed and the level inside my skimmer.