Bubble-King Owners Feedback

[rpeeples]

Greetings...

I am looking for feedback from current Bubble-King Skimmer owners.

I am interested in their straight out performance and NOT as it relates to their cost.

One site published some harsh things about the BK upon testing of the skimmer....I have included a link below.

http://www.o2manyfish.com/skimmers/Venturi.htm

Before I go out and spend 2K on a skimmer I want to make sure I am buying the best not just the most expensive.

I am currently acquiring equipment for a 220 Reef and I believe the protein skimmer to be one of the most important pieces of this puzzle.

Any feedback on their performance, including pictures, is appreciated.

External or Internal BK……which is a better skimmer?

Thanks,
Ron

[Detritivore]

here is a huge thread about BK: http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229

i think there is also one on RC, but i cant find it.

[Bebo77]

Bk are the best made.. do t listen to that thread.. if i could afford one i would buy one.. there is a thread here on rc about them ask moonpod about them.. external is always best...

[collective21]

Like I just said in the thread "deltec vs octopus" If you think someone who just spent $2500.00 - $5000.00 on a bubble king skimmer s going to tell you anything but it's the best skimmer in the world, your sadly mistaken. If I could afford a bubble king and it was not working up to par I sure as hell wouldn't tell anybody.

[Detritivore]

btw, the guy who wrote that skimmer comparison made it clear when he started the testing that his goal wasn't to determine the "best" skimmer. at the time, bubbleking vs. deltec was the big debate, and since he was a deltec dealer and his friend was a BK dealer, they decided to have a skim-off just for fun. that soon developed into a multi-skimmer skim-off.

[Bebo77]

they are all opinions

but he likes the Deltec

[thereefmaster]

I have to say Bubble-King is really the "king". They perform like the skimmer gods are gonna damn 'em if they don't work like mad. LOL. I do NOT however, think they are worth the price.

HTH

-Nate

[Fliger]

I have owned a Bubble King, ER's, H&S, am currently borrowing a Deltec 702, Lifereefs all the way down to Seaclowns in 15+ years. Bubble Kings are the best, period. It you really want the best, that is what you will buy, period. There are only 2 people on RC that I would say have owned as many skimmers - moonpod and NAGA, and they're both currently using Bubble Kings.

You are right, the skimmer IS one of the most important things in the puzzle. Even though BK is THE best, H&S and Deltecs are not very far behind.

[rpeeples]

Thank you for the feedback. Based on your experiences would you recommend external or internal BK? .....space is not an issue...Thanks

[old salty]

Originally posted by collective21
Like I just said in the thread "deltec vs octopus" If you think someone who just spent $2500.00 - $5000.00 on a bubble king skimmer s going to tell you anything but it's the best skimmer in the world, your sadly mistaken. If I could afford a bubble king and it was not working up to par I sure as hell wouldn't tell anybody.

I would!!

[jay357]

So would I, I would tell the world if it wasnt all they said it was and more for the prices they charge. I have used Aquac Remora and am getting a pro model and they are great and there service is first rate! Really great service just ask me why

Jay

[Fliger]

rpeeples - I always prefer external, just because they're more versatile. Especially if you can gravity feed them. But its totally up to your requirements. Klaus, who builds them and does all the R&D says there isn't really a difference in skimmate so who else can ya trust? In most cases, people are way overskimming anyway so these skimmer stay so far ahead of your system, its kind if irrelevant. Seriously, if you go this high end - you put it in your system, and if the fish don't eat it, its outta your system asap.

Originally posted by collective21
Like I just said in the thread "deltec vs octopus" If you think someone who just spent $2500.00 - $5000.00 on a bubble king skimmer s going to tell you anything but it's the best skimmer in the world, your sadly mistaken. If I could afford a bubble king and it was not working up to par I sure as hell wouldn't tell anybody.

I don't even know why you post, or what you contribute. Just like Nikonosis mentioned when you seemed to follow him, or threads around. Why would we not contribute? I've owned two skimmers in that price range, why does that make me not a good judge, or why would I hold back. If you can't afford one, or will never have one, why not just leave the thread alone? Do you have nothing better to do? You already mentioned you can't afford it, why would you presume to know how someone who CAN afford it would think?

[Fliger]

rpeeples - also I do not believe its totally necessary at 220G. There are a LOT of excellent skimmer choices. I think when you get bigger, thats where the difference really comes into play. Don't get me wrong, I think a BK would be great - but if space is not a concern then you would be extremely happy with a less expensive H&S or Deltec.

With the BK, you're gonna get SUPER efficiency, dead silence, the tiniest bubbles you can imagine and of course its damn cool looking. But one step down and there really isn't much of a sacrifice at all in skimming quality. If I were setting up a 220, I would either choose a H&S A200 2x1260 or a Deltec 702. I used the H&S on a 340 and it was more than enough. I'm using the 702 right now and it is right on par with the H&S.

[rpeeples]

Fliger, thanks for the feedback. I was able to track down a new 300 External from a german site for roughly 1500.00 US dollars plus 62.00 shipping. Based on the price of the DT702 (1700.00), I am going with the BK300Ext. I couldn't believe the price either but they are a legite company.

Thanks again for everyones feedback. My mind is at ease but not my wallet.

[rpeeples]

Error in posting: Sorry folks I need to edit the above post...I was not able to acquire at this price. My apologies. Thanks

[moonpod]

OK here's my opinion. The BK is an awesome skimmer. I have a 400ext. It skims like crazy, is relatively compact, dead silent and extremely electrically effecient. Is it worth the $$$....well what are you comparing it to? The closest Deltec size wise is an AP703 which I'm sure is a good performer, but uses a lot more electricity, is quite reasonable in the sound department, but not silent, is not particularly cheaper at all but has a selfcleaning head option (Klause of RE doesn't like SCH for whatever reason). This skimmer clearly outperforms everything else I've had (I've tried A LOT of units), but then again...it's supposed to ya know?

things I don't like--well first off if something breaks--the lead time on replacement parts isn't gonna be great I'm sure...I mean I waited 4 mos plus just to get the skimmer. However, it's not like Gary (Captiveoceans) won't try to help or isn't responsive or anything like that. I had a rattling RD12 and they friggin shipped me a no cost replacement with a return ticket no questions asked. That's service. It's just a matter of what parts are physically here in the US. I also don't like the dual drain pipe design of my unit. The ozone hookup is a ghetto rig by me which concerns me. Finally, the pump is very low torque so it's relatively easy to "jam". When the pump stalls (brown out, power flicker or GFI pops b/c I've been screwing around), if the feed water is still on, it'll run right up and through the airline.

Is this the skimmer for everyone? No, obviously not. First off, the thing easily keeps up with my system which is about 550g and has a ton of fish, so it's overkill for A LOT of people. Me....I like to majorly overskim, so if I had the room I'd put an even bigger crazier skimmer there, but I am space constrained.

Can it be done for cheaper? In terms of skimming effectiveness probably. In terms of delivering the total package of performance, size, noise, effeciency etc....no. Two letters. N...O. Only BK can provide that. Again, this is NOT a slam on any of the competition. There are a LOT of good units out there. In particular I really like Deltecs and there's something enticing about big 'ol sloppy beckett skimmers, and finally frankly it's hard to beat a BIG countercurrent air driven unit, but those things won't work for me so....

[Julio]

there have been amny people that are reporting issues with them and seem to be really unhappy once they set them up.

[moonpod]

You know that's the funny thing about all skimmers. I dunno, I personally don't think any skimmer is all that hard to "setup" you just gotta understand how skimmers work. You get some godawful questions and see some cokamamie setups b/c people don't take the trouble to figure out how to setup a skimmer and how a skimmer works. I don't get it. The worst are the beckett skimmer setup questions.

Now one thing with the BK internals is that they've got this weird screw adjustment thing that isn't on the externals so....I know that thing causes grief. Again, it's not on the externals, so it beats me.

[NAGA]

Bubble King skimmers perform the best IMO. It's probably in the single digits edgewise in performance difference over the other major brands. Is it worth it? With what I was looking for, YES. Is it for everyone? NO

Performance, fit & finish, and customer service are top notch. With what Moonpod says though I agree with in that parts availability may have some long waiting times. That is the only potentially negative part to it.

[cali_reef]

My opinion -> BK's are what Fliger and moonpod said it is. It is very quiet, uses little power, easy to adjust, looks cool, etc... However, after running one in my system along side of a Barr SK4220 for a month I can't see why everyone think they skim the best.

[kimoyo]

Earlier this month I was trying to decide between an AP702 and a BK 250/300 ext. After seeing a few deltecs, seeing a few BK's and seeing other skimmers I came to some conclusions. The BK's were powerful and so were the deltecs (both more powerful than most) & the BK's looked sexy and so did the deltecs. After speaking to people who owned both I believed them when they said the BK's were a little more powerful but then again it was also a bit more expensive.

Then I saw a SK4220 whooping on a BK300 ext and I said I'm getting a barr.

[viggen]

Part of my reasoning for not considering some of the european models is I do not like waiting for stuff to cross the ocean (I ship a bit of car stuff overseas & it's a PITA at times). Sometimes parts are stocked however I am sure every part isn't thus a skimmer could be out of comission for a while? Thus I stuck with a US made skimmer. To me customer service isn't just being able to talk to someone quickly to order the parts, but it's having them ASAP if it's something important.

I know from what people state it doesn't perform as well as many of the euro products & has slightly louder pumps however I cannot hear the pumps over the sound of the water

& I forgot to say.... I think you can tell a good skimmer by the size of it's collection cup.... good #$% is the cup HUGE on the BK's

definantly a sweet piece!!!

[Roughhawk]

i own a 250 internal and after a couple of weeks and right adjusting..
it's really nice

this is after 30hours after cleaning...



~ 6 1/2 cups after 30hours!



5 minutes after cleaning and replug the electricity...

[NAGA]

Looks like you have a lot to get out. That sure is a lot for such a short time.

[Roughhawk]

some fishes So yeah there's some stuff to get out..but the readings are quite nice

No3~2,5
Po4~0,05

target for me were these values and the BK + 20%Waterchange/month are good enough to handle that!!