Bubble Magnus Curve 5

nzkiwi80 · Apr 9, 2023

My skimmer doesn’t appear to be making any micro bubbles, I put my finger over the end of the intake and there’s good suction so the pump is clearly working. Sometimes I give it a shake and it semi starts working…

What could be wrong?

SpyC · Apr 9, 2023

Is it running in saltwater or freshwater?

waqas_01 · Apr 9, 2023

Check the air inlet on the venturi. It may have completely clogged up with carbonate build up.

I guess before going that far, has it ever worked properly?

waqas_01 · Apr 9, 2023

SpyC brought up a good point too. Skimmers don't make proper bubbles in fresh water.

nzkiwi80 · Apr 9, 2023

It’s salt water… where’s the air inlet?

Derrick0580 · Apr 9, 2023

The inlet will be where the hose attached to the silencer attaches to the pump. Might just be time for a thorough cleaning. My reef octo does this if I don’t break it down around every 6-8 months of use. I run my skimmer 24/7

waqas_01 · Apr 10, 2023

nzkiwi80 said:
It’s salt water… where’s the air inlet?

The white tube that runs down to the pump - that connection at the pump is the air inlet venturi fitting. Pull that whole venturi fitting off the pump and look through the hole, it will most probably be clogged up.

cilyjr · Apr 10, 2023

This. The Venturi is likely clogged. When I used that skimmer I cleaned it out once a month.

waqas_01 · Apr 11, 2023

cilyjr said:
This. The Venturi is likely clogged. When I used that skimmer I cleaned it out once a month.

What seems to work nicely is to turn off the skimmer for a few minutes a night to get water into the air inlet portion. I go months between cleaning and really clean it for other gunk now rather than the carbonate build up. I have the skimmer programmed to turn off for 20mins each night.

If you're using something like coral snow aka calcium carbonate, this really seems to clog up the skimmer quickly. I would wait atleast 6-8 hours after dosing to turn the skimmer back on.

BroccoliFarmer · Apr 11, 2023

waqas_01 said:
What seems to work nicely is to turn off the skimmer for a few minutes a night to get water into the air inlet portion. I go months between cleaning and really clean it for other gunk now rather than the carbonate build up. I have the skimmer programmed to turn off for 20mins each night.

If you're using something like coral snow aka calcium carbonate, this really seems to clog up the skimmer quickly. I would wait atleast 6-8 hours after dosing to turn the skimmer back on.

Do you ever have problems with this forcing you to re-adjust the skimmer for proper level of the bubble dome?

ajm83 · Apr 11, 2023

Take the air intake hose off the silencer and squirt RO down it using a 20ml syringe or similar.

If that doesn't cure it, take it apart and check if the impeller is full of crud.

waqas_01 · Apr 11, 2023

BroccoliFarmer said:
Do you ever have problems with this forcing you to re-adjust the skimmer for proper level of the bubble dome?

I replaced my original pump with a jebao/jecod dc skimmer pump so I can't speak to the original pump having issues with this.

Currently I have no issues with readjustments with the dc skimmer pump. I've recently even had to only skim for 4-6 hours a day just to help bring my nitrates up from 0. Still no adjustments required.

ajm83 · Apr 12, 2023

waqas_01 said:
I replaced my original pump with a jebao/jecod dc skimmer pump so I can't speak to the original pump having issues with this.

Currently I have no issues with readjustments with the dc skimmer pump. I've recently even had to only skim for 4-6 hours a day just to help bring my nitrates up from 0. Still no adjustments required.

Nice, is that a drop in replacement? Or how much modding is required?

waqas_01 · Apr 12, 2023

ajm83 said:
Nice, is that a drop in replacement? Or how much modding is required?

I put a DCA2000 in. It doesn't get mounted to anything if thats an issue for anyone. The only mod would be instead of the threaded fitting for the diffuser plate, I used a small length of (1/2"?) hose to hold the plate to the pump. The venturi fitting fit perfectly through the original hole and holds the pump in place well enough. The new air silencer also fits on the existing mounting screw. Been running strong for the past three years.

I'll see if I can take some pics and post them up...just a little lazy during the week.