Bubble Magus Curve 5 and micro bubbles

lReef lKeeper · Dec 15, 2015

I'm sure this has been talked about, but after a lot of reading and many hours of TRYING to fix this ... I need some help.
I am running a Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer and the micro bubbles that are escaping is driving me insane !! I didn't have this issue before moving the system, but since moving it ... It's pretty bad. Everything is set up correctly (bubble plate and pump configuration). Has anyone else had this issue with these skimmers.

dzel · Dec 15, 2015

I had the same exact thing happen to me and I was told to just let it run until it stopped by itself. An entire week later it finally calmed down and now it's skimming like a champ

lReef lKeeper · Dec 15, 2015

Thanks !! It seems to be calming down some. lol

Randy Bergen · Feb 5, 2016

Mine also is overflowing like crazy. The cup actually fills with water so quickly, so I pulled the plug out of the drain tubing, and diverted it back into the intake section of my sump. I too have many micro bubbles. I have played with the adjustment knob, and also have raised it up hoping those thinks will help, but so far not much difference. Does anyone know what allowing it to just run for break in period actually does? I have also discovered if I slightly cover the intake on the top of the red muffler, it makes the bubbles and water level go to an acceptable level, but also difficult to achieve. This may be a really dumb question, but what is the adjustment on the top of the long tube doing? Are there any other adjustments, other than depth of water, and the top of the tube? Should the screw that holds the bubble plate in position need to be tight or loose? Does the flow rate through the sump have any effect? Thanks for your assistance.

PaReeferJ · Feb 7, 2016

Randy Bergen said:
Mine also is overflowing like crazy. The cup actually fills with water so quickly, so I pulled the plug out of the drain tubing, and diverted it back into the intake section of my sump. I too have many micro bubbles. I have played with the adjustment knob, and also have raised it up hoping those thinks will help, but so far not much difference. Does anyone know what allowing it to just run for break in period actually does? I have also discovered if I slightly cover the intake on the top of the red muffler, it makes the bubbles and water level go to an acceptable level, but also difficult to achieve. This may be a really dumb question, but what is the adjustment on the top of the long tube doing? Are there any other adjustments, other than depth of water, and the top of the tube? Should the screw that holds the bubble plate in position need to be tight or loose? Does the flow rate through the sump have any effect? Thanks for your assistance.

I have this skimmer and it works like a champ... What level is the water it is sitting in?

PaReeferJ · Feb 8, 2016

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bubble-magus-curve-5-protein-skimmer-a-review.105827/
This pretty much tells you everything about the skimmer.

Randy Bergen · Feb 10, 2016

OK, so I think I have tried about everything. My Curve 5 overflow issue is slowing down, but not really adjusting properly. The water level in the skimmer is barely above the bubble plate, and depending on my adjustment setting, sometime I even have bubbles coming OUT of the venture where water should be entering (I think water enters there.)
I have tried raising the skimmer more out of the water, or lowering it more into the water, and could not see any difference in performance. From what I have read and seen, I think the "water" level is supposed to be up near the neck of the curve 5. Should having the skimmer in deeper water help to make the water level rise to where it should be? Are there ANY adjustments on the pump itself? It seems if I restrict the air flow into the skimmer with my finger partially covering the air muffler intake I can get the water to raise to the proper level. Should all plastic screws be "snug" or "loose" at the base, and on the bubble plate, would this have any effect?
This is a brand new tank, with only 3 damsels currently. Could it have anything to do with not enough protein in the water? Or with cycling the tank? Would the speed of water flowing though the skimmer area have any effect?
This is making me crazy... I guess I need to get used to that

Thanks for your help, once again.

PaReeferJ · Feb 10, 2016

Do have any pics of the skimmer in the sump?
The recommended water level for this skimmer i believe is 9.5 to 11".

atoll said:
There is one other quirk with this which I am told is peculiar to the Chinese in that the higher the number you dial in the water flow the more you RESTRICT the water going in to the skimmer. As you restrict the water entering the skimmer from the pump so the bubbles and foam created rise within the riser tube. This does take a little getting used to and is the reverse thinking of most European skimmers. One would normally expect the lower the number dialed in the less water would enter the skimmer not the other way round as is the case here. Still once you get used to it itâ€™s no problem at all but it has caught a number of people out when first trying to adjust the skimmer. Adjustments are very easy to make no matter if you want a very dark skimmate or a lighter one.

there is no adjustments on the pump. The only adjustments is on the red knob and the water level the skimmer is sitting in.

Randy Bergen · Feb 10, 2016

PaReeferJ said:
Do have any pics of the skimmer in the sump?
The recommended water level for this skimmer i believe is 9.5 to 11".

there is no adjustments on the pump. The only adjustments is on the red knob and the water level the skimmer is sitting in.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll try and post a photo tonight.

When I built the sump I knew the level should be about 9.5"- 11" per mfg recommendations. Since most people claimed it worked better in lower levels of water, I build my level to be 9.5" max and thought I could raise it by putting things under it. It would not easy for me to increase the water level above 9.5"

Of course this sort of makes sense, putting the skimmer in deeper water should make the water rise taller in the neck. Would you agree with that? Has anyone found that deeper of water makes this run terrific?

Randy Bergen · Mar 17, 2016

Finally my skimmer is working "normally", and I thought I should share a few thoughts about what it took (I think) to make it work.

First off, when the skimmer is "overflowing" all the bubbles just run back into the sump, and I was looking at it thinking this does not seem right, but everything I read on-line, says, "Just let it run on Max, until it settles down".
So that's what I did, and the overflow just ran and ran back into the sump, for weeks. I keeps fiddling with raising the water level, or lowering the water level, which helped to small degrees, but still overflowing. I took the whole thing apart and reassembled it, looking for anything I might have done wrong, but nope all ok, and still overflowing.

Since absolutely zero protein was being removed from the tank, I eventually ran into issues with fish health deteriorating, I preformed water changes, and fiddled more and more with the skimmer. BUT FINALLY had a breakthrough, I figured I had to do something to get the protein out of the water, so I unplugged the collection cup drain tube, ran it out of the sump into a 5 gallon bucket, and let it run. After about 1 hour, and 1 gallon of overflow exiting the cup into the bucket, the overflow condition ceased!!! And ever since then it works perfectly.

I feel if that when people said, "just let it run", was the part about "outside of the sump into a bucket" just assumed? Or maybe I have discovered something that will help others?

Clarksski · Jun 29, 2016

Ok.. I know this is a few months old but I too need some advice.. If anyone know about the bubble magus NAC 5.5. I've had it working like a champ for 3 years. Lotsa dark thick skim..I moved my 90 gal about 10 feet from where it was in anticipation of my new reefer build. Ever since then, nothing from skimmer except overflowing, ginormous bubble that produce 0 skim... I ordered a new atman ph2000 pump yesterday from amazon.. Was waiting for me when I got home home from work... Hooked it all up..ands still nothing but overflow and giant bubbles..nothing is cracked or clogged and I'm at a standstill. Worried about algae etc since it's been about 6 weeks since I got a hood skim last...nitrates hovering around 30 now..