Bubble Magus Curve 9 Overflowing?

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

Reccomended water level 9.5"-11" have it sitting on 1.5" pvc to put it at 10.5". It is still filling the collection cup pretty fast. Have it on max setting until tank is cycled. Ammonia is high 4-8ppm and also just added bio magnet clarifier that came with caribsea sand. Anyone know why it is overflowing so quickly? Cup gets filled every hour or so. Thank you.

saintsreturn · Mar 7, 2019

I have mine restricted all the way down at one and empty it about 1 a week or so. When you say max setting, do you mean 1 or 10? If i run anything over a 3 it overflows fast

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

saintsreturn said:
I have mine restricted all the way down at one and empty it about 1 a week or so. When you say max setting, do you mean 1 or 10? If i run anything over a 3 it overflows fast

What kind of skimmer do you have? The bubble magus have min 1 2 3 and max. I do believe the max makes the most bubbles, but I dont think it should be filling the collection cup this fast.

MaiReef · Mar 7, 2019

Raise it higher. Try 3”.

saintsreturn · Mar 7, 2019

Kasey Grohowski said:
What kind of skimmer do you have? The bubble magus have min 1 2 3 and max. I do believe the max makes the most bubbles, but I dont think it should be filling the collection cup this fast.

Curve 7. Mine has more than three settings. The wider open, the more water it brings in. So i keep it low to get a thinker skim.

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

MaiReef said:
Raise it higher. Try 3”.

The water level in the sump is at 12" and my skimmer is sitting on 1.5" pvc. Do you still think that's too high?

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

Setting 3 seems to be keeping bubbles down.

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

saintsreturn said:
Curve 7. Mine has more than three settings. The wider open, the more water it brings in. So i keep it low to get a thinker skim.

Does your control setting click? Or does it just rotate smoothly?

MaiReef · Mar 7, 2019

Kasey Grohowski said:
The water level in the sump is at 12" and my skimmer is sitting on 1.5" pvc. Do you still think that's too high?

Definitely 3” pvc or stand then

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

MaiReef said:
Definitely 3” pvc or stand then

That would put it below the recommended water level, says 9.5"-11"

MaiReef · Mar 7, 2019

Correct. You will find you have more control and are able to reduce bubbles for spikes

saintsreturn · Mar 7, 2019

Kasey Grohowski said:
Does your control setting click? Or does it just rotate smoothly?

rotates smoothly. I need to visually look at it each time.

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

saintsreturn said:
rotates smoothly. I need to visually look at it each time.

Okay good, I was wondering if that was normal.

saintsreturn · Mar 7, 2019

Kasey Grohowski said:
Okay good, I was wondering if that was normal.

LOL, sure is. And now it barely ever gets touched. For all i know its stuck in place now. Dialing it back each day was annoying but it holds pretty solid now and i do not have any issues.

erk · Mar 7, 2019

Kasey Grohowski said:
Does your control setting click? Or does it just rotate smoothly?

I have a brand new Curve 7 and it only has 3 settings, well 5 if you count min and max. I have mine set at ~2.5 and produces a dark tea colored skimmate. I've raised it 1.5 inches so it sits at around 10.5 inches deep. The max and min setting are inverted to the internal body water level. At max, this is the lowest water level in the body of the skimmer, min the highest. The settings refer to the opening from which the water is exiting the skimmer.

I think you should turn off your skimmer or remove the collection cup until the cycle is over. Skimming is just removing the beneficial bacteria reproducing in your tank.

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

erk said:
I have a brand new Curve 7 and it only has 3 settings, well 5 if you count min and max. I have mine set at ~2.5 and produces a dark tea colored skimmate. I've raised it 1.5 inches so it sits at around 10.5 inches deep. The max and min setting are inverted to the internal body water level. At max, this is the lowest water level in the body of the skimmer, min the highest. The settings refer to the opening from which the water is exiting the skimmer.

I think you should turn off your skimmer or remove the collection cup until the cycle is over. Skimming is just removing the beneficial bacteria reproducing in your tank.

Hm my skimmate is like white, brand new skimmer. I've heard skimming is good for bacteria because higher oxygen levels during cycle.

Jon Fishman · Mar 7, 2019

I think it just takes awhile to dial skimmers in.

erk · Mar 7, 2019

Kasey Grohowski said:
Hm my skimmate is like white, brand new skimmer. I've heard skimming is good for bacteria because higher oxygen levels during cycle.

I would agree that the increased oxygen levels are good, but by actually collecting the skimmate, you are removing bacteria from the system. This is why I would remove the collection cup. And like you said, the skimmate is white, aka it's just water right now. I typically don't run the skimmer until the ugly stage begins.

Jon Fishman said:
I think it just takes awhile to dial skimmers in.

When I installed my Curve 7, it took about 5 minutes to dial it in. I didn't have to fiddle with it at all. I didn't even rinse it or run it in vinegar, nothing. Put it into the sump and it pulled dark skimmate instantly. Honestly, I love this skimmer. Wish I had bought it years ago.

Jon Fishman · Mar 7, 2019

erk said:
When I installed my Curve 7, it took about 5 minutes to dial it in. I didn't have to fiddle with it at all. I didn't even rinse it or run it in vinegar, nothing. Put it into the sump and it pulled dark skimmate instantly. Honestly, I love this skimmer. Wish I had bought it years ago.

My curve 5 will be here in a few days...... I hope I have the same results!

EDIT: You have a 7 in a 40g?!?! Man.... I may be WAY under-estimating what I need!

Kasey Grohowski · Mar 7, 2019

erk said:
I would agree that the increased oxygen levels are good, but by actually collecting the skimmate, you are removing bacteria from the system. This is why I would remove the collection cup. And like you said, the skimmate is white, aka it's just water right now. I typically don't run the skimmer until the ugly stage begins.

When I installed my Curve 7, it took about 5 minutes to dial it in. I didn't have to fiddle with it at all. I didn't even rinse it or run it in vinegar, nothing. Put it into the sump and it pulled dark skimmate instantly. Honestly, I love this skimmer. Wish I had bought it years ago.

Hm okay yeah, do you recommend running it without the cup or just not run it at all?