Bubble Magus Curve D9 Protein Skimmer

[PerplexyHexy]

Anyone have experience with these skimmers? Ive been trying to dial it in for almost 2 weeks now and Im not getting anywhere... tried everything... skimmer is not new, its used... so its past break in period... system is brand new with 300+ gallons... half natural sea water and half synthetic mix... 200+ lbs liverock and 5 lbs. ceramic media from display tank... skimmer isnt pulling anything...

 

[sbash]

I got the D5 (I think) as part of a full system I purchased. It is the worst skimmer I have ever used (I have had maybe 10 different skimmers). I didn't use it right away, so I had to break it in again. After about a month, it was still either not bubbling up, or overflowing like crazy. I never did figure out how the dial works, it is not a normal valve like my Aquamax has...

Anyway, to get it to skim properly, I have to painstakingly adjust it's height in relation to the water level. Every day, I raised it up about 1cm until I got close to where it should be and then fine tuned it from there. It stopped working shortly after, so I have no idea if it would still be skimming properly.

The manual should say how far into the water it should be, so start with that level and slowly raise or lower it to tune it.

If it is a brand new system, is it possible you don't have the bioload to 'pull' anything?

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Wonderful... it says 10” deep... its right at 10” in sump... its doing exactly what your saying... im not getting any foam what so ever... not sure if there are 0 nutrients in the water to pull out or what...

 

[PerplexyHexy]

It should be pulling something out... because I put two cubes of mysis in the filter sock and also treated with phosphateRx to bring down po4... so it should be pulling something...

 

[sbash]

Wonderful... it says 10” deep... its right at 10” in sump... its doing exactly what your saying... im not getting any foam what so ever... not sure if there are 0 nutrients in the water to pull out or what...

Sounds like it might need to be deeper?

Do you have any head room in the sump? If so, you could try closing the valve (assuming can tell where closed is) and increasing the water level as a test.

If increasing the water level helps, then you just need to create more back pressure. You should be able to do that by 'plugging' the vent holes on the bottom. Hopefully I'm not way off base here, lol...

 

[justmee]

When you adjust the water output from min to max and increase the DC pump power, does the water/bubble level rise inside the skimmer?

If it does, you should adjust the water/bubble level so it sits right on the bottom of the cup and let it run for a period of time.

If not, have you opened the pump and check if there's any problem with the impeller?

Hope this helps, and goodluck.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I will check when I get home, but so far Ive run it at 25% and 50% on the controller... and then like you said use the dial to get the level 1/4” above the start of the collection cup and then let it run all day... when I get home from work or wake up to check its either bubbling like crazy with no skimmate or the cup is completely full of water

 

[PerplexyHexy]

It just will not get a good head of foam in the cup

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I took the skimmer apart and cleaned it real good in vinegar bath... wondering if I put it together wrong or something... Something is definitely not right

 

[justmee]

its either bubbling like crazy with no skimmate or the cup is completely full of water

For some reason I encountered the same with several occasions after I perform a water change. When this happens, I turn off my skimmer for several days (max up to 2 weeks), and turn it on and it would skim a good head of foam again -- I can't explain why it does that, but I have encountered the same situation with my other skimmers that I have used. Be patient and keep trying. Hope this helps.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

My po4 was at around .68 so I treated with 100 drops of phosphateRx... it should have pulled a bunch of gunk out of that water overnight... thats why I know something aint right

 

[justmee]

My po4 was at around .68 so I treated with 100 drops of phosphateRx... it should have pulled a bunch of gunk out of that water overnight... thats why I know something aint right

May not be the case, and may not be true... a couple of weeks ago, I put in some phosphate media filter in my sump, and I encountered the same reaction with my skimmer where it would cause my skimmer to not have a good head of foam. I noticed for some reason if I put any type of media filtration in my tank, it would cause my skimmer not to skim. So I think you adding the 100 drops of phosphateRx has caused it not to skim. Try setting your skimmer to the most minimum setting for a week, and gradually increase the setting until you see a good head of foam. This is just from my experience.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Was doing this before the addition of phosphateRx, but I will try

 

[2una]

I will check when I get home, but so far Ive run it at 25% and 50% on the controller... and then like you said use the dial to get the level 1/4” above the start of the collection cup and then let it run all day... when I get home from work or wake up to check its either bubbling like crazy with no skimmate or the cup is completely full of water

I run that same D9 skimmer 250mm/10inch .....i run the controller 1-2 click below red led, needs to be lowered if it's just been cleaned. So maybe up the controller some & then go back to the air/water mix.

Also check above the pump - the top white disk - (the blank with no holes part on that) should be aligned with the pump water outlet & NOT have the part with holes sitting above that outlet