Need Skimmer Help

tropicaldreams · May 18, 2016

Currently have a Bubble Magus Curve 9 that works well for a day or two and then no longer bubbles correctly. I bought this skimmer used and it made some weird noises so I took it apart and you could see the impeller was shot. The seller purchased a new impeller and shipped it to me as a sign of good faith. I ran the skimmer in a buck of salt water full throttle to break in the new impeller for two weeks then moved it to my tank about a month ago. The skimmer is inconsistent at best. At full depth of water (10.5") the skimmer constantly overflows. I currently have it on about a 3" stand and the skimmer was perfect for two days and then this morning it wasn't even bubbling high enough to reach the neck. Thoughts or suggestion appreciated. Considering just getting a new skimmer also, so any thoughts on that would be great.

Tank Specs: 110G Tall with 30G sump, tank is dominated by six seahorses, two clowns, two fire fish, and a diamond goby. Corals are acans, zoas, rock nems, gorgs, leptos, and mushrooms.

Thanks.

cjd · May 18, 2016

I've used bubble magus skimmers before , I think they are decent skimmer for their price point. Actually planning on the curve 5 for my 75 build. Anyway......I have found the skimmers work best in about 7.5 inches of water . Always overflowed on me if I did their recommendations so ? . maybe check for salt creep in the air line tubing or the pump itself is getting ready to die. Hard to say if its second hand , used items you would literally have to give me and I probably still wouldn't take it, I will not buy used.
That's not to say the skimmer is working fine now , I would tweak it a little to raise the foam where you want it and watch it for a couple days and adjust as necessary.

cjd · May 18, 2016

Just remembered, I had a nac 3.5 that when I put my arm in the tank it would almost run flat , the foam head would drop and take awhile to build back up , so something to think about.

mushroomrob · May 18, 2016

I've had nothing but bad experiences with the Bubble Magnus series, whether it be Curve 5 or 9. Either they're loud, take weeks to produce skimmate, overflow, or just are difficult to set up. I'd go with a Reef Octopus or SCA instead.

luke33 · May 18, 2016

tropicaldreams said:
Currently have a Bubble Magus Curve 9 that works well for a day or two and then no longer bubbles correctly. I bought this skimmer used and it made some weird noises so I took it apart and you could see the impeller was shot. The seller purchased a new impeller and shipped it to me as a sign of good faith. I ran the skimmer in a buck of salt water full throttle to break in the new impeller for two weeks then moved it to my tank about a month ago. The skimmer is inconsistent at best. At full depth of water (10.5") the skimmer constantly overflows. I currently have it on about a 3" stand and the skimmer was perfect for two days and then this morning it wasn't even bubbling high enough to reach the neck. Thoughts or suggestion appreciated. Considering just getting a new skimmer also, so any thoughts on that would be great.

Tank Specs: 110G Tall with 30G sump, tank is dominated by six seahorses, two clowns, two fire fish, and a diamond goby. Corals are acans, zoas, rock nems, gorgs, leptos, and mushrooms.

Thanks.

Running it in 10.5" is going to cause it to overflow constantly as they are made to be ran in 7-8" water height. Is the water fluctuating in the skimmer compartment at all or do you have a baffle installed? If your water fluctuates in the skimmer section your skimmer internal water level will rise and fall, causing an overflow or causing to dry of skimmate.

tropicaldreams · May 18, 2016

luke33 said:
Running it in 10.5" is going to cause it to overflow constantly as they are made to be ran in 7-8" water height. Is the water fluctuating in the skimmer compartment at all or do you have a baffle installed? If your water fluctuates in the skimmer section your skimmer internal water level will rise and fall, causing an overflow or causing to dry of skimmate.

no my water level doesn't change at all. its a constant 10.5" unless the return pump shuts off then it rises. but the skimmer is programmed to shut off if the return pump is off and not turn on for 20 mins after return pump comes back on. the website says 9 to 10.5 inches is preferred. it actually reads 25 to 27cm. I've raised it to 7" about and it was running fine for two days and then this morning the water level had dropped all the way to the bubble plate. even at max open it wont reach the neck. it has a brand new impeller.

tropicaldreams · May 18, 2016

mushroomrob said:
I've had nothing but bad experiences with the Bubble Magnus series, whether it be Curve 5 or 9. Either they're loud, take weeks to produce skimmate, overflow, or just are difficult to set up. I'd go with a Reef Octopus or SCA instead.

yeah im on the verge of getting a new one I think. I even called sea side aquatics and they were dumb founded. my reef octopus on my 65 really isn't any better.

cjd · May 18, 2016

7.5 to 8 inch is the depth you want. the .5 inch makes a difference as 8.5 would probably overflow. DO NOT GO BY MANUFACTURES RECOMENDATIONS for the water level look up your skimmer on any website store and all agree on one thing 7.5 to 8 inches of water depth.

luke33 · May 18, 2016

Do you dose any water conditioner or additives or anything like that? They will sometimes knock the skimmer head down. Also if you don't have adequate bioload your foam head will knock down and just look like soda fizz. OR could just be a crappy pump : )

mcarroll · May 18, 2016

tropicaldreams said:
I ran the skimmer in a buck of salt water full throttle to break in the new impeller for two weeks

It's possible to fry the impeller magnet and the whole pump running in that small of the volume of water for so long (I've done it).

Even if that turns out not to have happened here, keep it in mind.

Can you post a picture of the skimmer skimming as well as one it's not doing so well so we can compare?

It is definitely normal for a skimmer to idle for a period every day and just bubble without putting foam in the skimmer cup.

If a skimmer is constantly putting foam in the skimmer cup that means the skimmer is too small for the system it's on and it is never catching up to the bio load.

mushroomrob · May 19, 2016

If you decide to get a new one, let us know what you get!

tropicaldreams · May 21, 2016

mushroomrob said:
If you decide to get a new one, let us know what you get!

I'm leaning towards the aquamaxx q3

tropicaldreams · May 21, 2016

luke33 said:
Do you dose any water conditioner or additives or anything like that? They will sometimes knock the skimmer head down. Also if you don't have adequate bioload your foam head will knock down and just look like soda fizz. OR could just be a crappy pump : )

I don't dose.

mushroomrob · May 21, 2016

I've heard very positive things about AquaMaxx. Having experience with the AquaMaxx HOB-1, I can say that they're quiet, easy to get going, and work super silently and efficiently.