My New Toy

[Jason McK]

This is my new bubble king 300 Ext.

I'm in Love and I haven't even set it up yet. The only question is where is my wife going to sleep

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/Aquarium/370%20Tank%20build/DSCN0891Medium.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/Aquarium/370%20Tank%20build/DSCN0890Medium.jpg

and one my with a test kit box for scale.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/Aquarium/370%20Tank%20build/DSCN0893Medium.jpg

Now I just have to re-plumb my entire system LOL

Oh BTW Thanks Mike @ Hidden Reef for the tremendous help as usual

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Dayyyyyum! *drool*

[christyf5]

Wow those things are bigger than I thought, theres never anything there for reference and I always assumed they were rather compact. I guess they don't call them the "King" for nothin' :wink:

Congrats! :mrgreen: Can't wait to see it in action!

[digital-audiophile]

If one could ever call a skimmer "sexy" that is the one!

[christyf5]

If one could ever call a skimmer "sexy" that is the one!

I think its all the hot red on it :wink:

[seanoman]

Hey I just recieved mine form Mike @ HR aswell. These units are incredible. The craftsmanship is second to none. Just cant wait to get our basement fish room started.

[Chin_Lee]

nice........ lets see it in action!

[Chowder]

Ya one day I'll own a real skimmer to, one day.

[Doug]

:mrgreen:

Wow, nice skimmer Jason. Only us aquarists could appreciate looking at great skimmers. :smile: Like a fine wine. :smile:

[Jason McK]

Some one say wine. I bring my own glass.

Well I'm still sourceing Metric PVC. I found some in Ontario so as soon as I order it I'll post pics

J

[Delphinus]

Metric PVC? :neutral:

Can't wait to see what you do with this :)

[Jason McK]

ya the PVC tubeing
All the Fittings in this Gen BK's are Metric

j

[niloc16]

good job jason. i've been seriously contemplating upgrading to a BK. what is you model rated for? has anyone heard them running. my H&S is quiet but it is still the loudest part of the system and if the BK's are quieter then it is a good selling pitch for the wife :lol:

[Skimmerking]

Jason I can't speak , man that piece of equipment I would say costed you in the mid 6k since Stepane sells them there.. hold on I have to wipe my mouth...:mrgreen:


KEWL

[blaster]

Wow your luckey

[albert_dao]

Jason I can't speak , man that piece of equipment I would say costed you in the mid 6k since Stepane sells them there.. hold on I have to wipe my mouth...:mrgreen:


KEWL



Less than 6k for sure nowadays.

[Jason McK]

If only I could spend 6K on a skimmer. thank the lord they have come down in price

J

[Jason McK]

good job jason. i've been seriously contemplating upgrading to a BK. what is you model rated for? has anyone heard them running. my H&S is quiet but it is still the loudest part of the system and if the BK's are quieter then it is a good selling pitch for the wife :lol:


It's rated for 317G to 793G but that is from a retailers site not Royal. I have yet to fire it up but it does have a air silencer on it

J

[Tom R]

Hi Jason

I can not wait to see that puppy in action. If hooked up to the GVRD water system we would probably have cleaner water all the way out here in Cloverdale.

Tom R

[seanoman]

Jason, Have you contacted Hidden Reef about the PVC piece, just ask for Marc and he should be able to do something for you instead of having to do an order from ontario.

Yeah Jason I can't wait to get this all setup and running too. All the threads I have ever read on these all have amazing reviews. And it's nice that the price finally came down to something reasonable aswell.

If anybody needs one contact HR and he will hook you up!

[Reefer Rob]

I made an adaptor for the metric PVC on my H&S skimmer to our standard PVC. Just take a piece of PVC pipe slightly larger than the metric size and heat it to 200 degrees in the oven. While it's still hot push it into the metric fitting. When it cools you have an adaptor.

[Jason McK]

Hey Seanoman,
I actually ordered the metric fittings from Ontario. Call me a loon but I like the idea of metric to metric. Of course I paid a lot more for a solution but....

[Joe Reefer]

Loon

[seanoman]

Hey sounds good Jason, just thought I would let you know so that you knew that there was another option. But yeah post some pics when you get it all setup I would love to see it running.

I wont have mine up for about a month or two, because I am just starting my tank build next week. But I am going to be doing a tank journal, so I will have lots of pics there.

As far as I know, we are the first in Canada to have received these units, so as much info that we can post will help others aswell.

Good luck with the setup!!

[Jason McK]

I know Ruth has had one or two now for some time. but don't know of anyone else. I'll try and get it up and running next week end. I opted for the cheapest shipping of the metric bits. so I'm not getting them until next week.
I have a lot of other tank projects under way.
1) new floor in the tank room
2) redo all the electrical
3) vent the entire fish room
all are under way and I havn't even got the honney do list for this week end yet

J

[seanoman]

Uh oh you better be on your best behaviour, so that the list doesn't continue to get bigger and bigger.

[Jason McK]

Seanoman, So what are you building How big?

J

[seanoman]

I am building a 6'long 30"deep and 24" tall which I believe is around 220 gallon. It's going to be an in wall setup in our basement which will be viewable from two sides. It will have it's own fish room behind it that will house all the equipment and other goodies.

But yeah I am hoping to start the construction next week and get things going. Then Marc aka Superfudge has been very generous in offering some help with ideas and such, which we are very fortunate for because the guy is a master when it comes to DIY.

[Jason McK]

I am building a 6'long 30"deep and 24" tall which I believe is around 220 gallon. It's going to be an in wall setup in our basement which will be viewable from two sides. It will have it's own fish room behind it that will house all the equipment and other goodies.

But yeah I am hoping to start the construction next week and get things going. Then Marc aka Superfudge has been very generous in offering some help with ideas and such, which we are very fortunate for because the guy is a master when it comes to DIY.

that sound a lot like mine. Same 2 sided view with the fishroom in the back. If you ever want to swing by and learn from all my mistakes :) let me know. Maybe you could drag Marc this way and check it out.

Check out my link to my tank build thread

J

[seanoman]

Yeah that sounds great we'll have to take you up on your offer one of these days. Just looked at your tank through your link and it looks very impressive. You've done a very nice job.

Can't wait to see what the skimmer will do to the tank though.

[Delphinus]

So ... hooked it up yet? Or still waiting on the metric PVC parts?

Man, that sounds sort of like a nuisance if you can't plumb it in without mail ordering pipe from somewhere :neutral:

If not setup yet, maybe you can satisfy some of my curiousity nonetheless: How are you hooking it up? i.e. on the floor next to the sump? Does it have to sit higher than the sump water level? What kind of feed pump are you using?

[Jason McK]

hey Tony,
Not hooked up yet. I was hoping for the PVC today but I'm sure the long week end added a couple of days to the shipping.
It's my own anal retentiveness that is causeing the delay. There are many easy solutions using imperial measurement PVC, but I like the idea of correctly fitting pieces.
I heard from Royal Executive that the next version of BK headed to North America will be all imperial fittings.

I have built a self unit above my sump and will put the skimmer on it. I'm using a MAG 5 for a feed pump. It's an odd design as the MAG feeds directly into the Dragon pump. I guess the feed pump is really only to ensure water gets to the skimmer. In hind sight I could have just gone with an internal BK. But this will look cooler ;)
Water level isn't really a factor with the external it just has a 600GPH max feed restriction.

That reminds me I'm going to call the PVC people

J

[andrewsk]

Jason,

Can you clarify on the External BK as I am thinking of adding one.

You need a pump to feed the skimmer pump? How exactly does that work? Seems kind of silly unless I misunderstand.


Keith

[Delphinus]

I assumed that BK's are recirc style skimmers when I asked how it's being fed.

Traditionally, skimmer pumps are both the driver behind drawing water into the skimmer and the driver behind pumping air and shredding the air bubbles inside of the skimmer.

A recirculating skimmer uses the pump to simply do the air part - ie. the pump intake draws water from the skimmer body itself. This theoretically increases contact time. But it means that the skimmer itself needs to be fed water by some other means - either gravity or separate feed pump.

[Jason McK]

Yes you need a pump to feed the skimmer. The idea is the skimmer can sit anywhere. NOT in the sump. so in theory you could have it plumbed across the room or on a self away from the sump. This is why you need a pump. you need to get the water to the skimmer. Bubble king also makes the more popular in sump skimmer in the same capacities as the external.

In my pictures you can see a red pipe coming off the red dragon pump. this is the input of the skimmer. I will be plumbing a MAG 5 to this intake pipe

I hope I answered your question. if not i can clarify further

J

[andrewsk]

No, that was a very clear reply. Thanks.

Does the skimmer need a pump rated at a certain GPH? Is there any way to adjust the imcoming flow? I cannot see it in your pics.

Thanks for helping me out.

[Jason McK]

I assumed that BK's are recirc style skimmers when I asked how it's being fed.

Traditionally, skimmer pumps are both the driver behind drawing water into the skimmer and the driver behind pumping air and shredding the air bubbles inside of the skimmer.

A recirculating skimmer uses the pump to simply do the air part - ie. the pump intake draws water from the skimmer body itself. This theoretically increases contact time. But it means that the skimmer itself needs to be fed water by some other means - either gravity or separate feed pump.

that's the odd part Tony. As I see it. The feed pump feeds directly into the needle wheel Pump.(as I described in the above post). the key to BK design is the defusion plate and the high quality materials. In a in-sump version there is only 1 pump. So this is not a recerc.
Not to send people to another forum. But the Zeovit forum has an entire thread dedicated to BK and a lot of photos of them working
if interested go HERE (http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229)


J


J

[Jason McK]

No, that was a very clear reply. Thanks.

Does the skimmer need a pump rated at a certain GPH? Is there any way to adjust the imcoming flow? I cannot see it in your pics.

Thanks for helping me out.


the BK 300 external recommendations are between 300 and 600 GPH. going over is said to cause turbulence in the reaction chamber and this lowers efficiency. regulating incoming flow would have to be done by a ball valve not supplied

J

[Delphinus]

The feed line (so to speak) attaching into the plumbing versus attaching into the skimmer doesn't make an ultimate difference though - there is a feed line controlled externally (other pump or whatever), and the skimmer pump itself draws water from the T fitting (where the feedline comes in). I assumed that the line going into the white bottom tray was drawing water from the skimmer body. If it isn't - what is that line used for?

The insump model is basically the same but instead of a T, the pump intake is open to the water. So it draws water from the sump directly. So yes, the internal version looks to be a non-recirculating model, but the external model I thought was still a recirculating design.

Which is immaterial, I asked a question (what pump are you feeding the pump with) and you answered (Mag 5). :biggrin: I just thought I'd try to help answer Andrew's question. Recirculation in a skimmer is, I've found, not as beneficial as one might think. Plus, there is a fair amount of unknowns (IMO) behind optimal feed rates. However, it does still make sense in certain scenarios, such as the external versions of skimmers as well as multi pump skimmers. So, anyhow, there ya go. ;)

that's the odd part Tony. As I see it. The feed pump feeds directly into the needle wheel Pump.(as I described in the above post). the key to BK design is the defusion plate and the high quality materials. In a in-sump version there is only 1 pump. So this is not a recerc.
Not to send people to another forum. But the Zeovit forum has an entire thread dedicated to BK and a lot of photos of them working
if interested go HERE (http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229)

[andrewsk]

Thanks. That is kind of a turn off on the external for me. I hate guessing the most efficient GPH on the feed pump.

If the defusion plate and the high quality materials are the only thing that sets BK apart, what is the difference between this and say an ATI or other defusion plate type skimmer.

Good parts only go so far I would think. Like with the longevity of the skimmer.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Jason McK]

thanks Tony I actually never really looked at what the attached pump does. I thought it was just drawing air. but your right it is recurc.

Andrewsk: the ATI is making being talked about a lot and is proving to be a great skimmer. I can't say anything + or - about it.


I did a lot of research on skimmers. My 370G tank is almost a year and 1/2 old and just now I'm retireing my OA beckett. (BTW It's still kick butt). My first love was the H&S recirculating skimmers. but found myself always finding comparisons of all skimmer against the BK. So why buy something that might compare well with a Bubble king when I can get a Bubble king. Plus BK is making great headway in north America. With a local wholesaler now distributing them (Proline), I believe support will become stronger in Canada

j

[Jason McK]

Finally got it all set up and then had to go to Toronto for the week so finally here are some pictures
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/DSCN0991Medium.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/DSCN0992Medium.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/DSCN0993Medium.jpg

I cleaned the cup last night it is to take up to 4 weeks to break in but this is over night skim amount
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/Jasonmck/DSCN0994Medium.jpg

[niloc16]

what was your last skimmer jason. it was an H&S wasnt it? how is the noise of the BK to your last one. looks slick buddy. good job

[Joe Reefer]

Looks good, where, how do you control the foam height? i dont see a gate valve.

[albert_dao]

The ATI pushes way more water through the body than is optimal when compared with the BK's. They still skim circles around comparitively priced skimmers though.

[Jason McK]

I never did get the H&S. I've been using a OA becket up to this point.

Joe
Just below the white 't' there is a union. This can be loosened and the riser tube lifted higher. this control the water level.
I was away this week and it's the break in period so I left it low so my wife wouldn't have to deal with it

J

[Jason McK]

The ATI pushes way more water through the body than is optimal when compared with the BK's. They still skim circles around comparitively priced skimmers though.

I played with the ATI a bit in a LFS and there really isn't any thing to compare. The ATI (Great Skimmer) but the acrylic is very thin and the quality is no where near the BK.
I have heard great things about the ATI but have also heard that water hight in the sump is a huge factor and many people have had performance issues because of this.

J

[untamed]

Are you pulling water UP from the sump to get into the skimmer? Will the skimmer drain into the sump when the power is off? It looks to me like the pump wouldn't self prime in that position.

I must be missing something...

[Jason McK]

That is the recurc pump there is a feed pump in the sump

J

[Delphinus]

Err ... hmmm, actually now I see what he's saying too. If the power is off, won't the water drain out the skimmer via the feed pump line? Or is there some kind of check valve or is there an "up and down" part to the piping on the inside of the skimmer such that the water won't drain to the sump?

[Ruth]

Jason - where did you manage to find metric PVC to extend the drain line. I looked all over the place to try and find some but was never successful.

[Jason McK]

Yes the water will drain out of the feed line.
the supply pump is in the sump and is an Eheim Universal 1260. So when I power off the unit the Eheim starts first and when the RD is primed i turn on that pump.

J

Ruth I found the plumbing HERE (http://www.dwyermfg.com/pvcmetricpipefittings.html)

[Redrover]

Jason nice looking beast...are they built to go in sump:question:

[Jason McK]

Ya BK have a full line of internal and external skimmers

J

[untamed]

I suppose that just means that the dragon will run dry for a few moments when power comes back on after a power failure. Within a few moments, the eheim would be pushing water into that pump so it wouldn't damage itself.

Yes the water will drain out of the feed line.
the supply pump is in the sump and is an Eheim Universal 1260. So when I power off the unit the Eheim starts first and when the RD is primed i turn on that pump.

J

Ruth I found the plumbing HERE (http://www.dwyermfg.com/pvcmetricpipefittings.html)