[slief]

Originally Posted by sensei

I have a BK 250 SM Skimmer.
I have around 30 fish in my system, 8 of them big tangs.
skimmer has been running around 16 months.
beside cleaning the cup, I have never cleaned the pump or venturi.
my NO3 is a little high around 15ppm.
Can you tell me what is the routine cleaning maintainence I should do to my BB.
can It be that the efficiency of the BB is reduced due to the lack of cleaning?
please let me know what to inspect and how to clean it?

thanks a lot

Here is a thread on pump maintenance in the Bubble King forum. Dissasembling the pump including removing the rotor and a quick 10 minute soak in vinegar of all parts except the o-rings and then a good scrub of the pump inside and out will keep the pump looking and running like new. I clean my skimmer pumps every 4 or so months. If the venturi port gets restricted from salt creep, that will reduce airflow. Also, if your load changes or the skimmer may need some additional fine tuning. Lastly, skimmers remove dissolved organics. You can't expect your skimmer to maintain your nitrates at 0. That is more of a function of bacteria being able to keep up with the rate of nutrients going in and other processes in the system consuming or not consuming nutrients as well as husbandry. That said, not having a skimmer can make it worse. I don't see 15ppm nitrates as an issue. Mine are around 25ppm, my Po4 is .25 ppm, my corals all grow like weeds and I have no algae issues. I also don't do much maintance. I do 5 gallon a day automated water changes, I have a refugium with a DSB and chaeto but I don't trim my chaeto regularly. As mentioned above, my system is very healthy and thriving. It's been up at this house for 20 years now and there isn't much I would change. It's balanced, stable, consistent and healthy which is what we all strive for. As a result, I don't chase numbers.

Anyhow, here is a thread on the pump maintenance. The first couple posts cover both RD1 and RD3 pumps.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2573406

Originally Posted by abhishek@1985

Finally - 10 years dream came true to hold a Bubble King in hand and enter the Royal Exclusive club. Got a DC 150 for a 90 gallon system - mostly acropora with 10 fishes.

Started tuning by having the skimmer in 6.75 inches of sump water . The nozzle on the red dragon is twisted to 4.5 turns according to advice given by Slief to allow more air to enter the skimmer chamber.

Keeping these constant started tuning and aiming to keep the water level where it starts to form bubbles 2 inches below the white collar where the skimmer cup sits.

Bubble King Double Cone 150 users - any thoughts or am I doing it right ?

Regards,
Abhishek

I think you are right. Load, surface tension in the water etc will have a big impact on the optimum level inside the skimmer. You are ultimately aiming for consistency and nice dense pillow like foam up into the neck and with the smaller double cone, having the line where bubbles turn to foam an inch or two below the neck is best.