Bubble Magus B9 skimmer

[jft]

Guess I made a mistake thinking a larger skimmer was better. Replaced my reef octo 150 ss skimmer with a bubble magus B9. Over one week NO SKimming! Larger FO tank. If you adjust skimmer left or right skimming column breaks and goes done. Only way to get column to rise by adjusting airflow with a valve. Guess I will go back to my smaller Reef Octo that worked well. As my triggers and angeLs grew I thought a larger skimmer was needed. My Bad.

 

[therootcause]

Did you have the Curve 7 elite on this tank before? I was looking through your old threads for a build thread but found lots of posts on skimmers. What is the water depth and was the skimmer brand new and in use for only one week?

Is this your tank or a clients tank?

Is the water flow OUTPUT controlled by this adjustment mechanism that I have highlighted below?

 

[jft]

Yes that's the mechanism.In 8 inches of water. My frustration is the adjustment valve cuts the skimming column.Reef octo much better in my opinion.

 

[therootcause]

Yes that's the mechanism.In 8 inches of water. My frustration is the adjustment valve cuts the skimming column. Reef octo much better in my opinion.

Are you interested in assistance with troubleshooting? If not, end rant, mods can close.

 

[jft]

I am interested in getting the skimmer to SKIM.Not sure why u think I am ranting.My experience is with mostly reef octo.Never had a Bubble magus before.Got it because in my tank as I stated my fish have grown and get fed daily.I wanted what I felt would be a better skimmer.Thats all.

 

[therootcause]

Ensure pump intake is not clogged. If purchased used, disassemble and clean in citric acid. Open the discharge completely and take water level up to 10-10.5" in the sump. I don't have that exact skimmer but I have a Curve 7 and it's certainly in more than 8" of water (I think BM recommends 9.5-11"). Dial back the discharge water until you get a bubble column. Wait another 2 weeks and make minor adjustments to prevent it from overflowing.

 

[exnisstech]

Not the same but I recently installed a curve 5 and had to raise it up far higher than the instructions stated. I'm not home now but I believe I had to get it up to 6" of water height before it would stop over flowing. Took almost 3 weeks to break in also.
EDIT: it's been working fine for a couple months now.

 

[jft]

Ensure pump intake is not clogged. If purchased used, disassemble and clean in citric acid. Open the discharge completely and take water level up to 10-10.5" in the sump. I don't have that exact skimmer but I have a Curve 7 and it's certainly in more than 8" of water (I think BM recommends 9.5-11"). Dial back the discharge water until you get a bubble column. Wait another 2 weeks and make minor adjustments to prevent it from overflowing.

Ok thanks I cleaned the Venturi already.I will increase sump water level.Thanks

 

[therootcause]

Please let me know if that fixes the problems. Best of luck.

 

[C_AWOL]

Depending on the organic load + sump turn over rate it will take a lot longer to fully break in for that big of a skimmer.

My own reef octopus elite 220 took 3 weeks to break in for my 470g fowlr thats very heavily stocked whereas my supermarin 250 on the 450g skimmed day 1. Neither are considered bad by any metric but patience is key

 

[jft]

Thanks