Bubble Magus Mini Q Chugging Noise: Solved

[PRB83]

I recently purchased a Bubble Magus Mini Q and struggled with it because it always made a consistent and loud chugging noise, like it was getting choked with too much water. After a lot of troubleshooting, I was finally able to diagnose the problem. There is extra water entering the skimmer from where the black pump housing connects to the clear skimmer body. I was able to use a rubber band as an o-ring and it solved the chugging problem. The skimmer now runs consistently without the extra noise.

The picture shows the location of the leak and where I put the rubber band to make a better seal.

Just wanted to share my experience with the group in case anyone ran into similar issues.

 

[Tahoe61]

Hmmm. I really like my Bubble Magus Nano skimmers. Glad you were able to nail down the problem and the solution. Thanks for sharing.

 

[PRB83]

A follow up on this: After my chugging noise returned and trying to fix the problem again, I found the culprit to be the "o-ring" that's inset in the pump housing. It's not thick enough and it sits flush with the pump housing. It doesn't seal properly against the skimmer housing, allowing water to come in and creating the "chugging" house. I fixed the problem by removing the o-ring, placing a small elastic hair tie in the groove, then reinstalling the o-ring. It has now worked great for a week with minimal noise and no chugging.