My New Toy

[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

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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


J


J

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by 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.

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). 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.

Originally Posted by Jason McK

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

[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.