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Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E External Protein Skimmer

I think the time has come to replace the Seaclone 100 Protein Skimmer. I has been doing its job as well as it can but I am finally at a point in the setup were I would like to purchase something of better quality and more efficiency. My only draw back is that I do not have a sump so I am limited to Hang On Back Protein Skimmers. I have heard that Bubble Magus Protein Skimmers have a quality build, reliable pumps and are extremely efficient and best of all they are not too extremely expensive. So I came across the Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E External Hang On Back Protein Skimmer. I have only been able to find a handful or short videos but none that really concentrate on the amount of skimmate production on YouTube. So it is making my decision to purchase one a bit difficult. I was curious to know if anyone has any experience with these Protein Skimmers?



Photograph: Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E.
Website: http://www.bubble-magus.com/en/productShow.asp?id=968







Blog Update: Monday, June 27, 2011 at 8:24pm

So I decided to take the plunge and purchase the Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E External Protein Skimmer which I ordered from Eye Poppin Corals. I was happy to find the Protein Skimmer at $122.00 shipped which was about $50.00 below the normal retail price but was soon disappointed when I received a call from Eye Poppin Corals stating that the price reflected on the website was wrong and that I would be need to be charged an additional $47.00 to meet the actual sale price. But in desperate need of an adequately sized Protein Skimmer I decided to just pay the difference and was given from shipping so at least I was compensated something for my trouble. I expect my package to arrive on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 and I will update with a review and photographs at that point.




Blog Update: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:06pm

It finally arrived after 5 long days of waiting. Federal Express dropped off my Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E External Protein Skimmer this evening and I was like a kid in a candy store. My first thoughts are that the construction quality is amazing! It was much better then I expected for a protein skimmer priced at $170.00. However, documentation was fair at best. Only a few documents giving a brief description of the warranty and overall description of the parts was included. Also among the documentation was a certificate of authenticity, some Bubble Magus stickers and additional o-ring for the adjustment valve for the setting of the water level. It was much bigger then I had imagined and would have dwarfed my 10 gallon aquarium with ease. The noise level from the pump is comparable to the Seaclone 100 Protein Skimmer. I was hoping that it would be a bit more silent but it not intolerable. Also it would have helped if the documentation stated that in order to prime the skimmer you must fill that body with saltwater from the aquarium and close the air valve. After a few seconds it begins to process water nicely. I believe the best feature of all it that I have no micro bubbles entering the aquarium whatsoever! Also it came in all white as opposed to the red, white and blue coloration on the website. At this point I couldn't be happier. So I am hoping that the performance is as equally impressive as my first thoughts.
































Photographs: Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E External Protein Skimmer Out of Box Setup.


Blog Update: Sunday, July 04, 2011 at 3:12am

It has been about 1 week since my initial setup of the Bubbles Magus BM-NAC5E Protein Skimmer. I noticed that the pump was making an odd noise so I figured I would do some minor tinkering with shutting off the Protein Skimmer yesterday and turning it back on with the Air Valve fully closed. This resolved the noise and seemed to increase the foam head density as I opened the Air Valve to the appropriate level (about 40%) which caused the foam head to rise about 20% up the Riser Tube in the Collection Cup. I also added some about 50lbs of Marco Rock later that morning and within about 30 minutes I had some nasty gunk pulled out of the water and it has been performing like flawlessly since that point. I initially got a ton of Micro Bubbles from the tinkering but those have seem to subside quite a bit and are almost not present and the Foam Head has been consistent. I can say so far that I am extremely happy with the overall performance. But I am definitely sad that the Bubbles Magus website has a lack of information regarding the operation and troubleshooting of the Protein Skimmer in general.





Photographs: Bubbles Magus BM-NAC5E performance & Foam Head production after tinkering with the Pump and Air Valve settings.



Photographs: Bubbles Magus BM-NAC5E Micro Bubble byproduct after tinkering with the Air Valve and Pump settings.





Photographs: Bubbles Magus BM-NAC5E Skimmate production 30 minutes after placing 50 lbs of Marco Rock into the aquarium after tinkering with the settings.


Blog Update: Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 6:56pm

So it has been almost a whole two weeks using the Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E External Hang On Back Protein Skimmer on my 40 gallon Breeder Aquarium with 50 lbs of Marco Rocks and 30 lbs of live sand and I have to say that I am extremely please with the performance on this Protein Skimmer. As you can see from the photographs below this is what it pulls out on a weekly basis with practically no bio-load other then the Live Rock and Live Sand. Most of the Skim Mate actually flows out the drain from the collection cup with is about 1 foot long and 0.25 of an inch thick (I currently don't have the drain hose plugged into an external Waste Collector). Also if you take a look at the photographs the Skim Mate is so dark that you can see the coloration difference through the tubing as compared to the tubing to allow air into the Protein Skimmer.







Photographs: Bubble Magus BM-NAC5E weekly Skim Mate production.