New Bubble Blaster Pump from Octopus

I've been running an Octopus Extreme 200 with the stock Sicce pump and a mesh mod. I heard about Octopus coming out with their new Bubble Blaster series pump and emailed them to see if I could try it on the 200. They mentioned that it would be tough to plumb in (it was, but I finally figured out a good way).

All I can say is this thing pumps out the bubbles. Big difference.

 

Where did you get it, as I have the same skimmer and have never been impressed. The ATB PPW I got is already missing pins and its only a few months old. I finally put in the mesh mod and now it is better but still not blown away....

 

Pics!

 

Sorry it took so long to respond. I got the pump from Coral Vue.

I thought the mod was going to be relatively straight forward since the Sicce pump and thus the 200 Extreme has a union on it. I figured I'd just go buy a union that fit, some PVC reducers to get the size down from the 1.5" output from the Bubble Blaster to the smaller Sicce output size.

Not so fast Batman...

The unions used must be metrics or something because nothing at my great local hardware store, Home Depot or Lowes had anything that fit. I had to get creative.

It turns out that a 1" schedule 20 PVC pipe will just BARELY fit OVER the output of the Sicce apparatus that connects to the existing union. So I hacked off the output about 1/2" from the existing union using, appropriately enough, a hack saw, filed down the edges and jammed it into the thin walled PVC pipe. Now I could connect the output of the Bubble Blaster to the thin walled 1" and thus to the union that connects to the input on the Extreme 200.

I need to travel out of town tomorrow so don't know if I can get pics up, but will try.

Again, I am quite happy with the output. The only issue I'm experiencing is that due to the higher flow there is a much smaller "window" to adjust the level in the skimmer so it takes some vigilance if your sump level changes much.

 

So here are some pics:

This is the Bubble Blaster in action. Check out the connection between pump and union.




Here is a pic of the Octopus Extreme 200. Note the milkshake-like froth.




Here are a couple pics of the original Sicce output that I cut up so I could utilize the existing union.

 

My Octo with the MW looks just as milky but never much skimmate, I emptied it last night for fun into a graduated container, in 3 days I had a little over a cup!! Are you serious!!!??
Sump level stays consistant, so thats not it... I know I am running it where I should be as I have be experimenting and asking around since january now, and I know my bio level isn't that low...
rocketmanb what size tank do you have and whats in it? What is your skimmate production like, well pre bubbleblaster?

Thanks

 

Pre Bubble Blaster I was not super happy. I think I was in a similar boat to you. I have a 120 with medium bio load and I was not getting much skimmate. Hence why I wanted to do something different.

The difference in bubble production is significant with the Bubble Blaster. You might not be able to tell from the pic, but the column is a lot more dense with bubbles. I always thought that the original bubble column looked a little thin. I would say that with the sicce it was like skim milk. With the Bubble Blaster it's more like whole milk or half and half

EDIT: I didn't answer what is in my tank:

1 medium Red Sea Sailfin
1 Ruby Wrasse
2 Bangai Cardinals
1 Cleaner Wrasse
1 Randalls Goby
1 Royal Gramma
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Purple Banded Coral Shrimp (that I see maybe once a month)
A mix of about 40 different corals, mostly sps, some lps, some softies

 

Yeah your bioload is fairly light as well, I have more but granted my system is larger... I am interested in the new revamped octo, but am hesitant on performance do to this one. Everyone I have ever talked to loves there octo extremes and makes me wonder what is the deal? I also like the new cone they have out but again don't want to get burned. The I tech cones are pretty nice, and a guy in our club has one and loves it, but it is like 2x the price of the Octo cone... AND I am due for lamp replacements soon, so don't want to go crazy on a skimmer since I only bought this $300 octo not even six months ago!
Its funny also how the new revamped octos are $50 cheaper as well, wish I would've known, I would've waited.. Oh well

 

I saw the new cone in action and it looked pretty good. I'll be talking to the guy some time this week and can come back with an update as to how it's been performing.

Otherwise, the Bubble Blaster may be a good lower cost alternative. The cone skimmers aren't cheap.

 

rocketmandb, I'm looking to purchase the new Super Reef XP-2000 cone skimmer. How much did you pay for the Bubble Blaster pump and which model did you get, the 2000 or the 5000?