Bubble Magus Curve 5 by Les Melling.
I have had a number of skimmers in my time (around 35 years in the hobby) from various Tunze’s to my first Sander air driven skimmers so when it came to choosing a new skimmer for my new 2’2 cube reef tank with sump I took my time evaluating all the web advice on skimmers. I already had a Tunze 9002 nano skimmer and I could have used this at a push but I was never fully happy with this skimmer although I had been with previous Tunze skimmers. I soon found out there had been an explosion in protein skimmers over the last few years each proclaiming to be the best in their class.
Many of the skimmers I had purchased in the past had been secondhand models and all served me well. You can nearly always get your money back with a good secondhand skimmer if you s choose to sell it at some point however for this tank I wanted something new and a different from what I had used in the past. During my frequent searches on the net I regularly came upon skimmers well outside my budget as I didn’t want to spend much more than £150 on a skimmer so that ruled a good few out including the Tunze’s.
I saw a number of recommendations for a brand I had little knowledge about Bubble Magus. Most of the reports I read on various forums were very complimentary so I set about investigating their various models of which there are many. Lots of people were singing the praises of the BM Nac range and in particular the Nac 6s and 7s. I was already to send for the Nac6 when I heard of a new BM skimmer called the Curve 5. This skimmer had a new very efficient pump of just 8watts and the skimmer had what I will describe as a milk bottle style body hence the curve name. Although this was new on the market a few people had them and all were extremely pleased with its performance so far. The skimmer was quiet and very efficient plus well made to boot people reported. So it was I sent off for one and a few days later it arrived as promised.
First Impressions and assembly.
The first thing I noticed when the package arrived was that it was very well packed and it would have taken a gorilla to have broken it in transit. On unpacking it I examined each and every part and yes it was very well made indeed. Nice thick acrylic with neat acrylic welded joints. The down side was the instructions which were in Chinese but it didn’t take me long to have it assembled going off the diagram provided. The only thing to note is that you could easily assemble the bubble baffle plate the wrong way round. This needs to be assembled with the holes away from the pump outlet rather than the way most would think with the bubbles immediately under it. That apart it was easy enough to assemble.
Once assembled the next thing you need to get right is the water depth to sit it in within the sump. This skimmer is only designed for a sump type situation. The recommended water depth for the skimmer to sit in is around 9†to 10†according to those who already had this skimmer. However the manufacturer recommends from 9.1/2†to 11â€. However for whatever reason I have found my skimmer performs best in a depth of water of just 7.1/2â€. The water depth in the compartment for my skimmer was 10.1/2†so I made a platform for it to sit on out of heavy duty eggcrate to bring the skimmer to the optimum depth for my particular skimmer.
More on the skimmer.
The Skimmer cup is sealed to the skimmer body with an “O†ring unlike many which have a kind of twist and lock mechanism. No doubt it was cheaper to make it with an “O†ring than a more complicated twist and lock style mechanism. On the plus side the cup is easy to remove and at no time gets stuck on the skimmer body plus it does seal the skimmer cup to the skimmer body well. The other thing to note about the skimmer cup apart from it’s quite large size is that is comes with a drain built in to which you attached a length of white rubber type tube to it. The idea is you drain the skimmate off into another receptacle which most find rather odd including me.
It seems rather strange having quite a large cup that as soon as it collects anything it exits out the bottom via the drain. You could of course block this off and just allow the cup to fill with skimmate as with most skimmer cups. I would like to have seen Bubble Magus provide a cap of sorts to block the drain off as an alternative. However I decided to add a small tap to the end of the rubber pipe to drain the cup when needed while the cup is still in place on the skimmer.
The Pump.
The pump supplied is a Rock SP-1000 rated at just 8watts. The NAC6 Atman pump I considered at first is rated at 28watts so the SP-1000 is far more efficient in operation. The SP-1000 uses a pin wheel impellor as opposed to the mesh wheel used by the Atman pump. I can only wait and see how reliable the pump and impellor will turn out to be however a replacement pump is not as expensive compared too many others in this area. The pump is very quiet however unlike many I could name.
Some Measurements and requirements.
The measurements for the skimmer cup are as follows. The collection part of the cup is 4†tall with an extra 1.3/8†neck protruding below the cup. The diameter of the cup is 4.3/4†and will hold ½ liter of skimmate so it will take quite some time to fill the cup under normal operation and circumstances. I drain my cup weekly although I could let it run a couple of weeks before needing to drain/empty the cup. With a lot of sump systems the clearance above the skimmer is at a minimum and people often have difficulty removing the cup of their skimmer due to height restrictions.
With the Bubble Magus Curve 5 one only needs a half inch or so of clearance above the cup to remove it. With the total length of the cup including the neck 5.3/8†you only need around 6†clearance above the sump top/edge to take the cup out of the cabinet. Given that the pump is inboard of the skimmer the footprint for such a rated skimmer is quite small at around 5â€x6â€. You can also locate the body of the skimmer on the footplate in 4 different positions to suit the layout of your sump and where you want the control knob to be situated for ease of adjustment. The skimmer body it locked onto the base plate by 4 small locking arms which goes to make assembly and disassembly nice and easy.
Adjusting the skimmer in the sump.
Once installed this skimmer is the simplest of any skimmer I have owned to adjust and set. There is but one control that of the water flow through the skimmer body. The pump with its air venturi is set automatically for you and it only remains to set the water flow through the skimmer. Water flow is achieved via a red knob situated on the top of a hard plastic white tube that goes down to the skimmer. Near the top of the tube just below the red knob are some numbered segments. Turning the knob towards the higher numbers restricts more of the water from the pump entering the skimmer.
You turn the knob to set the water from the pump which in turn sets the level of the water and foam within the skimmers riser tube within the skimmer cup. You set the water level to rise approximately half way up the skimmer cups inner riser tube and allow it to settle before making any fine tuning adjustments with the water control knob to achieve the colour of skimmate desired..
There is one other quirk with this which I am told is peculiar to the Chinese in that the higher the number you dial in the water flow the more you RESTRICT the water going in to the skimmer. As you restrict the water entering the skimmer from the pump so the bubbles and foam created rise within the riser tube. This does take a little getting used to and is the reverse thinking of most European skimmers. One would normally expect the lower the number dialed in the less water would enter the skimmer not the other way round as is the case here. Still once you get used to it it’s no problem at all but it has caught a number of people out when first trying to adjust the skimmer. Adjustments are very easy to make no matter if you want a very dark skimmate or a lighter one.
Performance.
So just how does the Curve 5 perform and does it live up the few reports I had read before purchase? You bet it does. In no time at all the skimmer was starting to produce skimmate and within 24 hours it had collected around ¾†of skimmate in the cup. I had my pump flow dialed in at around number 1 allowing only a slight restriction of water into the skimmer pump. The colour of the skimmate was similar to strong tea but the smell is something else. You won’t be wanting to sniff the skimmate too often and I would suggest you empty the cup after removal or after you have drained it ASAP or you could be in trouble with your other half.
The skimmer is rated for systems up to 500ltrs and I would suggest unlike many other manufacturers’ skimmers this is quite accurate depending on bio-load and stocking levels. Certainly the Curve 5 will handle heavily well stocked systems of around 400ltrs and would not be a problem at all for it .
Conclusion.
After being set up and running for the last 2 months I have to admit I am extremely pleased with just how well this skimmer is performing. The skimmer is extremely quite along with the pump. With the pump rated at just 8 watts is also extremely efficient. Best price I have found bought and supplied from within the UK is £93.76p delivered to your door and at that price it’s got to be one if not the best value for money skimmers out there rated for a tank up to 500ltrs.
Manufacturers Specifications.
Needlewheel protein skimmer
Capability: 500L (140G)
Pump: ROCK - SP1000
Pump power: 8W, 220V 50Hz /110V 60Hz
Dimensions: 185×180×470mm (7.28" * 7.08" * 18.5")
Water Level: 9.5"-11"
Skimmer assembled ready to be installed in the sump.
Bubble baffle plate showing correct installation on the pump.
Close up of skimmer cup.
.Water flow adjusting knob showing the increment numbers around the pipe holding collar.
Skimmer installed in the sump.
Dark skimmate collected in the cup.
Drain off pipe with my tap fitted.
Skimmate drained off.
Manufacturers supplied pic.
Hope the above has been of some help to those considering the purchase of one of these excellent skimmers.
Les.
