biodarwin
Reefing newb
Reef Octopus BH-300F
After having some problems with my old skimmer I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a new unit.
After doing a lot of research I decided on a Reef Octopus Skimmer, but I wasn't sure which model I wanted.
One of the biggest disadvantage of my last skimmer was not being able to have a compartment to run something like carbon
and having to keep my old Bio-wheel around. This made the process a lot easier and pretty much reduced me down to 2
choices the 300F or the 100F. The 100F was about $40 cheaper but only had one pump and no little "bubble jar". Given the
fact that I could also upgrade in the near future it was a pretty easy decision for buying the 300F.
Once I got the skimmer back to my apartment I took it to the bathtub and ran some vinegar
through it. These skimmers are made in China and we really have no idea on how they are mass produced.
Vinegar is a very good cleaning product to use on marine aquarium equipment. It is a non-toxic,natural product
but strong enough to help clean off lubricates and other chemicals used in the manufacturing process. There was a
strong smell of "plastic" on the skimmer and I just didn't want to put it in my tank without cleaning it in some way.
I ran vinegar through it for about an hour.
After rinsing it thoroughly I was ready to put it to work. The skimmer was 95% assembled when it arrived so there was very little
to do before it would be operational. On the bottom of the skimmer there is two adjustable pegs so the skimmer will set level
against your aquarium. There are 2 air line tubes that extend out of the skimmer, one from each pump. Then I added the 2 air silencers
to those air line tubes. Decreasing the noise a skimmer makes is always a plus. Especially in my case as my tank is in the main living
room.
During the break in period the bubble level will fluctuate greatly so there is almost never a reason to continually adjust
it for the first few days. Just make sure the collection cup sits high up in the middle chamber. If it is set too low, the
bubbles can overflow the collection cup and you will come home to a wet floor! Once the skimmate stabilizes you can then dial it in.
After a 24 hour break-in period my skimmer was good to go. I believe it was the vinegar that helped to break in the skimmer
faster.
The collection cup can be adjusted by turning a screw in the right hand compartment.
By loosening the screw and lowering collection cup, you can increase the amount of skimmate you are producing. If the
skimmate you are producing is light in color, like the color of green tea, then you might be skimming too wet and should
raise the collection cup slightly. As long as your skimmate doesn't fill the cup faster than you can dump it you should be alright.
The last thing I had to do to get this thing running was to fill the skimmer with water, plug it in and get the siphon starting.
To get the siphon started you plug one of the air hoses into the air intake valve on the inlet of the skimmer.
Houston we have a problem...
The 2 tubes that are attached to each pump are not long enough to get to the inlet vale. Apparently there is suppose
to be another piece of tubing which attaches to the silencer and into the inlet value. I called the distributor and
asked about it. They are shipping me one now, but you can't give a kid a toy on Christmas and expect him not to play with it!
I stole some tubing from my old skimmer and made a patch tube that went from the silencer to the air inlet valve on the skimmer.
Once all of the air was out of the line I turned the value off and pulled the hose out. Lastly I plugged in the 2nd pump and
we were off to making bubbles.
My collection cup 24 hours after the breakin period.
Its hard to rate a product after only a few days of use, but if this skimmer continues to work like it is currently, then
I feel that this product was well worth the money I paid for it.
Front view in tank:
After breakin period no microbubbles at all:
Side view of skimmer on tank:
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