New Reef Octopus 1000 HOB skimmer

[DMG Reef]

me too,no sponges ,but he is breaking in, not to confuse

I think if he trims the intake tube, it will help with the micro bubbles from the return. There's just too much water rushing in thru the intake with it so far under the surface like that.

 

[DMG Reef]

Also, if you notice on his pic, he's only able to push the intake up about an inch or less. That's why the gray tube has to be trimmed down in order to raise the entire intake about 3 inches or so.

 

[fishguy242]

yes it does seem longer than usual ,i'll go take a look and pic of mine @sfin52 have a pic of your new one intake and out??

 

[fishguy242]

older gen
sorry on front of tank had to take side pics

 

[DMG Reef]

Yours is a 2000 model. The OP and I have the 1000 model. Looks like a different design on the intake.

 

[sfin52]

Seems about right

 

[sfin52]

hi set bottom of cup right above small circle hole in body just let fill cup and go back into skimmer though cone dump tomorrow,see what happens,when settles down lower bottom of cup to cover half of hole ,may act same for a day ,dump again,that is ultimately where you want final cup level,hope this helps

Deffenitly will bubble till breaks in

@fishguy242 is on it. I have the same skimmer on my 75g. It’s gonna bubble like crazy during break in but will work great! It takes about 2 days to break in. Micro bubbles are very common while breaking in a new skimmer.

Agree

Till it breaks in the collection cup should be as close to the top of the body as possible. Than you can start adjusting.

 

[sfin52]

The only reason to have the simmer intake break the top of the water is skim surface. To work properly it doesn't have to be trimmed. Just my experience

 

[Dsumpter]

Deffenitly will bubble till breaks in

Agree

Till it breaks in the collection cup should be as close to the top of the body as possible. Than you can start adjusting.

So how will I know when its broken in?

 

[Kryptonian]

When I powered mine on, the collection cup filled with clear water the first few days. You'll know it's broken in when the collection cup is as high as it can go and stops filling. You really just want the very top of bubbles entering the cup. After about a week, my skimmate started to turn light yellow, then darker yellow, now almost a dark green/black. Imo, the darker it gets, the more efficient the skimmer is getting. If it's too light color, the skimmer is pulling too much water with the waste.

The first few weeks (after breaking in), I was probably cleaning out a full cup every two days. Then that will slow down as you dial in the height of the collection cup. Now I empty a full cup about once every two weeks.

Mine looked exactly like your pics on the previous page. Tons of bubbles surrounding the return sponges.

 

[sfin52]

So how will I know when its broken in?

When at the very top there is no collection going on. You can start to lower it.

 

[DMG Reef]

This wasn't a one size fits all for my tank. In order to skim the oily residue off the surface of the water, it had to be shortened.

 

[fishguy242]

i do agree , @Dsumpter try to raise intake as high as poss ,post pic should be slightly above surface

 

[sfin52]

Hmm mine not close to top of the water. I still get drak nasty skim. I do have a slick on top of the water.

 

[fishguy242]

is it adjusted as high as can go??mine are 8-10 yrs old ,never seen this before

 

[Dsumpter]

It is as high as it will go without cutting the intake pipe or lowering the water level in the tank.

 

[Dsumpter]

Will this thing take care of all my filter needs, or will I need to run a power filter also?

 

[sfin52]

Will this thing take care of all my filter needs, or will I need to run a power filter also?

You will need a wave maker ciculation pump. Everybody has a brand. Each has pros and cons. Never use vinegar to clean pumps. Always use citric acid.

I use usa current flux and I love it.

 

[fishguy242]

i think @Kattkrazie is on this w the newer gens,agree should be skimming top water on a non reef ready tank

 

[Kryptonian]

Will this thing take care of all my filter needs, or will I need to run a power filter also?

You're running this skimmer on a decent size tank. The protein skimmer and filter do have similar functions but I'd recommend adding secondary filtration such as a hob power filter to do a few things for you. Some get away with just the skimmer but if you start running into parameter problems, you might end up kicking yourself trying to get them under control with just a skimmer working the water.

(1) It's going to work with your skimmer to help you have the best parameters. Some fish and corals are very sensitive and added filtration definitely has its benefits.
(2) You get added filtration such as filter floss to help keep your aquarium water crystal clear.
(3) You can add extra porous filtration media to boost your nitrifying bacteria in an HOB filter.
(4) If you ever come across the need to run something like activated carbon or other media, you can add bags to an HOB filter.

For about $60 total, here's a very cost-effective option, that I'm running alongside my RO HOB 1000, the Emperor 400 from Marineland. Right now I'm seeing some available for $50. When I set mine up, I ran the bio bag that it came with for 3 weeks (just so the carbon could get the water super clean before adding fish), then tossed it in the trash. Replacing bio-bags every month can get expensive.

Next, I replaced the bio-bag slot with cut to fit Marineland Bonded Filter Pad. You can get a roll of this stuff on Amazon for $5 and you won't have to buy more for at least a year.

Next, I added Fluval Biomax Bio Rings to the secondary chambers inside the plastic filter media container. I box of rings is enough to fill the filter and they're also like $6 on Amazon. These will allow you to build up a ton of good bacteria.

Once that's all done, I just rinse the filter floss in RODI about once every two weeks and rinse the ceramic filter media in RODI about once a month. $60 and the maintenance is very low with no repetitive upkeep costs!