octopus recirc.

[reef15melo]

I am in the middle of putting an octopus dnw 110 under my 54 corner and am having some issues.. the water outlet pipe comes out of the skimmer too low to drain into my sump. If I put a platform on the skimmer to raise it so the drain can actually be above the sump to drain into it the skimmer cup then hits the top of the cabinet and I cannot get off the collection cup! So my question is can I just plumb the water drain pipe up to my 20 gallon high sump using a couple of 45 degrees? Will this effect its performance? Any help much would be much appreciated since these instructions are terrible and are not updated as they make changes to their models.. thanks

 

[addicted2reefin]

i had that problem. i ended up putting mine on a platform outside of the stand if the water outlet is higher than where it is supposed to be, which is the pvc T between the wedge pipe and where it comes directly out of the skimmer pipe, it will overflow or raise the water level in the skimmer. if the T is above ur sump u could always cut the bottom pipe...

 

[reef15melo]

That does make sense.. If I plumb it up that much than the water level will be to high.. Damn.. I might have to make a platform.. There is just not alot of wiggle room

 

[reef15melo]

Finally got this thing set up! so far..(about 4 hours into operation) the foam is not even making it up past the cone section and not even close to the collection cup. I know there is a break in period but just wondering if there is anything I can do to calibrate it. I am feeding it with a Maxi-jet 600 (good for 160 gph). I have a 54 gallon corner with a 20 gallon high sump with a ton of live rock. The manufacturer recommends 1.5 total tank volume an hour for the feed pump so I figure I am pretty close figuring in head loss and all that.. It is a recirculating octopus 110. There just does not seem like there is much to adjust on this model.. any help greatly appreciated, Thanks

 

[reef15melo]

bump

 

[addicted2reefin]

if the wedge pipe is open the water level is very low. turn the wedge pipe to almost fully closed. mine is a 150 fed by a mj thottled back to 1/2 output and my skimmer is about fully closed. the less flow u put through these things the more closed they have to be to get the water level higher. even if its 1/2 closed it doesnt even make a diff in water level. another thing is i would reccomend putting a ball valve on the pump and throttle it down. if the pump get clogged up and loses flow, then u will have to close the skimmer more to raise the water level. if the pump shuts off all the debris clears out and it pumps at full strength, well since u closed the skimmer more.... OVERFLOW. happend twice to me before i put a ball valve on my feed pump.

 

[addicted2reefin]

o yea... mine started skimming after i closed up the wedge pipe. the best spot on mine is about right about where the cup and the cone meets. a little less if u want dryer a little more if u want wetter. dont go but 1/2 way up the neck or u are only getting water

 

[reef15melo]

thanks addicted2reefin! I turned it down and have it half way up the neck (guessing this is the part above where it cones in) and it seems to be doing well. Thanks for the help

 

[addicted2reefin]

no problems. its a great skimmer for the price. im sure there are better ones, but the body is great and the price is nice. im thinknig about upgrading or modding the pump on mine. im atleast gonna build a better pinwheel

 

[reef15melo]

This is replacing a 3 year old small seaclone.. so it is a great upgrade for me. Plus I only have a royal gramma and a lawn mower blenny in my 54 gallon corner(for now). So should do the job for me. I will have to look up mods later.. just glad the damn thing is working now that I got past those terrible instructions! lol..