Reef Octopus BH-90 HOB Protein Skimmer

[aquatichypnosis]

I just setup the reef octopus bh90 HOB skimmer. This is my first skimmer and I'm not exactly sure how it works. How much water should i fill the chamber with initially to get it started? Any tips performance-wise to dial it in and get it working properly? It came with the worst instructions you can imagine and I cant find a lot of information on this model. Tried to attach a picture but it kept failing.

 

[jonwright]

Fill it up enough until it creates a siphon and starts to run.

You'll want to set the height of the skimmer so the the bubbles are barley over the top of the Bub LE chamber. It's gonna act funny for a couple days so be patient and empty the cup. I'd check it at least twice a day if not more for now.

Check it every day and fiddle until you get skimmate that's as thick as it can be and not really thin or overflowing every day.

 

[aquatichypnosis]

There is a valve on the skimmer that has an open and closed setting (Basically an open ended PVC pipe standing upright beside the chamber). When I close it skimmer instantly over flows with water. What does this valve regulate? How should I adjust it based on the results I'm getting?

 

[jonwright]

that's the water heighth thingy. Leave it open for now. Do some research on skimmers and their operation. A bit to digest but you'll be fine.

I'm not familiar with 90 but I would think it's the valve that closes off the water coming OUT of the skimmer so you can set the water height in the skimmer body.

If the skimmer overflows, generally, the valve is closed off too much. If you don't get any skimmate the water is too low and you can close the valve a bit and raise the water.

Since this is an HOB skimmer the height of the water in the tank will affect the skimmer's performance as well...so if the water is changing in the display tank the water height is also changing in the skimmer as well. So if you have an overflow (or an ATO, perhaps) to keep the water in the DT at the same level you may be rather chasing your tail as the water goes up and down. Hopefully not. If that's the case the best you can do is find a good "general" setting that's as good as it gets.