Hey all. I've been searching for a HOB skimmer the last few weeks and have read more than I can possibly comprehend on HOBs and decided to make a purchase...Reef Octo BH2000. This is the first skimmer I've ever had and my first saltwater tank. My experience is in Discus. But back to the point of the post. I've read a lot about breaking a skimmer in and read a lot about overflowing so I just wanted to share my experience with this skimmer if anyone else out there is searching too.
I opened the box. Rinsed all the pieces really well with tap water. Mixed up a tap water/vinegar solution in a 20 gallon tank ( I tried a 5 gallon bucket but the skimmer is too big to hang on it). The mix was one gallon of distilled white vinegar to however much tap water it took to reach the proper level needs to reach the skimmer input tube and fill the skimmer. I ran it in this mix for about 2 hours. Then rinsed the skimmer again in fresh tap water. Filled the 20 back up with fresh water, no vinegar, and let it run for about another hour or so to give it another good rinse. Pulled it back out the 20 and rinsed agin in fresh tap water. Took it inside. Hung it on the display and cranked it up. From the time I turned it on NO overflow!!!! 24 hours later. The skimmer and micro bubbles are almost nonexistent and the skimmer isn't acting erradicately anymore.
So.....I can say if you are having problems with yours overflowing before/during breakin, try this method. It worked for me. I did have all sponges removed and used only the small square one that came with it, and put it just on top of the output tube. Another attention to detail, the overflow hole needs to be free of any blockage and I kept the catch cup right at the top of the bubbles. And make sure it's primed correctly. Hold your finger over the air tube until the water level rises and the falls just to the top of the drain (output elbow) and there are NO more bubbles coming from the pump, then let go of the tube and let it do its thing. This took about a min the first couple of times. Once things settled after a day I have pushed the cup down now, covering the overflow and letting the skimmer do it's work with no overflow what so ever.
I hope this helps the next newbie. This is just my experience. I am not a pro at this by no means.
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I opened the box. Rinsed all the pieces really well with tap water. Mixed up a tap water/vinegar solution in a 20 gallon tank ( I tried a 5 gallon bucket but the skimmer is too big to hang on it). The mix was one gallon of distilled white vinegar to however much tap water it took to reach the proper level needs to reach the skimmer input tube and fill the skimmer. I ran it in this mix for about 2 hours. Then rinsed the skimmer again in fresh tap water. Filled the 20 back up with fresh water, no vinegar, and let it run for about another hour or so to give it another good rinse. Pulled it back out the 20 and rinsed agin in fresh tap water. Took it inside. Hung it on the display and cranked it up. From the time I turned it on NO overflow!!!! 24 hours later. The skimmer and micro bubbles are almost nonexistent and the skimmer isn't acting erradicately anymore.
So.....I can say if you are having problems with yours overflowing before/during breakin, try this method. It worked for me. I did have all sponges removed and used only the small square one that came with it, and put it just on top of the output tube. Another attention to detail, the overflow hole needs to be free of any blockage and I kept the catch cup right at the top of the bubbles. And make sure it's primed correctly. Hold your finger over the air tube until the water level rises and the falls just to the top of the drain (output elbow) and there are NO more bubbles coming from the pump, then let go of the tube and let it do its thing. This took about a min the first couple of times. Once things settled after a day I have pushed the cup down now, covering the overflow and letting the skimmer do it's work with no overflow what so ever.
I hope this helps the next newbie. This is just my experience. I am not a pro at this by no means.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
