Reccomendations for a HOB skimmer

[Feivel]

wait ... tank .... ceiling ..... ummmmm you dont have a sump???  If so i wouldnt worry about clearences. pull the tank out from the wall a bit.   I would definately suggest getting a sump or looking into setting one up. it hides lots of the toys we need to run clean systems like GFO, Bio pellets, carbon, purigen heater, filter socks, cheatos, extra liverock or rubble, second sandbed. etc... or whatever you need it to hold (aggressive fish waiting to be sold) 

just sayin

[dnas17]

Thats right no sump. A deccision I regret when I first got into the hobby not too long ago. I know its possible to set up a sump with an existing tank but I'm not too sure how and all the plumbing electrical equipment etc is intimadating to me not to mention the fact that there seems to be no one way to do a sump confuses me on how i would go about setting up mine

[az]

sump is convenient however we have seen beautiful tanks with no sump and ugly tanks with sump and other useless gadgets.

[Feivel]

+1 on what AZ said.
On the other hand you could always look into an over the back overflow box or an upgrade down the line. ill bet withing 6-8 months you will be thinking on the 120g. you keep most of the same equipment but gain an extra 6" width is a bonus. i know cause im thinking of the 120 right now (I have a 75 mix reef)

[Hookup]

sump is convenient however we have seen beautiful tanks with no sump and ugly tanks with sump and other useless gadgets.

+100.

[kole18]

sump is convenient however we have seen beautiful tanks with no sump and ugly tanks with sump and other useless gadgets

its true.

[Cheebs]

what's a sump anyways?

[Feivel]

a sump is essentially a tank under your main system where you hold secondary filtering medias and reactors aiding in the breakdown of nutrience and nuisance paramaters such as holding cheatos to help remove/consume nitrates phosphates, multiple reactos I.E. GFO and bio pellets, heater, spare live rock to promote bacterial growth and copepd poulation, holds your skimmer out of view from your beautiful display and leaves room for probes for controllers, Filter socks (catch larger floating debris) Also ATO systems and dosing pumps,medias and at worst you have a pesky fish/invert you can always toss him in here ..... drawback of a sump .... they take room usually directly beneath the tank, they require a secondary pump to return the water to the main (wich in turn helps filtration/ flow in the main tank) on the other hand ... is there really drawbacks of a sump?

[Greatwhite]

What's sarcasm anyways?

[dakrazyone]

What's sarcasm anyways?

hehe Greatwhite

[dnas17]

okay just got my skimmer from the store, put it together however I am really confused as to how to put it on the tank= and start it up. I plugged it in and all i got was a growling noise from the pump. I am very confused as to how to go about doing this as I know very little about skimmers.

[az]

make sure you fill up the skimmer with tank water you do not want to run the pump dry.

[dnas17]

OKay ran into a little problem tonight, while setting up the skimmer filled it with water turned it on 1: Water started to flow up and push the collection cup up quickly. This scared me so  I shut it off. I was also reading about something about air being trapped in a tube or something and having something to do with the air valve so i started fiddling around with it and water started pouring out. Luckily I was able to quickly get the skimmer in a bucket without getting too much water everywhere however now I am very unconfident in setting up a skimmer and using one as I have a fear it will overflow or leak and fry everything. Any sort of advice and instructions from anyone would be greatly appreciated. If only the instructions weren't so poor...

[Darth]

what skimmer did you get?

[dnas17]

octopus bh1000

[Feivel]

Ill post after from computer. Sucks off phone

[Feivel]

so see the airline tube? pich it while you plug the skimmer in (at least half full of water) the pump will/should self prime. once the flow is going good and strong you can let go of the tubing, i usually wait till the water starts flowing. you can keep the skim cup off for now. on the cup you have a rubber band, it stops the water from seeping out (like a seal) and holds the skimcup in place. theres a screw on the other side once you find that sweet spot where your not getting too much water but your skimming nicely. i found that to be just above the line on the sticker, mind you they dont always put them at the same spots so adjust it to what you think is good. you will know it comes with experience. have conifdence. with anything nothing it truly 100% quiet. theres billions of bubbles being produced.

the water came out the top because the cup was pushed too far down. start with the cup out and push it down yourself, fill the skim cup with water. see how it reacts to you pushing it down. keep in mind this is a new unit and will take a few weeks to build up a filth film on the inside of the skimmer. it is normal you dont see it effective right away. theres a certain break in time that the film builds up.

cheers hope this helps

[dnas17]

Okay, then after that do i put the sliencer on? My skimmer came with some air valve type thing so I think octopus may have made a newer version. Also that tube was the one that water came flowing out of when it was facing downwards any idea why that happened.

[Darth]

the air line tubing should be threaded to the top of the skimmer, if it is pointed down water will come out of it, there should be a little tunnel at the top of the skimmer for the hose, after the skimmer is primed and there is air flowing through the tube meaning the there are lots bubbles in the chamber then put on the silencer to stop the gurgling noise

[montisaurus]

Okay, then after that do i put the sliencer on? My skimmer came with some air valve type thing so I think octopus may have made a newer version. Also that tube was the one that water came flowing out of when it was facing downwards any idea why that happened.

when you say "some type of air valve thing"  do you mean one of these?



You don't need that piece, don't worry about it