octopus problems

sciknen

Member
well...i set up my tank after almost a year.. have my cuc in it and everything my lr
its a octopus 150nw
but there is a problem
it wont produce any skimmate
i went to a couple of lfs to ask them about water levels to figure it out
and posted a thread on the boston site
all said about the same thing
that the fome shud be rising to the top of the funnel...just barely touchin the top of the funnel
but still about a week later not bubbles are reaching the top...
if i put the water level to high the entire section to wear the funnel is fills up with water
please help
 

hurt

Active Member
Any pictures of the skimmer in action? Have you taken the pump apart to see if the impeller is clogged with Ca or the venturi is blocked with Ca? If it is brand new it should take less than a week to break in. Oil is the reason new skimmers won't skim.
I run a NW-200, with a modified pump and it pulls a ton of crap on my 55g with only 2 percs. Those are the only two things that have affected the performance of my skimmer.
 

gatorwpb

Active Member
Some skimmers can tank several weeks to fully break in. With my EuroReef, it wasnt producing much bubbles and I was like WTF??? But then practically overnight, after 3 weeks, it all changed. Now it skims like a beast! I would just make sure that the airline is clean and the intake for the airline isnt clogged with salt creep. Also, check the impellar like Hurt suggested. if all those items look fine, just give it a little more time.
 

mdk16

Member
I had a similar problem with my octopus 150 recirc. You can try 2 things. It seems like the needle wheel has a hard time producing bubbles when the skimmer is full of water.
Try taking the water out of the skimmer, start the pump and then fill the unit with water. Taking the load of the wheel should help.
The other thing that I do instead of the above is to take a small airpump and connect it to the skimmer airline hose and pump air into the filled skimmer. After 5 seconds there is enough air in it and the unit works. Obviously remove the air pump once the skimmer is producing. 5 seconds later.
I hope thats clear, and I hope it works.
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
Raise the water level. If this is the new style NW200, As I'm sure it is, the section below the collection cup where the funnel is is supposed to fill with water. It will at first fill with micro bubbles, but as it stabilizes, it will clear up.
 
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