Octopus Skimmer Mod

[juice_1080]

I plan on getting the Octopus NW 150 Skimmer for my 75g project. It doesn't have a drain on the collection cup that would run to a jug that can be easily dumped. Whats the best way to set it up so I wouldn't have to remove the collection cup at all and just have a jug to empty? Should I just drill the cup and glue tubing into it?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, just drill it, but put a fitting/adapter on it and a vinyl tube on the adapter. Typically though, you need to empty your protein skimmers cup often because skimmate actually clogs up your skimmer, rendering it extremely inefficant. In turn, this makes your aquarium more suseptable to cyano, hair algae, excessive slime algae, etc. I hope this helped.

 

[juice_1080]

Well I know I would need to clean it but I want to have it drain to a milk jug or something so I don't have to do it quite so often. I wouldn't think that it would clog that fast. I would think I would have to clean it maybe once or twice a year. Maybe I am wrong though. I am still kinda new to skimmers.

 

[sharkbait9]

Originally Posted by juice_1080
Well I know I would need to clean it but I want to have it drain to a milk jug or something so I don't have to do it quite so often. I wouldn't think that it would clog that fast. I would think I would have to clean it maybe once or twice a year. Maybe I am wrong though. I am still kinda new to skimmers.
ummmmm..... i would not let it go longer then a month.

i would think the smell would get bad

 

[juice_1080]

if it were to all drain to a milk jug and I empty/clean that weekly/monthly you think it would still get clogged and smell that bad?

 

[viper_930]

I have the Octopus NW 110 and I just drilled the side of the collection cup and glued on an adapter for tubing as you're going to do.
I wouldn't go more than a few weeks without cleaning the collection cup itself. Even if you do skim wet, the skimmate would start caking up on the sides of the collection cup.

 

[juice_1080]

Alright...This is good to know. As I said I don't have much experience with skimmers. The one I have on my 29g is a HOB nano skimmer and the collection cup is rather large and I never seem to have a problem with it getting caked up.
How do you like the Octopus? would you recommend it?

 

[viper_930]

Yep this is a great skimmer. I also have comparable EuroReefs and ASM skimmers and the Octopus is just as good as them but at a fraction of the cost.

 

[juice_1080]

would you suggest the 110 or 150 for a 75g with a 36"x12"x16" fuge/sump setup?
Also do you happen to know what the water level should be at? I am designing my sump around this and need to know how tall the baffles should be.

 

[mojo46825]

I would get the 150. I had hte 110 on my 65 and it worked fine but If your chosing between the two get the 150. I ran my levels around 7 inches. I think 7 to 9 would work pretty well. I would probably go with 9 if I were to do it over again. Just make sure you leave enough room if hte pwer goes out you dont have a flood.

 

[dmcrete]

i just bought a 110 octopuss from a hobby friend on this site,, its the best skimmer i ever had, came with the mod plumbing, i love it,, i bet he misses it!!

 

[juice_1080]

Originally Posted by mojo46825
I would get the 150. I had hte 110 on my 65 and it worked fine but If your chosing between the two get the 150. I ran my levels around 7 inches. I think 7 to 9 would work pretty well. I would probably go with 9 if I were to do it over again. Just make sure you leave enough room if hte pwer goes out you dont have a flood.

Alright I will go with 9 if you think thats good. I forget how much extra overflow room I have I have so many papers with sketches and calculations on my desk that I forget which one was right. This is what I had drawn up with Google Sketchup
Its 36Lx12Wx16H
The Fuge is 14x12x14
The skimmer section is 9x12x9
The pump section is whatever is left
If you don't count the body of the skimmer and the plumbing that will take up a little water space there will be 11.74g of overflow space which means my tank can drop 3 inches of water without spilling all over the floor. Trust me I have this thoroughly calculated.

I don't want any accidents

 

[juice_1080]

Oops...forgot to attach the pic