GirDance
Member
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2013
- Location
- Cambridge, Ontario
I got tired of knocking the collection cup off the biocube skimmer I was running every time I opened the lid on my Nano Cube so I decided to upgrade (and a big one at that) to a HOB unit. After quite a bit of research I settled on the Reef Octopus BH1000 - $189.99 from BRS.
PACKAGING AND INSTALLATION:
The skimmer was packaged very well and comes almost fully assembled out of the box.
Before you even start attempting to install the skimmer be aware: the instructions for this unit are complete and utter
oop: - toss them out and pull up a youtube installation video. It will make installation a million times simpler - especially considering most of it is already assembled.
There was an acrylic mounting bracket included that is meant to attach to the skimmer and then screw-clamp to the top frame of your tank to keep it from moving - I couldn't get the skimmer to mount level on my Cube using this clamp, so I ended up not bothering with it and everything is working just fine.
A warning: Once you have it all set up and are ready to plug the airline to prime the pump for the first time make sure you have the collection cup installed and don't plug the tube for too long or the unit won't "stabilize" before it overflows all over the floor. Instead of using the included white T, I plugged the line with my finger to prime it and removed my finger as soon as I saw white bubbles in the chamber.
SKIMMER CONSTRUCTION/OPERATION
The unit is solid, well made, and fit on the back of my JBJ Nano cube without too much difficulty (there was a bit of wiggling and squishing sponges but it just fit). The collection cup is huge and once broken in the skimmer pulls out plenty of brown soup It took about a week for it to break in fully.
Initially it did fill the tank with microbubbles which was a major annoyance, but this stopped once it broke in and really started skimming. Now that it is fully broken in I am extremely happy with it.
The skimmer is very quiet compared to the oceanic cube skimmer that I was using before it, there are no rattles or bubbling noises.
CONCLUSION
All and all I am extremely happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend it as long as you don't try to use the instructions that came with it.
PACKAGING AND INSTALLATION:
The skimmer was packaged very well and comes almost fully assembled out of the box.
Before you even start attempting to install the skimmer be aware: the instructions for this unit are complete and utter
oop: - toss them out and pull up a youtube installation video. It will make installation a million times simpler - especially considering most of it is already assembled.There was an acrylic mounting bracket included that is meant to attach to the skimmer and then screw-clamp to the top frame of your tank to keep it from moving - I couldn't get the skimmer to mount level on my Cube using this clamp, so I ended up not bothering with it and everything is working just fine.
A warning: Once you have it all set up and are ready to plug the airline to prime the pump for the first time make sure you have the collection cup installed and don't plug the tube for too long or the unit won't "stabilize" before it overflows all over the floor. Instead of using the included white T, I plugged the line with my finger to prime it and removed my finger as soon as I saw white bubbles in the chamber.
SKIMMER CONSTRUCTION/OPERATION
The unit is solid, well made, and fit on the back of my JBJ Nano cube without too much difficulty (there was a bit of wiggling and squishing sponges but it just fit). The collection cup is huge and once broken in the skimmer pulls out plenty of brown soup
It took about a week for it to break in fully. Initially it did fill the tank with microbubbles which was a major annoyance, but this stopped once it broke in and really started skimming. Now that it is fully broken in I am extremely happy with it.
The skimmer is very quiet compared to the oceanic cube skimmer that I was using before it, there are no rattles or bubbling noises.
CONCLUSION
All and all I am extremely happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend it as long as you don't try to use the instructions that came with it.