DonW
R.I.P.
Ya we figured out how to do it. If you pulse the electricity going to the pump 8 or 10 times on start up at about 1/30 of a second intervals it starts every time. It seems to bump the impellor to a good spot or just gets it going.
Don
Octupus Xtreme skimmer
- Thread starter bc_slc
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
Ya we figured out how to do it. If you pulse the electricity going to the pump 8 or 10 times on start up at about 1/30 of a second intervals it starts every time. It seems to bump the impellor to a good spot or just gets it going.
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
They just wont restart unless you fiddle with the impellor and bang on them a little. It can be a real pain when you dont have the time or desire to play with the pump.
Don
masterkush
Well-known member
Skimmerwisperer,Euroreef is not from the same factory as the other skimmers.The build of the octo skimmers is not in the same class as my RC135.
I assure you the octo's are cast acrylic and you won't have problems with the sicce pump's unless you don't know what you are doing with the mesh or zip ties. Don i would have to disagree with you 10folds on the octo's being crappy performers and with nearly everything your saying. Dropping the lid was user error, not because the skimmer cup is poorly built. Octo's are also built much nicer and sturdier than asm's which are overpriced and poorly built. The 179 dollar 200nw will pull 35-40scfh easily and consistently. I've recirc'd many skimmers in my day and the octo 200 was one of the easiest so far. As for the MSX line, they are built with cast acrylic, use the same pump's as teh ati bm's and are designed like a BK.......large neck's, awesome bubbleplate's(which are removable in two pieces.....They are the real deal when it comes to skimming. The sicce's pull 50scfh at under 30w. I would be upset too if i spend 1000+ on a skimmer which will get outperformed by this guy.
DonW
R.I.P.
Before you disagree with me you should have read the thread. Not once did I say they were a crappy performer. In fact I said they work well.
Now as far as the pump hanging, that has nothing to do with a person knowing what he or she is doing. They come with a power cord and the extremes are already meshmodded. The power cord is a pretty simple device. Plug it in the pump should turn on if not that is a problem with the pump, that is the bottom line. Are they cast? If so they sure do craze as soon as you get weldon #3 on them. Can you explain? Also explain the horizontal striations? If they did happen to be cast that there are different qualities of cast material.
Is dropping a cup 12" into the sink human error. Sure, this I agree with but there will be plenty of human errors and small ones like a 12" drop shouldnt crack a cast acrylic skimmer cup.
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
Before this thread gets to far off on a tangent about quality. I explain something I learned the hard way when my octo fell apart. I took the unit to the local acrylic shop two of them infact (PSI and Keltec) and got a lesson in teminology.
There is continuous cast, extruded and then there is cell cast. Extruded and continuous cast are nearly the same. The extruded does shrink a little more when heat bending but that about it. Neither extruded or continuous cast is near as hard as cell cast nor does it machine as well.
As far as the octo is concerned, all the advertising states that it is cast acrylic. This is a play on words or is simply lacking a word "continuous".
Don
There is continuous cast, extruded and then there is cell cast. Extruded and continuous cast are nearly the same. The extruded does shrink a little more when heat bending but that about it. Neither extruded or continuous cast is near as hard as cell cast nor does it machine as well.
As far as the octo is concerned, all the advertising states that it is cast acrylic. This is a play on words or is simply lacking a word "continuous".
Don
Scooterman
Well-known member
I have that carbon reactor made of extruded, never again, It is brittle.
I think its funny you call them entry level skimmers. Since when does an entry level skimmer look like a BK and pull 50scfh? It will kill your tunze so what does that make a tunze? Extruded acrylic is more fragile yes, but it will work just fine as a skimmer body unless you try to go large. The cast like the octo's and msx's are just like the ATI BM's in build quality. Extruded acrylic's big problem is it absorb's to much water unlike cast. If you were handling one the other day why didn't you take your air meter with you and kill o watt? You can't tell anything by "it has a nice foam head" you must see and test the skimmer with an air meter and kill o watt.
These skimmers are going to be the next best skimmer and gives everyone who won't spend thousands on acrylic a chance to have a high end skimmer for a minimum price. The pump's alone cost 120bux.
DonW
R.I.P.
I think you should find some place else to troll. I never said my tunze was anything special, again you fail to read the post. You seem to have some deep relationship with your skimmer. Get over it, its just a skimmer. Its a cheap skimmer that does well for the money spent thats it nothing more.
Ive out grow the whole quest for the perfect skimmer a long time ago. Instead of trolling and playing with pieces of plastic why not spend some time learning about the hobby, so you can sit back and enjoy it without having to worry about crap like this.
I think we can put this to rest. If you want to further comment feel free to pm.
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
You havent exposed anything but your ignorance and lack of ability to read and understand what you read. You have not discredited my knowledge in any way so dont give yourself a pat on the back quite yet. I'll be happy to explain all this reeeeal slowly if it would help.Thanks
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
I dont know where you get this crap from and where you get off. I dont ever suggest any skimmer what so ever. I mearly gave my opinion of a skimmer. which boils down to its a cheap piece of plastic that skims well. Ive had more than my share of high dollar skimmers made from real cell cast material to compare build quality. Like I said Ive outgrow the search for the super skimmer and am smart enough to understand there is more to a reef than a skimmer.
Don
Can we please stop arguing? It has ruined the vibe and whole reason for this forum. Opinion, fine. Different opinion, fine. But the personal attacks about so and so's "knowledge" needs to stop. Please do not respond to each other any longer.
On that note, back to the skimmer....
Anyone with personal experience yet?
Mat
On that note, back to the skimmer....
Anyone with personal experience yet?
Mat
Skimmy
SKIM FU
you are wrong my friend...the skimmer bodies, at least to the rs series, are made in the same factory, if your recirc is an older model, it's probably made in usa. the way to tell would be if it has welded seams as opposed to just glued.
back in the day, euroreef skimmers used to be all made by hand in america, but they cant do that anymore...
Last edited:
Skimmy
SKIM FU
there are a couple tricks, but they have to do more with the pump than the mesh...
first, one of the things you might try if you have restart issues is hold the pump in both hands, one hand on the round volute, the other on the square motor housing and twist the volute housing back and forth, noting that when you are done twisting that you are leaving it in the "locked" position, so that it doesnt fall apart...
taking the pump and putting your hand in front of the water inlet while blowing air into the air line often will restart the pump as well,
as will lifting the pump out of the water breifly and resubmerging it until it restarts...
trimming the mesh should be your last resort unless it is obviously frayed or misplaced on the impellar.
the few pics i have seen of the impellar mesh mod on the octo extreme looks like it was done rather sloppily and looks as though it should be redone.
consistancy and even distribution of the mesh is paramount. i would suggest as well that if your going to be using fishing line, use the braided carbon fiber fishing line for extra strength. it's hard to tie into knots, but will work great if you melt the ends around the knot or use super glue on the knots
Last edited:
DonW
R.I.P.
Sorry bud.
I'll give you and update on mikes skimmer. Its still works fine and will restart about 50% of the time. Were putting a restart timer on it this week end and that will be fixed. He replace the zip ties with spider wire yesterday like skimmy suggest and its now real quiet. There is a thread on rc that shows the impellor and how it needed a little more mesh. We ruined the cup trying to fix it with weldon #3. It turned into a crazed mess, Its now sealed with weldon 16 and duct tape. Since his better halfs dad own keltec plastics he is building a new cell cast cup. He is also putting a ring around the bottom where it meets the little stand. Its leaks so the ring should fix it and keep the joint from absorbing any more SW.
All in all he is pretty iirritated with the skimmer since he is not a diy tinker type of person. I will get him to register and post since it was his money spent.
Don
