Octopus Hang On Back Skimmer

[Happyface888]

Well I searched around on other forums for some info on this skimmer and came up empty handed. so I thought I'd share my experience with these hobs. Althought these skimmers resemble CPRS they are no where compared to them. The body of the skimmer is bigger, the intakes and outlets are different, the pumps a needlewheel and the collection cup is different. Here are the three models,

BH100F $150~Dimensions: 18" tall x 13" long x 3" deep
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BH100 $100~Dimensions: 18" tall x 8" long x 3" deep
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BH300 $135~Dimensions: 18" tall x 11" long x 3" deep
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I own the BH100F and its on a 45gallon bow Front, the live stock is: Coral Beauty Bicolor Blenny 2 ocellaris clowns six line wrasse and a yellow tail damsel and some zoas and shrooms. Before I got this skimmer I had a cpr bakpak and I have been using it for 7 years and all I got was green tea. But before I swithced to the octopus hob I had doubts because I would hear people say its the same as a CPR BakPak but after using it there is no comparsion my CPR never gave me brown stuff. So once I switched to this new skimmer right on the first day I started to get pee yellow skimmate which was pretty impressive. This skimmer has some bonus features a cpr doesnt have and for the price of a CPR BakPak I get more out of this. The pump is internal so you see one less pump floating around in your tank, a surface skimmer box comes in handy to skim off surface scum. And last it has a extra chamber for filtration media and a heather getting this skimmer started may be tricky since it relies on a siphon just like a overflow box with the U tube. But once it gets started you wont have to worry about it, just like any hob these skimmers still produce micro bubbles. but there is a easy fix which is to get the cpr bubble trap.


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I have been using it for 3 months and now every 3 days the outcome of the skimmate is brown and nasty

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For those wondering how big the BH100F is A friend of mine compared his remora to his own BH100F

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This thing is a monster.

The BH100F skimmer would be a great alternative for those that are looking into getting a CPR BakPak this skimmer cost the same amount as the cpr bakpak but comes with more features. The BH100 is 100 dollars is the true look alike as the CPR BakPak but this one also outpreforms it too. Koraltek from Reefcentral is using this one his 15gallon nano and its pulling nice skimmate aswell.

12 hours of skimming
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30 hours of skimming
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A fellow reefer used the BH100 on his 90 gallon and in 3 days hes gotten really nasty skimmate

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There are others who have used this skimmer and have had good results from it. If you would like more information about this skimmer check out RC's octo hob thread
Reef Central Online Community - Octopus HOB Skimmer Owners
Part2
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1260766&perpage=25&page number=1

It has some good info on all the models shown above. I would highly recommend others to try it you wont be dissappointed. Since I checked alot of forums and I never could find good information about it. Please check out the octo thread on RC for questions and answers.
Locations to buy one of these
Aquacave.com
CustomAquatics.com
TheReefStop.com

The following is a user's review of the Octopus Hang on Back protein skimmers. This review was written in the hope that it might supply a bit of first-hand knowledge and experience to fellow reefers in the pursuit of assisting them to make informed purchasing decisions. Some Comments are based off personal opinions

[Camilsky]

Hey!

Thanks for info! BTW... Nice tank!

[omard]

To 3Reef!!!

Salutations! Glad to see you found way here!

Very nice review!

Looks to be a great skimmer for the price.

Thanks for posting.


(Methinks I would also drill a overflow port on collection cup...did not see one in pics...???)

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00

[Matt Rogers]

Great review! Thanks for joining 3reef. You've quickly added to our community here.

Could I bribe you with karma to do a shorter version in the reviews section?

3reef Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

It's a 2 part deal. Fill in the overview, submit, then do the pro/con in the quick reply.

Thanks again! Good stuff. Looks like that skimmer is working well for you.

matt

[steve888]

I am looking into Bh-100F for my 75 gallon reef. Actually waiting for bh-300F which is recirculating needle-wheel I believe, but it may be overkill for my tank and double the price. questions on the bh-100F

- How does the surface skimming for for you? Pic shows its too low.
- Do you put any carbon or phosphate removing in the chamber?
- Can the bh-100F hang on Eurobrace rim that is 2 inch? Most important question, my tank's rim is Eurobrace and they are 2 inch.

[Happyface888]

Originally Posted by steve888

I am looking into Bh-100F for my 75 gallon reef. Actually waiting for bh-300F which is recirculating needle-wheel I believe, but it may be overkill for my tank and double the price. questions on the bh-100F

- How does the surface skimming for for you? Pic shows its too low.
- Do you put any carbon or phosphate removing in the chamber?
- Can the bh-100F hang on Eurobrace rim that is 2 inch? Most important question, my tank's rim is Eurobrace and they are 2 inch.

The BH300F looks awsome, its probaly going to be one of the first reciric model. Marinesolutionsinc will have these on the 21st, I wonder who will get one. I'd like to hear a review on this though.



- How does the surface skimming for for you? Pic shows its too low.
The surface skimming box works well but in order to use it you will have to hack saw some of the inlet. Some of my other fellow reefers have asked and talked with coralvue's director David and found out that many have sawed off some of the intake in order to use the surface skimming box. It works pretty well, but you have to have the surface skimming box on or else a fish or snail would go up the inlet.

- Do you put any carbon or phosphate removing in the chamber?
Yes I put carbon in my last chamber, it comes in handy. I also put my heater and my temp probe back there. The great thing about this skimmer is the pumps in the back.

- Can the bh-100F hang on Eurobrace rim that is 2 inch? Most important question, my tank's rim is Eurobrace and they are 2 inch
I will check and come back with a reply later, Im currently not at home.

Another bonus is this skimmer can use the CPR add ons. But there is no comparison to the cpr. Great price for a great skimmer.

[Happyface888]

Originally Posted by Matt Rogers

Great review! Thanks for joining 3reef. You've quickly added to our community here.



Could I bribe you with karma to do a shorter version in the reviews section?



3reef Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost



It's a 2 part deal. Fill in the overview, submit, then do the pro/con in the quick reply.



Thanks again! Good stuff. Looks like that skimmer is working well for you.



matt

Done Thanks for the link much appreciate and I hope to hear back from other reefers who have also used this skimmer.
Its kind of hard to find info on this skimmer. I visted alot of forums also.

I also recommend when you recive this skimmer is to remove the black sponge. I was told by other owners of the octopus, that the sponge can get clogged and cause a flood.

[steve888]

Thanks alot happyface888. Great help. I am very excited about the bh-100F and even more for the upcomin bh-300F. Will watch your post to see it it'll fit my Eurobrace.

[octopushobguy]

Originally Posted by steve888

Thanks alot happyface888. Great help. I am very excited about the bh-100F and even more for the upcomin bh-300F. Will watch your post to see it it'll fit my Eurobrace.

Hi Steve
I contacted David and asked for you

David at Coralvue

It is possible that he could use it. He may have to do some extra rigging to make sure the skimmer is fastened down and will not fall off the back. We have sold thousands of these skimmers and I have not had anyone tell me they had problems with a euro braced tank. There are also some that have different measurements that can effect the mounting of the skimmer so I cannot tell you 100% that it would work, it just depends on the tank he has.

Hope this helps.

David

If you have any more questions feel free to contact coralvue at
support@coralvue.com

[edmlfc1]

Thank you so much for posting this. I just ordered the Octopus Hang On Back Skimmer today and also could not find many reviews. I am so glad I choose the right one. I almost ordered another that was twice the price until I read the reviews and decided aganist it. The pictures are a great help also. Now I know how big it really is and what to look foward too. This was a great help for a beginner ("ME"). New to the saltwater thing and learning all I can. Now I can't wait until I get it in!