Octopus HOB BH-100F watts and SCFH

vid660 · 02/11/2009, 05:16 PM

It looks like the Octopus HOB Owners thread is dead now. No activity an more for quite some time.

Does anyone know how many watts this skimmer uses (according to a kill-a-watt) and how many SCFH it flows unmodded? Unfortunately, I didn't check before I mesh modded mine. I'd like to know if I gained anything or went backwards in performance.

Thanks

vid660 · 02/12/2009, 12:53 PM

There's got to be someone out there with this skimmer and a kill-a-watt meter.

vid660 · 02/19/2009, 10:14 PM

Just got my kill-a-watt and flow meter. Here's what I measured:

18 watts
~5 scfh (kinda hard to tell low numbers using a RMA-7)

Anyone out there have numbers for an un-modified bh100f? I'd really like to know if I gained anything by doing the mesh mod and drilling out the nipple where the air tube plugs in the motor housing.

vid660 · 02/20/2009, 02:38 PM

Why do I get the feeling I'm talking to myself?

labgood · 02/20/2009, 04:49 PM

i just bought one of these can you tell me what the mod is? How do you do it and what does it accomplish. I am setting up a tank and i am completely new to this. I noticed a lot of micro bubbles and i am looking for a solution.

vid660 · 02/20/2009, 05:01 PM

Here's where I found some info:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1

Most of the micro bubbles will go away after it breaks in. Cutting some off the return tube helps too. I also cut some off the intake tube since it was so long the overflow was under water.

dzeadow · 02/20/2009, 05:40 PM

i doubt you're getting 5scfh with that thing. When I messured mine back in the day, it was around the 1-3 mark, bouncing which meant it was probably close to 1 or 2. I modded mine and got like 7-10, can't remember exactly which. Don't have a killawatt so i have no idea as far as the wattage. I don't run it anymore either so I don't really have anymore info.

vid660 · 02/20/2009, 05:45 PM

Ya, it was bouncing up to the 5 mark. You don't think the mesh mod I did (2 layers) improved it at all? It did go nuts after the mesh was added. Had to raise the collection cup about an inch.

BTW, I have the OTP-1000 pump that it came with.

dzeadow · 02/20/2009, 05:48 PM

sorry, missed that point completely. Yeah the mesh probably jumped it up to what you're seeing. I thought it was unmodded for some reason, i guess I should learn how to read! By the sounds of it the otp-1000 isn't much better than the original resuns that they started with other than it may not burn out like the resuns did.

vid660 · 02/20/2009, 05:51 PM

Thanks for the response. It sounds like I won't get much more out of it. It actually works very well for my little 29g, so I should just leave well enough alone before I break it.

Now I'm going to have some fun modding my octopus nw150. I'm sure I have a little more room for improvement on that skimmer than the 100f.

vid660 · 02/23/2009, 05:18 PM

Now I did it. I couldn't leave the bh100f alone. I re-did the mesh mod and did some porting (see pics). Now I'm at 13 SCFH (bouncing to 17-18) at 21 watts. Looks like I've gone too far. I can't even put the collection cup on as it is wanting to overflow without it. I guess I'll have to take some of the mesh off to try and calm it down a bit.

vid660 · 02/23/2009, 05:33 PM

Ok. I trimmed the mesh down. I think this is all I'm going to get out of this skimmer safely.

Here's the foam level without the collection cup.

I figured I'd post my results in case someone else wanted some info on modding their bh100f.

vid660 · 02/23/2009, 05:39 PM

And finally, you can see how far I had to move the collection cup after doing these mods.

dzeadow · 02/23/2009, 05:51 PM

you should have let the pump run in a bucket of vinegar/water and let it break in... they all calm down a little after break in, but looks good.

vid660 · 02/23/2009, 06:06 PM

I was going to do that but didn't have enough vinegar and since it's a hob, I'd have to use 2-3 containers to prevent spillage as it was wanting to overflow with foam very quickly. I also didn't like it being over the rated 18 watts and I had to blow in the airline get the pump working, so it need some of the mesh trimmed off anyway. After the mesh trim, it starts right up.

My nw150 is sitting in a container of vinegar/water right now. Been there since last night. With alot of trial and error, I ended up with 16 SCFH (bounces to 20) at 35 watts. The pump is rated at 38 watts. So I was able to gain 6 SCFH while reducing it by 3 watts. Hopefully it works out for me.

dzeadow · 02/23/2009, 06:16 PM

its interesting that the pump has a high wattage w/ the air. for example, the sicce pump that I have on my msx200 is rated at like 42w when running normal. Doing the mesh to it brings the wattage down to around 21-23, and that's pulling 35-40scfh. Probably just the design of the pump tho

vid660 · 02/23/2009, 06:24 PM

I agree. The 90 degree elbow it has to go through when goes from the pump to the skimmer just kills the flow. I can't believe how narrow it is. I bored it out a bit and it helped both with air flow and reduction in watts. That pretty much confirmed the pump is being restricted. I'm questioning the overall quality of this otp-2000 pump. It just seems poorly designed. But for the $140 I paid for this skimmer new, I can't complain. It works very well for the price I paid.

02/11/2009, 05:16 PM	#1
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Octopus HOB BH-100F watts and SCFH It looks like the Octopus HOB Owners thread is dead now. No activity an more for quite some time. Does anyone know how many watts this skimmer uses (according to a kill-a-watt) and how many SCFH it flows unmodded? Unfortunately, I didn't check before I mesh modded mine. I'd like to know if I gained anything or went backwards in performance. Thanks

02/20/2009, 05:40 PM	#7
dzeadow Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 2,589	i doubt you're getting 5scfh with that thing. When I messured mine back in the day, it was around the 1-3 mark, bouncing which meant it was probably close to 1 or 2. I modded mine and got like 7-10, can't remember exactly which. Don't have a killawatt so i have no idea as far as the wattage. I don't run it anymore either so I don't really have anymore info. __________________ - Danny Current Tank Info: Dual 50 Breeder system, 30g custom sump/fuge, MSX200, Tank1-6x24T5 retro, Tank2-4x39T5 retro

02/20/2009, 05:48 PM	#9
dzeadow Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 2,589	sorry, missed that point completely. Yeah the mesh probably jumped it up to what you're seeing. I thought it was unmodded for some reason, i guess I should learn how to read! By the sounds of it the otp-1000 isn't much better than the original resuns that they started with other than it may not burn out like the resuns did. __________________ - Danny Current Tank Info: Dual 50 Breeder system, 30g custom sump/fuge, MSX200, Tank1-6x24T5 retro, Tank2-4x39T5 retro

02/23/2009, 05:51 PM	#14
dzeadow Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 2,589	you should have let the pump run in a bucket of vinegar/water and let it break in... they all calm down a little after break in, but looks good. __________________ - Danny Current Tank Info: Dual 50 Breeder system, 30g custom sump/fuge, MSX200, Tank1-6x24T5 retro, Tank2-4x39T5 retro

02/23/2009, 06:16 PM	#16
dzeadow Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 2,589	its interesting that the pump has a high wattage w/ the air. for example, the sicce pump that I have on my msx200 is rated at like 42w when running normal. Doing the mesh to it brings the wattage down to around 21-23, and that's pulling 35-40scfh. Probably just the design of the pump tho __________________ - Danny Current Tank Info: Dual 50 Breeder system, 30g custom sump/fuge, MSX200, Tank1-6x24T5 retro, Tank2-4x39T5 retro

02/12/2009, 12:53 PM	#2
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	There's got to be someone out there with this skimmer and a kill-a-watt meter.

02/19/2009, 10:14 PM	#3
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Just got my kill-a-watt and flow meter. Here's what I measured: 18 watts ~5 scfh (kinda hard to tell low numbers using a RMA-7) Anyone out there have numbers for an un-modified bh100f? I'd really like to know if I gained anything by doing the mesh mod and drilling out the nipple where the air tube plugs in the motor housing.

02/20/2009, 02:38 PM	#4
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Why do I get the feeling I'm talking to myself?

02/20/2009, 04:49 PM	#5
labgood Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1	i just bought one of these can you tell me what the mod is? How do you do it and what does it accomplish. I am setting up a tank and i am completely new to this. I noticed a lot of micro bubbles and i am looking for a solution.

02/20/2009, 05:01 PM	#6
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Here's where I found some info: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1 Most of the micro bubbles will go away after it breaks in. Cutting some off the return tube helps too. I also cut some off the intake tube since it was so long the overflow was under water.

02/20/2009, 05:45 PM	#8
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Ya, it was bouncing up to the 5 mark. You don't think the mesh mod I did (2 layers) improved it at all? It did go nuts after the mesh was added. Had to raise the collection cup about an inch. BTW, I have the OTP-1000 pump that it came with.

02/20/2009, 05:51 PM	#10
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Thanks for the response. It sounds like I won't get much more out of it. It actually works very well for my little 29g, so I should just leave well enough alone before I break it. Now I'm going to have some fun modding my octopus nw150. I'm sure I have a little more room for improvement on that skimmer than the 100f.

02/23/2009, 05:18 PM	#11
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Now I did it. I couldn't leave the bh100f alone. I re-did the mesh mod and did some porting (see pics). Now I'm at 13 SCFH (bouncing to 17-18) at 21 watts. Looks like I've gone too far. I can't even put the collection cup on as it is wanting to overflow without it. I guess I'll have to take some of the mesh off to try and calm it down a bit.

02/23/2009, 05:33 PM	#12
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	Ok. I trimmed the mesh down. I think this is all I'm going to get out of this skimmer safely. Here's the foam level without the collection cup. I figured I'd post my results in case someone else wanted some info on modding their bh100f.

02/23/2009, 05:39 PM	#13
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	And finally, you can see how far I had to move the collection cup after doing these mods.

02/23/2009, 06:06 PM	#15
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	I was going to do that but didn't have enough vinegar and since it's a hob, I'd have to use 2-3 containers to prevent spillage as it was wanting to overflow with foam very quickly. I also didn't like it being over the rated 18 watts and I had to blow in the airline get the pump working, so it need some of the mesh trimmed off anyway. After the mesh trim, it starts right up. My nw150 is sitting in a container of vinegar/water right now. Been there since last night. With alot of trial and error, I ended up with 16 SCFH (bounces to 20) at 35 watts. The pump is rated at 38 watts. So I was able to gain 6 SCFH while reducing it by 3 watts. Hopefully it works out for me.

02/23/2009, 06:24 PM	#17
vid660 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 466	I agree. The 90 degree elbow it has to go through when goes from the pump to the skimmer just kills the flow. I can't believe how narrow it is. I bored it out a bit and it helped both with air flow and reduction in watts. That pretty much confirmed the pump is being restricted. I'm questioning the overall quality of this otp-2000 pump. It just seems poorly designed. But for the $140 I paid for this skimmer new, I can't complain. It works very well for the price I paid.