Octopus BH-1000 HOB skimmer LEAKING!

[twelvejewelz]

im not new to the hobby but this place gets the most views and im sure someone can help me.so i woke up this morning and stepped on the floor to get up and it was all squishy..Apparently my octopus bh-1000 was leaking for a little while on my 20 gallon high nano and it was about 3 inches lower than the correct water line. IM FURIOUS RIGHT NOW. All of the electric outlets and timers and what not are SOAKED. I Feel like calling them and Losing it on them.This is ridiculous.Its been working fine for 2 months why would it start to leak out of nowhere like that?Its leaking right where i screw the pipe fitting thread into the external pump what should i do now to fix it ? I was working so amazing and pulling out some nasty stuff wonderfully for all this time and now this?! I love the skimmer but i cant be scared that my tank is going to be drained when i wake up in the morning its to damn stressful to go to sleep at night knowing that all that $$$ and time would be down the drain and waisted.What would you do? Should i contact octopus?I love the skimmer but i dont know if its worth the stress..what should i do please help!Thanks in advance!

[catch1]

I'd contact them and ditch the octo/set up an in sump

[twelvejewelz]

as i would do that but i paid money for the octopus and theres no way im going to waste money on buying another skimmer when the one i have works amazing(when its not leaking).Also for my situation a HOB is necessary as i do not have a sump.Anyone else have any more opinions or suggestions? thanksss

[ocellaris123]

Check the O-ring and make sure it is clear of particulates and that it is seated properly. Make sure the thread adapters are not cracked either, and tighten to make a good seal. I have a BH-2000 and the thing works amazingly so I understand why you don't want to give up on it.

[twelvejewelz]

Originally Posted by ocellaris123

Check the O-ring and make sure it is clear of particulates and that it is seated properly. Make sure the thread adapters are not cracked either, and tighten to make a good seal. I have a BH-2000 and the thing works amazingly so I understand why you don't want to give up on it.

I checked it and ran it in a bucket and it was fine. I took all of the pieces off and put them back on and tightened them up and it was running good on the bucket. There are no fractures at all and the O ring is nice and "fresh".The thing i don't understand it how after running for over a month out of nowhere it would start to leak like that?Like i said there are no cracks at all...It shouldn't have done that especially since it wasn't touched at all i really don't get it.Your right the octopus skimmer works Amazing, it really does a great job and i don't want to part with it, but now I'm really nervous to run it again since this happened out of nowhere like that then it can happen again i would assume.

[twelvejewelz]

also what do you think about teflon tape? is it reef safe? would it work to get a better seal? anyone else id really apreciate it jstu with 2 days no skimmer my sps are starting to look alittle off. I was getting about a half a cup of total nasty filth a day just out of a 20high so these 2 days its starting to build up and id like to get it going asap.

[ocellaris123]

We use teflon tape on some of our fybroc pumps and thread fittings at the aquarium of the pacific, so I don't see it being an issue. That is really strange what happened and it is making me a little nervous about the ocotpus. The only thing I can think of is that the O-ring lost its seal or the thread connector loosened up somehow.

[twelvejewelz]

ill try the teflon tape thanks. Yea i know thats why im so nervous because i do not need a repeat of this incident!! As it was leaking i checked the connector and it was jsut as tight as it was the day i set it up. I tried to stop the leak by tightening on the spot but it didnt budge or stop the leak at all. The O ring is fine though its "fresh" and a god "consistency" if you will so i coulndt imagine how it would lose its seal. Its all really strange to me and im really nervous to set it up again but i guess tomorrow im going to give it another shot with some teflon and see how it goes.Im going to put a 5 gallon bucket behind the tank under the skimmer just in case this time because my carpet is still wet lol. I lost around that much water so it would then drain in the bucket. If it happens again though , as much as i love this skimmer its going to have to go.Would putting aquarium silicone on the threads and then screwing it on be better than teflon tape perhaps? or should i just go with the teflon?
thanks for all the help this is a nightmare! I have such a big bioload and the skimmer was pulling TONS of stuff out so in the past 2 days i can imagine how dirty the water is right now haha

[ocellaris123]

Silicone would be a bad idea, especially since the pump will have to be unthreaded and cleaned from time to time. Check your pm. Their is a review of a BH-2000 and the individual used plumbers silicon grease to stop the leak.

[ocellaris123]

BTW I would cable tie the airline to the venturi connection to secure it in place. If the airline were to come off that would cause a big time mess

[twelvejewelz]

i ran it in a bucket for a while and it wasnt leaking. Then i put some teflon tape on it and now i have it back up and running. Wish me luck because if this happens again its going out the third story window .

[twelvejewelz]

0.o OH MY GOD! So it was running for a few days now and was totally fine. Then i wake up this morning and there was about 4 inches of water missing from my tank hmm where did it go... i step on the carpet and once again SQUISH !! This thing is garbage. It works so amazing at pulling stuff out of my tank.It really is an amazing skimmer when it isnt leaking all over my floor and its a shame that im going to have to get rid of it , it really is .This time it was leaking from the other side of the elbow where i didnt put any teflon tape..A skimmer should work out of the box and shouldnt have to be modified to get it working right.Im going to email them and see if they can do anything because i cant sleep good at night knowing im going to wake up to a flood thats just ridiculous!So i took it off and i was cleaning the cup and the cup came apart at the seam as well.. This thing really is made horribly i cant believe it. For something that works so well i shouldnt be having all of these problems. What can i do to fix the seam on acrylic like this weldon? Mabe ill fix it and sell it for really cheap and explain to people that it needs alittle fixing for a DIYer..Can anyone recommend a good HOB skimmer for a 20 gallon high nano that WORKS AS GOOD as the Reef octopus BH-1000 but with no problems? It needs to have a surface skimmer as well as have a pump that isnt in the tank.. Any ideas ?Thanks everyone

[twelvejewelz]

well i contacted Coralvue and there customer service is top notch they are wonderful and very helpful! They are sending me a new skimmer cup and they are going to help me fix the leaking problem tomorrow. So this will be the last time i give it a try and hope it works. Im going to keep a 5 gallon bucket under the pump this time and if it leaks itll only go into the bucket this way i feel alittle more safe with it. wish me luck.

[James404]

At least they are working with you to resolve this. I have one of the Super Reef Octopuses and its a great skimmer!

[Chris27]

It is a necessary evil with the Octo HOB skimmers. You need to ensure that the gasket and seating surfaces are very clean, additionally, you need to ensure that the gasket is sitting completely flat and not stretched in any way. The way the plumbing is designed can make it hard to get it tight without stretching the gasket.

[Garage1217]

It should have some form of seal at every thread, preferably teflon tape. Just take it apart and seal every thread and have no worries again with the threads leaking. Most likely the vibration from time caused the threads to loosen a bit. I am actually surprised you did not tape them all after the first leak just to be safe.

[twelvejewelz]

Originally Posted by James404

At least they are working with you to resolve this. I have one of the Super Reef Octopuses and its a great skimmer!

yea the skimmer really is amazing but it has been a headache with the 2 floods so far :-/ .I have to say though their customer service is top notch! They are sending the new cup at no charge. Im waiting for them to get back to me now to give me some help on how to stop it from leaking.

Originally Posted by Chris27

It is a necessary evil with the Octo HOB skimmers. You need to ensure that the gasket and seating surfaces are very clean, additionally, you need to ensure that the gasket is sitting completely flat and not stretched in any way. The way the plumbing is designed can make it hard to get it tight without stretching the gasket.

Yea i made sure to clean all of the gaskets before i installed it and it seems they are good, if not it would have leaked right away and not after a month of running. But the gaskets are a pain, i think there should have been another way to do the plumbing instead of the way they chose.Someone needs to get on the ball and design a leak proof fitting and i would give the skimmer an 11 out of 10 lol .

Originally Posted by Garage1217

It should have some form of seal at every thread, preferably teflon tape. Just take it apart and seal every thread and have no worries again with the threads leaking. Most likely the vibration from time caused the threads to loosen a bit. I am actually surprised you did not tape them all after the first leak just to be safe.

See i thought this to but then i read some things about the teflon acually making the water possible to pass the threads and actually ruining the threads so im kind of weary to use the tape. Your right though after the first leak i should have just did both of the areas with teflon and gave that a shot. I just figured "if it aint broke dont fix it " and i didnt want to make it leak since it wasnt already leaking. Your vibration idea sounds very feasible though. Im going to wait and see what coralvue has to say about it and i will probably teflon tape both parts and give this one last shot. I really dont want to give this thing up like i said it works so amazing at pulling the "gunk" that i doubt theres a better one out there..

[ocellaris123]

thats really strange, if your looking for another skimmer I would get the BH-100F. The pump is internal so less wories of a leak

[VacavilleFC3S]

honestly you get what you pay for, all coralvue products are pretty much garbage.

you should have just bought an aquac remora

[twelvejewelz]

Originally Posted by ocellaris123

thats really strange, if your looking for another skimmer I would get the BH-100F. The pump is internal so less wories of a leak

Im going to give this one more try with teflon on both pieces and if it dosnt work i will buy the BH-100f . I contacted ATB and was going to get their HOB cone skimmer but they are remodeling it now and they will release the new one soon.I hear they are amazing skimmers.

Originally Posted by VacavilleFC3S

honestly you get what you pay for, all coralvue products are pretty much garbage.

you should have just bought an aquac remora

The octopus skimmers are some of the best on the market. Ive seen people do a comparison between the octopus HOB's and an aqua c remora and the octopus blew the thing away. If that was true they are the same price. The octopus actually works amazingly once i can get over this leaking issue

[Garage1217]

Originally Posted by VacavilleFC3S

honestly you get what you pay for, all coralvue products are pretty much garbage.

you should have just bought an aquac remora

Are you joking? *LOL* You obviously have a lot to learn when it comes to who is making what and what is quality and what is not if you are recommending an aquaC *LOL*. I have had awesome results with multiple coralvue products and many higher end coralvue products and so have countless others.

[twelvejewelz]

they sent me a new skimmer cup free coralvue's customer service is outstanding. I used teflon tape on all the unions and there hasnt been another leak yet and its been a week. The thing is though i can hear air where the unions with the teflon are.Its making a hissing sound hopefully it dosnt leak again but only time will tell now.

[Chris27]

Originally Posted by VacavilleFC3S

honestly you get what you pay for, all coralvue products are pretty much garbage.

you should have just bought an aquac remora

They cost about the same pal - not sure I see your point? Using that logic, one can assume that they should toss their Bubble King, Deltec or ATB and hang a Remora on their tank.....

FWIW, Coralvue is simply a distributor of Octopus products, the manufacturer is Honya....Their bread and butter is lighting (Vue Tech) and they design reliable, affordable, well supported products.

Kicking someone while they are down is a nice trait to have - keep up the good work.

[twelvejewelz]

Originally Posted by chris27

they cost about the same pal - not sure i see your point? Using that logic, one can assume that they should toss their bubble king, deltec or atb and hang a remora on their tank.....

Fwiw, coralvue is simply a distributor of octopus products, the manufacturer is honya....their bread and butter is lighting (vue tech) and they design reliable, affordable, well supported products.

Kicking someone while they are down is a nice trait to have - keep up the good work.

+1

[theatrus]

Hope it holds up for you. My old Octopus recirc is still going strong, but is parked in the sump where leaks don't matter