Reef Octo LX1000s HOB Arrival + Unboxing + Performance

[crank2211]

Originally Posted by ari5736

Any updates on this skimmer. Can anyone tell me how many inches of height clearance this skimmer needs from the lip of the tank up to a canopy that sits flush parrellel with the edge of the tank.

Still skimming quite well with predictable results. The silicone'd panels only lasted a couple months before they started to peel off when I cleaned. I ended up pulling them off and painting the red acrylic with black Krylon.

I would say at minimum you would need 3" - 3.5" of clearance from the lip of your tank to bottom of canopy in back. Assuming you have the space behind your tank to keep the skimmer pulled all the way back toward the wall of the tank. I can get some more exact measurements later today.

[chuckdallas]

I would like to see how it looks from the front too.

Also, how much did it set you back ($$$)?

[ayrtoncom]

Crank I have a question, how do you solve the problem when the power goes down and the skimmer does not start automatically???

[crank2211]

Originally Posted by chuckdallas

I would like to see how it looks from the front too.

Also, how much did it set you back ($$$)?

$229 shipped back in January. I'll try to find an updated pic.

Originally Posted by ayrtoncom

Crank I have a question, how do you solve the problem when the power goes down and the skimmer does not start automatically???

Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to get it back going automatically after power is killed. The tube stays half filled with water half with air when power comes back. This means the pump won't run dry - but it also won't fully prime itself until I cover the air intake hose for a second. Not ideal by any means. Kinda of a big oversight, IMO.

[jason2459]

I still find it strange that it's like that with the lx1000s and not the lx2000s. It must be the more powerful pump or something.

[crank2211]

Originally Posted by jason2459

I still find it strange that it's like that with the lx1000s and not the lx2000s. It must be the more powerful pump or something.

Could be stronger pump. Maybe has something to do with the placement of the pump and airline in the 2000 model. Either way, it's a bummer

[ayrtoncom]

Crank: Another question during the breaking period of your skimmer the pump stops suddenly at nigths???

My skimmer works fine during the day but when the nigth comes, ussually the pumps stops and I need to unplug the power cord to restart the skimmer

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by ayrtoncom

Crank: Another question during the breaking period of your skimmer the pump stops suddenly at nigths???

My skimmer works fine during the day but when the nigth comes, ussually the pumps stops and I need to unplug the power cord to restart the skimmer

That should not happen. You may need to clean it out. The bubble blasters have a three year warranty and I would call them up on that issue.

[crank2211]

Originally Posted by jason2459

That should not happen. You may need to clean it out. The bubble blasters have a three year warranty and I would call them up on that issue.

Agreed. Unfortunately it's definitely not easy removing the pump from the skimmer. I tried once for an hour or two and was not successful. I hope I missed something somewhere when I tried and the skimmer is not assembled around the pump. Otherwise the whole skimmer would need to be replaced instead of the just the pump.

[ayrtoncom]

Originally Posted by crank2211

Agreed. Unfortunately it's definitely not easy removing the pump from the skimmer. I tried once for an hour or two and was not successful. I hope I missed something somewhere when I tried and the skimmer is not assembled around the pump. Otherwise the whole skimmer would need to be replaced instead of the just the pump.

Crank

I will unplug the whole thing tonigth to check the pump.

Thanks for your help

Saludos.

[ayrtoncom]

Originally Posted by crank2211

Agreed. Unfortunately it's definitely not easy removing the pump from the skimmer. I tried once for an hour or two and was not successful. I hope I missed something somewhere when I tried and the skimmer is not assembled around the pump. Otherwise the whole skimmer would need to be replaced instead of the just the pump.

Crank to remove the pump you just need to unscrew the bubble plate, when you remove the plate you just need to unscrew the black pipe and the take off the pump, yesterday just took me 3 minutes to take off the pump and 3 more to reasemble all the parts.

Saludos.

[pnavarro170]

glad i came across this again, i have a lx2000 for about 3 months now, love it, but yes if its new and it shuts off randomely like crank is describing, same thing happened to me, and what the end result was an impeller magnet that exploded. they sent me a replacement no trouble, but the pump would then leak and also didnt sound right, it would sputter and just didnt sound constant. they didnt really want to send me a whole new pump. so after some back and forth. and pictures an essay and even a video they finally sent me a new pump. now it sounds right and probably works a bit more efficient. so in my experience your pump may go out. they are brand new and the warranty is good. also the end result is awesome and i wouldnt trade it for anything. also thes skimmers will be available in black soon. haha dammit.

[ayrtoncom]

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

glad i came across this again, i have a lx2000 for about 3 months now, love it, but yes if its new and it shuts off randomely like crank is describing, same thing happened to me, and what the end result was an impeller magnet that exploded. they sent me a replacement no trouble, but the pump would then leak and also didnt sound right, it would sputter and just didnt sound constant. they didnt really want to send me a whole new pump. so after some back and forth. and pictures an essay and even a video they finally sent me a new pump. now it sounds right and probably works a bit more efficient. so in my experience your pump may go out. they are brand new and the warranty is good. also the end result is awesome and i wouldnt trade it for anything. also thes skimmers will be available in black soon. haha dammit.

Pnavarro:

I just talked with Katie from CoralVue, CoralVue will change my pump, next monday I will send my broken pump via UPS and they will send me a brand new pump to repalce it.

[josbur63]

Regarding the loss of suction when restarting the skimmer,i just purchased the Super Reef XP-1000S Cone HOB filter for my tank and mine will also lose suction and not run at full throttle until the airline is pinched to remove the remaining air in the tube.It has to be the pump not being strong enough to pull out the remaining air.Other than that,the skimmer works incredibly well.I am going to send an e-mail to Coralvue and see if they have a solution.

[rogerwilco357]

thinking of buying this unit how would you grade it 1-10 and price wise do you think it is the best for the buck have you ever tried the deltec?

[josbur63]

Speaking for myself and the model I purchased,I would give it a 10 so far.I paid $225 for the red model that is at a reduced price to clear inventory for the new black ones.I e-mailed Coralvue directly and that is the price I was given from them,others may differ.It was shipped directly from Coralvue,received in 2 days time.This is my first HOB skimmer,was tired of having a sump.I run 2 HOB filters along with this HOB skimmer.It has outperformed all my in sump skimmers which includes Vertex and SWC.

[pnavarro170]

damn thats a good price, i give mine a 9 out of 10, just because of the pump having to be replaced, still the best HOB skimmer out there so dont wait if your looking for the best. or wait for the black ones. haha. any word on when they will be available ???

[crank2211]

So I was going crazy trying to remove the pump again yesterday. The elbow that the bubble plate screws into is unable to make a full revolution since it hits the back wall. After emailing coralvue I was told that elbow is not threaded and a slip instead. With some leverage I was able to pop the elbow off and get the pump out. This is great news for me since over the past month or so I've been seeing a noticeable reduction in water/air coming from the pump. Everything is soaking in water/vinegar now and after a good cleaning I'm hoping that everything becomes normal again.

On another note, Coralvue customer service is pretty great. I got a response to my question within a couple hours on a Saturday.

[ayrtoncom]

I received my new replacement pump, It runs great for two days, and now I´m having the same problem the pumps stops suddenly and I need to unplug the pump to get it running again, after few minutes stops again

Tonigth I will disamble the pump and find out if the impelor is not alligned!

There is another pump that fits into this skimmer?

[todd141]

what email address did you send your problems to at coralvue?

My lx1000 stops sucking water a lot - want to email them.

thank in advance.

[todd141]

nevermind last post.....i figured out how to contact them from there website.

I contacted them because at least 15 times, i have come home from work and the dang pump had stopped sucking water! I want to know if the dang skimmer has been ruined (the pump, really.)

I mean, dang - almost 300 bucks and it stops sucking in water? (I can't believe I just typed the word "dang" that many times.....)

[pnavarro170]

wow im starting to hear about the same problem happening to other bubble blaster owners, but yes customer service is great, and it looks like they fixed the problem. a guy in our local club even got a different looking coating on his impeller magnet. so that might have been an issue for them. with my replacement pump i didnt open it up to see what the difference is but it works ten times better now.

[ayrtoncom]

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

wow im starting to hear about the same problem happening to other bubble blaster owners, but yes customer service is great, and it looks like they fixed the problem. a guy in our local club even got a different looking coating on his impeller magnet. so that might have been an issue for them. with my replacement pump i didnt open it up to see what the difference is but it works ten times better now.

I´m still waiting for my replacement pump (this is the third one) according to Coral Vue this one is the last generation with a different impelor, as soon as I get it I will take photos to compare the pumps.

[Haplochromine]

REEEEDDDDDDD.

After seeing it I was going to ask about removing the pump, but you said it wasn't too bad.

[J-Burns]

Do you still like your skimmer? Can it overflow onto the floor of is there some kind of safety stop? Thanks