octopus dnw-150 skimmer cant get to skim consistent

iverson387 · 04/03/2009, 12:20 AM

Im having trouble with my octopus dnw-150 calcium reactor. I bought it new about 2-3 months ago and set it up on my 150 gallon tank. Now it has the pipe which you turn open/closed to adjust. I adjust it so that the foam is right at the top of the cup. Then it will be ok for a couple of hours then all the sudden it will overflow for 10-15 min then be ok for a couple hours again. But once it overflows all the stuff in the cup pours into my sump making the tank cloudy and the process keeps repeating. I have tried to bring down the foam level by opening the pipe more but then it doesnt skim at all. Am i doing something wrong? Would putting a gate valve instead of the pipe help to fix thsi?

iverson387 · 04/08/2009, 08:27 PM

bump anyone???

rachenbrazil · 04/09/2009, 05:42 AM

what pump do you use to feed ? If you are using overflow , maybe should change feeding with a nice pump.
I tried several models , maxijet 900 , 1200 but no sucess . Now using a quiet one 800 and works fine for me. Make you adjustment before any feeding , set up level close to the bottom of cup , maybe 1/2 inch lower... then wait , if your feed flow is consistent , the easier to regulate the skimmer...

saline solution · 04/09/2009, 06:43 PM

Turn off recirc pump, set non bubbled water level to bottom of cup, turn on bubbles. If it overflows adjust down a little, but I doubt it will. Once that skimmer has cleaned your tank it wont produce much skimmate. You can always improve on the needlewheel it came with by purchasing a pinwheel, but the improvement is suttle. The typical reason this happens is a change in water to the skimmer, like feeding, or kalk, or something else. There are hundreds of mods for that skimmer, and the only one that works well is a mesh mod...oh...and venturi mod, but the mesh mod will most likely shorten the lifespan of the motor because of the cheap wire the opt-2000 is wrapped with. Good luck.

iverson387 · 04/26/2009, 11:51 PM

put a ball valve on the outflow and now it works amazing. Skim is dead consistent and havent had it overflow once. Def a must do mod.

04/03/2009, 12:20 AM	#1
iverson387 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: ny Posts: 212	octopus dnw-150 skimmer cant get to skim consistent Im having trouble with my octopus dnw-150 calcium reactor. I bought it new about 2-3 months ago and set it up on my 150 gallon tank. Now it has the pipe which you turn open/closed to adjust. I adjust it so that the foam is right at the top of the cup. Then it will be ok for a couple of hours then all the sudden it will overflow for 10-15 min then be ok for a couple hours again. But once it overflows all the stuff in the cup pours into my sump making the tank cloudy and the process keeps repeating. I have tried to bring down the foam level by opening the pipe more but then it doesnt skim at all. Am i doing something wrong? Would putting a gate valve instead of the pipe help to fix thsi?

04/09/2009, 05:42 AM	#3
rachenbrazil Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil Posts: 738	what pump do you use to feed ? If you are using overflow , maybe should change feeding with a nice pump. I tried several models , maxijet 900 , 1200 but no sucess . Now using a quiet one 800 and works fine for me. Make you adjustment before any feeding , set up level close to the bottom of cup , maybe 1/2 inch lower... then wait , if your feed flow is consistent , the easier to regulate the skimmer... __________________ Love Fishes 200 G soft coral reef with vertes ômega 150. 25 G nano reef cadlights nano pls50

04/09/2009, 06:43 PM	#4
saline solution Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Coeur D'alene, ID Posts: 142	Turn off recirc pump, set non bubbled water level to bottom of cup, turn on bubbles. If it overflows adjust down a little, but I doubt it will. Once that skimmer has cleaned your tank it wont produce much skimmate. You can always improve on the needlewheel it came with by purchasing a pinwheel, but the improvement is suttle. The typical reason this happens is a change in water to the skimmer, like feeding, or kalk, or something else. There are hundreds of mods for that skimmer, and the only one that works well is a mesh mod...oh...and venturi mod, but the mesh mod will most likely shorten the lifespan of the motor because of the cheap wire the opt-2000 is wrapped with. Good luck. __________________ its a grand hobby Shaun Current Tank Info: just a glass box, and a flashlight

04/08/2009, 08:27 PM	#2
iverson387 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: ny Posts: 212	bump anyone???

04/26/2009, 11:51 PM	#5
iverson387 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: ny Posts: 212	put a ball valve on the outflow and now it works amazing. Skim is dead consistent and havent had it overflow once. Def a must do mod.