Octopus BH 100F Help!

[kjbrat]

Hi guys!

My bf got me this skimmer for my birthday. I tried to set it up last night to no avail. The directions are minimal at best and I can't seem to get the siphon started. Nor can I find any help online! Besides one review that says "starting the siphon is tricky". Yeah, it is.

I followed the instructions included with the unit and have had no luck. I filled up the skimmer with tank water. Then, I connect the air hose to the air drain valve with the valve open, start the pump, and then close the air drain valve and remove the air hose. Those are the instructions given. What ends up happening is water eventually gets pumped out of the pump chamber until the level is below the pump, so then everything stops working. The pump starts making "glugging" noises, probably since no water is coming into the chamber.

So I guess the siphon is not being properly started otherwise there would be a continuous flow of water into the pump chamber unless the power goes out.

Any suggestions/past experiences/advice? Thanks!

[Amphiprion]

Here's what I would do. Fill the unit until it begins to drain--the maximum water line. Take off the pump (make sure that both ends of the intake tube are submersed. Take the air line and insert it into the tube where there is still air. Start sucking the air out of that part of the tube until it is gone and remove the tube. Place the pump back on with the tube and start the unit up.

[kjbrat]

Ok I somehow got it running, and it is going continuously. But in addition to the microbubbles there are really large bubbles coming out of the tank return pipe. Any

[Amphiprion]

That is common with these skimmers upon startup. Generally, this decreases as the skimmer breaks in. You may also want to consider a bubble trap if it continues to do that.