Octopus Hob Skimmer Thought I'd Share

[happyface888]

Well I searched around on other forums for some info on this skimmer and came up empty handed. so I thought I'd share my experience with these hobs. Althought these skimmers resemble CPRS they are no where compared to them. The body of the skimmer is bigger, the intakes and outlets are different, the pumps a needlewheel and the collection cup is different. Here are the three models,

BH100F $150~Dimensions: 18" tall x 13" long x 3" deep

BH100 $100~Dimensions: 18" tall x 8" long x 3" deep

BH300 $135~Dimensions: 18" tall x 11" long x 3" deep

I own the BH100F and its on a 45gallon bow Front, the live stock is: Coral Beauty, Bicolor Blenny, 2 ocellaris clowns, six line wrasse and a yellow tail damsel and some zoas and shrooms. Before I got this skimmer I had a cpr bakpak and I have been using it for 7 years, and all I got was green tea. But before I swithced to the octopus hob I had doubts because I would hear people say its the same as a CPR BakPak but after using it there is no comparsion, my CPR never gave me brown stuff. So once I switched to this new skimmer right on the first day I started to get pee yellow skimmate which was pretty impressive. This skimmer has some bonus features a cpr doesnt have and for the price of a CPR BakPak I get more out of this. The pump is internal so you see one less pump floating around in your tank, a surface skimmer box comes in handy to skim off surface scum. And last it has a extra chamber for filtration media and a heather, getting this skimmer started may be tricky since it relies on a siphon just like a overflow box with the U tube. But once it gets started you wont have to worry about it, just like any hob these skimmers still produce micro bubbles. but there is a easy fix which is to get the cpr bubble trap.

I have been using it for 3 months and now every 3 days the outcome of the skimmate is brown and nasty,

For those wondering how big the BH100F is A friend of mine compared his remora to his own BH100F

This thing is a monster.

The BH100F skimmer would be a great alternative for those that are looking into getting a CPR BakPak, this skimmer cost the same amount as the cpr bakpak but comes with more features. The BH100 is 100 dollars is the true look alike as the CPR BakPak but this one also outpreforms it too. Koraltek from Reefcentral is using this one his 15gallon nano and its pulling nice skimmate aswell.

12 hours of skimming

30 hours of skimming

A fellow reefer used the BH100 on his 90 gallon and in 3 days hes gotten really nasty skimmate

There are others who have used this skimmer and have had good results from it. If you would like more information about this skimmer check out RC's octo hob thread
Reef Central Online Community - Octopus HOB Skimmer Owners
Part2
Reef Central Online Community - Octopus HOB Skimmer Owners

It has some good info on all the models shown above. I would highly recommend others to try it, you wont be dissappointed. Since I checked alot of forums and I never could find good information about it.

Locations to buy one of these
Aquacave.com
CustomAquatics.com
TheReefStop.com

The following is a user's review of the Octopus Hang on Back protein skimmers. This review was written in the hope that it might supply a bit of first-hand knowledge and experience to fellow reefers in the pursuit of assisting them to make informed purchasing decisions. Some Comments are based off personal opinions

 

[reeffreak]

I was wondering about how well the HOB Octopus were.I've only heard great things about their in sump skimmers.Looks like my next skimmer for my second tank next year.

 

[happyface888]

Glade I could be of help. Passing on useful information since the octopus hobs are overlooked. It looks like a cpr than it must proform like a cpr, but theres no comparison.

Heres a quote from a fellow reefer who uses it on his 90gallon, pics above

BY PIankton @RC
I'm the one who has the bh-100 model on a 90 gallon, and those are a couple of my pics up there.

I've been running this skimmer since the end of March of this year on the 90 and I can say that overall - it's worth a shot if you're in the market for a hang-on. For what it can do, the price just can't be beat.

I think that my particular skimmer would be more rated for a 55 to 75 gallon tank max, but I prefer to not run a sterile system. I also don't run a sump or any other type of filtration either so this skimmer works it's butt off for me. I also run it fairly dry.

There are some cons with it as well like there are with anything. The skimmer comes with a foam block in the return side that needs to be removed otherwise it will clog and cause the water level to rise. If the skimmer is not kept clean, the water level can rise to the point of dealing with a possible overflow. There have been some pump problems with some of the models, but that's pretty much rectified as far as I know.

Up sides is the needle wheel chops the water pretty well stock and there's mods going on now with mesh. Should significantly increase the performance. The skimmer's built like a brick. No flimsy or cheap acrylic used at all. You can also throw a bag of media (if you want) in the return side. If the airline silencer isn't used, the pump is loud. Add the silencer and it's almost dead silent and it appears to skim better.

Anyway, for $100 (bh-100) this is probably the best hang-on out there for the money. Bermuda's new Rouge is reportedly doing very well but like $225 - $250. The Deltec speaks for itself, but so does the price.

 

[stevekellner]

Are these any good on smaller size tanks.

 

[daugherty]

this thread is two years old

they will work good but i would look into the octo 800s model

https://www.livingreefs.com/forums/product-reviews/15913-octopus-oct-bh-800s.html

 

[stevekellner]

Seems i'm messing up today. I didnt check date of thread or even last post. Before this replied to another thread which is about year old.

Will look into the oct 800s mode. Thanks.