Skimmer question

[FishyReef]

I bought a skimmer (reef octopus) months ago, but with my sump issues have yet to actually start running it... well I think this weekend will be the first test of my skimmer! I've heard a lot about needing to break in a skimmer for a few days before it actually starts to work well, and have read a lot about having to work at adjusting the valve to get it just right so that the cup doesn't overflow with water etc. My question is how best to do this while breaking it in. Right now my skimmer is sitting in my 20 high sump which is turned sideways and hanging out of my stand. I can't actually get the skimmer cup out of the stand without taking the top off and turning it sideways to get it to fit under the mid-bar in the stand. Fortunately it does have a drain on the cup so I can just drain it another container. Given all the issues I've had, is it better for me to break it in by running it in the water that's sitting in the sump without the actual pumps or gravity siphon to and from the tank running? My sump is currently shut down after my mid-week flood, and won't be fixed until the weekend, but the water in my sump still has crap that has collected on the bottom so should be skimmer-worthy! Or would it be better for me to (a) get the sump running again and then turn on the skimmer to break it in, or (b) remove the skimmer from the sump entirely and break it in in a separate container of salt water? I really want to avoid either another flood or an overflowing skimmer cup during its break in period!

Thank you all! One day my tank will be beautiful and all of my questions and your answers will have paid off!!! ;)

 

[bigford]

i broke in my octopus 150 with the plug out and just let the water flow back
into the sump.