How long for Octopus 100 HOB to break in?

[Robert German]

I bought a Octopus 100 HOB on E-bay and got it yesterday,put it in the tank and all that happened is a lot of pump noise and a mild micro bubble action,not enough to begin to cause any skimmate. I E-mailed the seller about this and he tells me this is a top skimmer and he only used about a week on his tank and these skimmers can take as long as 3 weeks to break in. I'd like any feed back from anyone out there who has one of these to let me know how long it took to break in their Oct. 100 HOB, and if they've had a lot of pump noise from it. Thanks

[sneeyatch]

mine actually started pulling within the first day, but it was wet which was fine at the time. it's been about a week or so, and it's getting better and better. give it some time - maybe i was lucky. i also don't use the silencer. i would think it would impede the airflow some. i don't like the design. noise isn't too bad but definately noticeable, and the return does throw some bubbles. i also removed the foam block at the bottom that surrounds the return pipe. that bad boy will clog up quick and cause your water level to rise. i recommend removing it. just be careful when dis-assembling it. you have to remove one side of pipes first, then the other side, and be sure to put the right pipes back on the way they were. the threads on the fittings are unique.

i think the perfect setting is this:

adjust the cup so that the bottom of the actual container part of the cup is level with the top of the black acrylic slots used for the additional rim clamp in front. use the set screw on the side to hold the cup in place and let it run. at this setting, the cup gets 3/4 of the way full after 2 days.

hth - great skimmer for the money