Reef Octopus DDNW-250

[IanJ]

Just picked up one of these today to replace an old skimmer.

Anyone run one and/or seen one run and can comment on performance?

With 2 pumps, a 10 inch diameter and really cheap i hope it's a winner

[thugmebaby]

I have the same skimmer and on my heavilty stocked 180 I don't feel as though it works that great. Incosistent at times and overflows randomly and not sure why it does it. It is being fed from a constant level source so i know thats not causing the issues. Maybe someone can chime in and explain if theres does it also. On a side note its awfully loud for some reason. I have not modified mine one bit.

[IanJ]

Oh, dear, thats a worry.
I only saw the 3 pump model that has been running a long time at the shop. It's run faultlessly for them and the results are really excellent. I did not notice any pump noise. As the 3 pump model was a bit overkill for my tank, i decided on the DDNW-250
Anyone else have experience?

[IanJ]

So I put it all together last night, no real problems. Can’t say its noisy, about the same as my old Aquamedic 5000 baby. It has a slight vibration which causes some resonance with the tank cabinet, but was easily solved by stuffing a bit of paper between the outlet and the cabinet.

The only thing I am trying to get my head around is that although I am feeding it with the same pump(Ehiem 1260) the overflow return cant keep up with the skimmer feed so the sump chamber where I concentrate the overflow keeps running dry. For now I have to position the outlet so it returns back to the feed section of the sump. Never had this with the 5000 baby. I will try a slightly smaller feed pump so I can move the return back to the second chamber.

Water level remains stable, the gate valve wide open and the water level just at the riser. It’s now in its run in period.

Comparing the quality and construction to the Aquamedic, it’s at least as good and I think as good or better than many other needle wheel skimmers on the market.

Time will tell on performance, but from first impressions I have little doubt it will perform well. For less than ¼ the price of a similar sized Deltec, it’s hard not to be impressed so far.

[thugmebaby]

I have the vibrations in the lid of the cup mainly. The pumps may be loader for me because i have the skimmer up on a medal legged shelf with partical board shelviing maybe tahts the reason?

And i agree for what it costs... its WELL worth it i just dont know why i am getting inconsisten skimming. I have lots of live rock and lots of macro in the fuge. Maybe thats why i dont skim well?

[IanJ]

The cup sits pretty solid on my skimmer, but i can see that the lid could make some noise if there is vibration. I had similar vibration with my aquamedic, so i think a solid a base as possible works best.

I was actually in a rush to start mine up, so since i also needed to raise it up higher for the outlet, i used one of my old spare hi-fi speakers to stand it on. Ok i had recently fitted new driver units, but it fitted perfectly for the footprint of the skimmer and gave it a sturdy support.

How long has it been running and how do you feed it?

[IanJ]

Just a brief update. The skimmer has been running a few days now, it started skimming after about 24 hours.
Seems to perform straight out of the box, no need to mod.
It's really pushing out a mass of dark foam, wet or dry depending on how i set the water level.
Not sure of the prices in the USA, but for anyone looking for a big 2 pump skimmer, you cant go far wrong for the price

[SlowCobra]

If you think it is working good now.... mod it. Just a few simple tricks and it becomes a monster.

[thugmebaby]

Mine is being fed with a PCX40 that is also feeding a frag and fuge .. so I am unsure of total volume being fed thru it. I agree i get lots of dark crap but it seems to collect more on the lid (top) and the neck in the cup. If i raise water level it floods...if i lower it i get nothing. I will try and post a pic/vid of my ghetto setup lol

[outy]

I love mine

both pumps modded together im pulling 65 scfh compared to the stock 28 scfh

mine skimmed ok out of the box but now its a beast. the skimmers quality is great the only real problem is the 65watts x2 allot of the new pumps that are out pull half the wattage and actually increase the total air volume.

for the money its a great skimmer and i found it hard to beat but i love modding

[IanJ]

I can easily imagine that the mods would make it into a monster.
From the box it's easily exceeding my expectations so no rush to mod it.
I was thinking about a Deltec AP-902, the DDNW-250 is just a little shorter, similar wattage and 1/5th of the price here. As you say, quality is as good as most skimmers out there.

I use a Eheim 1260 which i think is 2400lit/hr as feed, i never see any issues with overflow, the water level remains where i set it.

Thugmebaby- i assume your outlet is not having any back pressure?
Have you tried a seperate feed pump rather than a shared feed?

[thugmebaby]

Possibled there may be backpressure. I have the discharge under water... however I thought that is what the "t" for is in the discharge because there is no way for there to get a "pocket"?? I need to get a pic to show more.

[IanJ]

thugmebaby
I think thats your problem, best not to discharge underwater.
Suggest you raise it just above and then see if the overflow problems go

[chrisjet]

i feed mine with a MJ900. Excellent skimmer. The ball valve is a little touchy so mybe ill mod to a gate valve. If you see a good amount of clear water in your reaction chamber I would get a feed pump w/ less pressure or t off your drain.

[romanr]

Any tips for dealing with the suction cups on the pumps? On mine it makes setting it up very challenging. Also if you are running one out of the sump, do they leak at all?

[IanJ]

Romarn
The DDNW-250 is an out of sump model. No problems with leaks so far.
The rubber suckers on the pumps was not really a problem as once set there is no need to move them.