Octo recirc Skimmer ADVISE!!

ifirefight

Active Member
Allright, I have no clue here... I have had my skimmer for over 2 years........
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/281881/whoa-skimmer
recently it has been overflowing. I clean it,dial it in, set the level,....EVERYTHING is fine for 4-7 days,skimming great,collecting gunk,then ALL of a sudden..it starts to overflow and free flow and pump water thru the skimmer and dumping all the gunk back into the sump. Why would it do this.??? I am at a loss. And no, its not after if feed,dose,etc... Basically, it work great for a few days ,then for no reason,it total freaks out and overflows like you closed the gate valve down. Thanks for any advise.
 

scsinet

Active Member
You've got the gate mod on this?
Have you completely torn it down and cleaned everything out recently?
I've got this skimmer myself, but I haven't put it into use yet... interested to hear what this turns out to be..
 

joncat24

Active Member
Quickest thing that comes to mind is the air line is partially clogged. Try a new airline or clean it with boiling water and see if it helps.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3159253
You've got the gate mod on this?
Have you completely torn it down and cleaned everything out recently?
I've got this skimmer myself, but I haven't put it into use yet... interested to hear what this turns out to be..
I have completely clean and soaked it a few weeks ago thinking that might be the problem...however it didnt help... I do have the gate valve mod...I even took that off and gave it a good cleaning.
Originally Posted by joncat24

http:///forum/post/3159355
Quickest thing that comes to mind is the air line is partially clogged. Try a new airline or clean it with boiling water and see if it helps.
This might actually be the problem, I did rinse the air line when I cleaned the rest...but I did not boil it. I will replace the airline and see what happens. Thanks guys.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
I removed the pump,cleaned it again (wasnt very dirty) replaced air line with new. Will let it go a few days and post the results. Hope it works.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Well,it worked fine for a few days just like always,then this morning...it was overflowing again. The new airline is clean and not clogged.
The only other thing I can even think of is maybe the line feeding water to the skimmer itself,has a small clog causing the water flow to be restricted and then flow free. I really dont know.
I am home today,so I will be working on it. If anybody has a suggestion,fire away. Thanks
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Just finished cleaning the line that feeds water to the skimmer....Not dirty or clogged at all,nothing really "jumped out" at me as unusual. I even cleaned and checked the double union valve.... nothing out of the ordinary. I keep my equipment VERY clean to begin with,so I am at a loss as to why it is doing this.
Im not positive,but it kind of looks as the skimmer is not producing as many bubbles as it used to....maybe my imagination... would less bubbles cause the skimmer to react like that?? I mean its got tons of bubbles...just maybe not as many as it once had. I dont know...just throwing that out there..
 

ifirefight

Active Member
This morning, it was overflowing again. I even checked the line feeding the skimmer,everything looks fine. This is really starting to be a pain. I'm about ready to buy a new skimmer. I was thinking of writing the company,but I believe SWC was bought out. Does anybody know about that?
 

bmkj02

Member
Impellers do wear out especially if they are in contact with debris and sand. I had one that had no prefilter on it so after a while the shaft wore out. This happened on one of my skimmers but it just wouldnt pick up anything.
 

joncat24

Active Member
Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/3163627
This morning, it was overflowing again. I even checked the line feeding the skimmer,everything looks fine. This is really starting to be a pain. I'm about ready to buy a new skimmer. I was thinking of writing the company,but I believe SWC was bought out. Does anybody know about that?
I Haven't heard anything about them being bought out.
I am at a loss as to what your problem is. I am curious if it is after a water change or nay kind of dosing? There has to be something changing in the water for it to all of a sudden overflow, if all lines are clean....???
 

ifirefight

Active Member
No, it wasn't after a water change, dosing etc. That's what makes this so frustating. It is none of the "obvious" things. I will try to contact the manufactor in the morning.
 
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