So my skimmer has been going out of control. I'm starting to think it's something in my water. This is the third skimmer I have had all doing the same thing, which tells me it's obviously the water not the skimmer. I understand there is a break in period which I run the skimmer a week on my clown breeding tank...everything works fine then as soon as it hits display holy micro bubbles as well as cup filling up with water in 1min. I have tried everything I can think of running carbon...not using carbon taking out all phosgaurd....I have heard leather corals can produce a slim that makes skimmers go nuts, so I removed them...nothing seems to work completely stumped any help would be greatly appreciated!
out of control skimmer
- Thread starter Jhoss1511
- Start date
I don't use water conditioner either, I use RO water.
Here is a video of that it is doing....Click Here
Here is a video of that it is doing....Click Here
Last edited:
silverado61
Well-Known Member
When you move a skimmer from one tank to another it has to be reajusted to for it to work properly in that tank.
pegasus
Well-Known Member
If it's working properly in other tanks, but only acts like that in your DT, I have to believe that it's something in the water in that tank. Even if the water level was a little higher, it shouldn't overflow that quickly. Have you tried performing a large water change? This will usually help settle an unruly skimmer by removing whatever is causing the excessive foaming.
I just did about a 20-25% change today and removed the phosgaurd to see if that was it but still going crazy. Here is what I have used in my tank in the last 2 months: Kent marine purple tech, apoxy to Mt corals ( haven't used apoxy in 3 weeks) used a small does of prime on a top off when I ran out of RO water. Also had a case of dinoflagellates which is under control now. Thanks so much guys for your help I'm totally at a loss.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Any rapid fluctuations in temperature or salinity or pH?
Stirring anything up?
Check your nitrates and phosphates to see where they are at.
Stirring anything up?
Check your nitrates and phosphates to see where they are at.
Temp could be a possibility, I did a 72hr blackout and covered my tank for some reason temp did rise to 83...gave me a scare bit everything seems fine. Just testes water
Kh=14 (is this to high?)
Calcium =420
P04=.25 or lower (hard to read color was a slight change)
Nitrate=0 (no algea in tank that could be using it either)
I have lowered salinity slowly to 1.024 from 1.026 over a period of 2 weeks.
Again thanks for all the help
Kh=14 (is this to high?)
Calcium =420
P04=.25 or lower (hard to read color was a slight change)
Nitrate=0 (no algea in tank that could be using it either)
I have lowered salinity slowly to 1.024 from 1.026 over a period of 2 weeks.
Again thanks for all the help
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
you mean a dKH of 14, right? That's 5mEQ/L which is actually a bit high. Most SPS keepers run 8dKH to 10dKH. That makes me suspect that you might have been adding something to buffer your pH?
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Check the alkalinity of your tank that the skimmer runs fine on and see what it is at. Then we will do some more tests and i'll ask a few more questions. I'm kind of interested in getting to the bottom of this.
Yes I add Kent marine purple tech every now again,trying to get some coraline algea growth and was working on easing calcium level...I have it at a good level now (so probably should stop adding that stuff) yes I ment dKH it is about 14 last time I tested it was 9 I'd say 7-10 days ago...I will,check the clown tank now
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Quit adding a pH buffer and let alkalinity come down to 8.0 dKH. See if that helps.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
I would keep running carbon. That shouldn't affect skimmer operation.
The efficiency of a skimmer has more to do with surface tension, pH, temperature, salinity, the amount of dissolved proteins and how many liters/hr of air flow Vs. How many gph of the pump.
Since alkalinity has a direct effect on pH, your alkalinity is just a bit too high and it's the only outlier number that I can see at this time.
Also, if you could, check to make sure the air tube and the air silencer are unobstructed. It might not be sucking in as much air as it should.
Next step is a vinegar bath for the whole unit.
The efficiency of a skimmer has more to do with surface tension, pH, temperature, salinity, the amount of dissolved proteins and how many liters/hr of air flow Vs. How many gph of the pump.
Since alkalinity has a direct effect on pH, your alkalinity is just a bit too high and it's the only outlier number that I can see at this time.
Also, if you could, check to make sure the air tube and the air silencer are unobstructed. It might not be sucking in as much air as it should.
Next step is a vinegar bath for the whole unit.
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Ah... there's the culprit. Marine epoxies will cause a skimmer to go crazy. I've seen a video of one epoxy that doesn't do that, but the name escapes me. Not likely it's the brand you used anyway. You'll probably have to do another water change (or two) to get enough of the chemical out of the water before the skimmer settles down. The chemical doesn't hurt anything in the tank, and as far as I know, an overactive skimmer is the only side-effect. Change the water out and you should be okay.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Never heard of that. Cool!
pegasus
Well-Known Member
It's true. Just Google or Bing "epoxy makes skimmer go crazy", and you'll get lots of hits on the subject. Any time you epoxy a coral to a plug or rock and put it in the tank, there's a milky cloud that comes off of it. Only briefly, but it's enough to make a skimmer foam excessively in a small tank. It's not so bad in a larger tank, and pretty much non-existent in a huge tank, unless you epoxy several or more frags simultaneously.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
How many water changes and what percentages?
From what I just.read, it needs to get out of the water column through water changes.
From what I just.read, it needs to get out of the water column through water changes.