Water Conditioner and Skimmer Problem

[ravechild]

How long after adding water conditioner will my skimmer stop going crazy? I added the conditioner about a week ago to my new saltwater while it was mixing (tap water).
On Tuesday I upgraded to my new tank and used this water to fill the tank. Now I am trying to get everything hooked up and when I plugged in my skimmer it started foaming like crazy. I have been using this skimmer for 6 months now and have had no real issues with it.
It is currently on the lowest setting and is overflowing like crazy. The only things that have changed in this setup is that I am now using the skimmer in sump insted of hang on, and I added water conditioner to the water while it was mixing. I figure it has to be the conditioner that is causing this.
The skimmer is a Coralife Super Skimmer model 125 running in sump. I have tried making adjustments to pump tube length and like I said it is currently set at the lowest possible setting.
So how long can I expect this to last??

 

[peter1215]

I have a redsea berlin and i usely lower the air intake to minimal for about six hours then gradually increase it until its bakc to normal settings. this usually takes place the same day .

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by RaveChild
How long after adding water conditioner will my skimmer stop going crazy? I added the conditioner about a week ago to my new saltwater while it was mixing (tap water).
On Tuesday I upgraded to my new tank and used this water to fill the tank. Now I am trying to get everything hooked up and when I plugged in my skimmer it started foaming like crazy. I have been using this skimmer for 6 months now and have had no real issues with it.
It is currently on the lowest setting and is overflowing like crazy. The only things that have changed in this setup is that I am now using the skimmer in sump insted of hang on, and I added water conditioner to the water while it was mixing. I figure it has to be the conditioner that is causing this.
The skimmer is a Coralife Super Skimmer model 125 running in sump. I have tried making adjustments to pump tube length and like I said it is currently set at the lowest possible setting.
So how long can I expect this to last??
Did you lower the venturi dial in the water or just the red one up top?
You need to lower the venturi to 10 o'clock or lower for a while. The instructions are also very specific about depths of the bubble diffuser and powehead...follow those to the letter.
Also, the bubble diffuser floss and coarse sponge suck. You will notice the grey coarse sponge is showing through the side of the bubble diffuser because the floss pad isnt thick enough.
I dumped that floss pad, got some bagged filter floss, and use that inside, with the coarse sponge on top. That way, any bubble have to travel through the floss.

 

[jessecnc]

First of all, lose the conditioner...and the TAP WATER. You should really be using RO/DI water instead. This can be bought at most any grocery store for $.25 to $.50 per gal.
If you make the switch this will be a NON problem. And most importantly, your tank will love you for it!

 

[ravechild]

First of all, lose the conditioner...and the TAP WATER. You should really be using RO/DI water instead. This can be bought at most any grocery store for $.25 to $.50 per gal.
If you make the switch this will be a NON problem. And most importantly, your tank will love you for it!
I normally do use ro/di water but for the 90 gals I needed to set up the new tank it was more economical to use tap water. All water changes are done with ro/di. I appreciate the input, but I don't understand how that post is suposed to help me in my current situation?

 

[jessecnc]

The fundamental problem is, you may never find a solution as there is NO way to EVER get out all of the impurities in the tap water. Your best bet might be to do a massive water change that will at least dillute the source of the problem.

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by JesseCNC
The fundamental problem is, you may never find a solution as there is NO way to EVER get out all of the impurities in the tap water. Your best bet might be to do a massive water change that will at least dillute the source of the problem.

sorry to disagree....
the only part that would be difficult to get rid of would be copper.
Pretty much anything else can be easily removed over time with normal water changes, good skimming, carbon and/or phosphate sponge and good maint. practices.

 

[ravechild]

Originally Posted by JesseCNC
The fundamental problem is, you may never find a solution as there is NO way to EVER get out all of the impurities in the tap water. Your best bet might be to do a massive water change that will at least dillute the source of the problem.
Actually my problem is that I used water conditioner and now my skimmer is going crazy. All I really asked is if anyone has any idea of how long this will last. I know what the problem is and I know that I just need to wait it out. I just figured maybe someone has had a similar problem and would be able to give me an estimated amount of time that it may take for the conditioner to work itself out of the system.

 

[jupoc911]

it should come out in a day or 2. throttle down the pump by turning the dial down and then use the red knob to adjust the water level.

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by RaveChild
Actually my problem is that I used water conditioner and now my skimmer is going crazy. All I really asked is if anyone has any idea of how long this will last. I know what the problem is and I know that I just need to wait it out. I just figured maybe someone has had a similar problem and would be able to give me an estimated amount of time that it may take for the conditioner to work itself out of the system.

Sorry, no, I wouldnt know how long this will affect your skimmer.
I'm not sure how long the conditioner will be "active".

 

[mrdc]

When I first started, I was using tap water with amquel and a water conditioner. The first time I add both and the skimmer went crazy. I was told it was the water conditioner from the maufacturer. I kept using the amquel to remove chlorine and such and had no problems. Later I tried the conditioner one more time. I almost forgot I had added it and checked the skimmer right before going to bed and the collection cup was overflowing. I emptied the cup and the next morning I emptied it again (3/4 full). No problems after that I have no longer used the conditioner.