Sharkey18 August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 Help! My skimmer has been overflowing since I did a water change last weekend. When I did the water change I moved a bunch of stuff around and generally messed up the tank. So I took the cup off of the skimmer and gave it a few days to settle down, but it hasn't. Today I raised it another 2 inches, scrubbed any sludge from the sides and generally checked it over. No luck. Main problem: of course I'm leaving for vacation on Saturday and need to get this thing dialed in. So: hit me with your top 3 things to check when you skimmer goes nuts. The forces of Murphy's Law are quadrupled the minute you start dealing with a reef tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 Which skimmer is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 11, 2016 Author Share August 11, 2016 swc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 Check your pump and intake, see if there's anything amiss with it. Could also simply be a water chemistry issue such as elevated salinity which would allow smaller bubbles to form and froth up more. I see yours is at 33ppt, is that what it was before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 Mine was overflowing and I discovered some sponge and other nastiness had come loose a bit in the body of the skimmer and clogged up half the output valve on the skimmer. Could that be it? A clog on the output valve? Is it possible to plug the air intake hose with your finger to see how high the water goes without any air in the body to see if it seems like a reasonable height? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 11, 2016 Author Share August 11, 2016 When I was doing maintenance on the weekend I checked the pumps and there was some crap in one of the skimmer pumps. (It has 2). Not sure what it was, may have been a soggy piece of paper towel. ( I had a "helper" that day). I removed it and then the torrent began. If I close the air tubes the water flow explodes. I haven't checked the output.... on my way. After raising the skimmer body about 3 inches I am now getting a very wet skim mate. Thanks for all of the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 Could very well be that the skimmer has been underperforming for a long time and cleaning it out has caused it to work as it should. Could also be a damaged impeller that is causing it to suck in more air, although I would think it would be the opposite and get less air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 run hot water through air line tubes and make sure they are clogged even though plugging them did raise the water level. check the silencers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 11, 2016 Author Share August 11, 2016 Thank everyone. It's still skimming wet, and three inches higher but at least it's skimming! I have two more days to get it dialed in a bit better before I leave. Definitely was a problem with whatever got sucked into the pump. I am pretty sure it was the white sump sponge that was growing and must have become dislodged during maintenance. I cleaned it out of the pump but did not think to clean the rest of the skimmer and the outflow. Cleaning the out flow seems to have helped. I also think it was underperforming and clearing the pumps put it into over drive. As usual, the community comes to the rescue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 Also, did you change out filter socks, by chance? I used to get a burst out of my skimmer years ago after filter sock changes and had to leave the cup off of the skimmer for a couple of days after changes. Sent from my LG-V510 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruleyii August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 every time I do a deep clean on my skimmer it goes crazy. This wouldnt surprise me at all. Are you able to dial back your skimmer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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