elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 I’ve been working on a build for a while now and filled it yesterday for the first time with RO water. The strange thing was that in no time the sump started building up a foam you can see in the picture. I haven’t even added salt yet. I can only think of two things: Rocks were all glued dry with epoxy and cyanoacrylate (I know that the epoxy can make skimmers go nuts) I bleach cured the rock and after two subsequent soaks after bleach treatment wasn’t enough (I did use plain bleach) Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 Are u running the skimmer? And what rocks did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 And I see you said you used putty. Yea it makes the skimmer go nuts. I used some of that caribesea life rock with the infused bacteria and my skimmer did that for about a week. I had to raise it 4+ inches just to get it to stop overflowing. build a stand for the skimmer and raise it up. Or just turn the skimmer off and let the cycle happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 Thanks epleeds! The rock is Tonga branch that I bought from another wamas member. I’m not running the skimmer right now since I didn’t want to turn my sump into an exploding washing machine!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 (edited) So the foam is there and the skimmer is off? Or did u just turn the skimmer off. Edited February 18, 2020 by epleeds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 Skimmer has never been on and it’s still freshwater.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 I ran the overflow with the main drain wide open for a while and that put a lot of air through the system. The overflow is tuned now though. But last night the water level got low in the return so the pump blew a lot of bubbles.... and made more foam.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImGoingCoastal February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 Did you or any previous owner clean anything with soap? That looks like soap suds!Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 The only things I used were vinegar and bleach. And everything double or triple rinsed or soaked. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 Also the only thing on this tank that isn't new is the rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menglish February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 That looks like soap to me. could someone have dumped some in? Got kids? Did any of the plumbing parts or pump come in contact with soap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 I’m the only one who touched it. I agree it looks like soap but it doesn’t smell like soap. Doesn’t have any smell at all.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImGoingCoastal February 18, 2020 Share February 18, 2020 There's actually a lot of similar threads on another very popular forum, Culprits include unwashed filter socks, added bacteria for cycles, and live sand. Not sure you used any of those though?Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwallacejr February 18, 2020 Author Share February 18, 2020 I got home tonight and some of the foam had subsided, not all though. With all the comments about soap, I grabbed a handful of it to get a better feel for it and it's definitely not soap. The bubbles were almost coarse and hard to pop. They weren't slick like soap would be and when I smelled the stuff, it smelled a lot like the rock before it got wet. I'm concluding that this is probably a combination of dust and epoxy putty from all the cutting and aqua-scaping I did. I also turned on the skimmer and it exploded like the last time I used epoxy. I guess I was hoping the by using the putty and letting it cure for a month (or two) dry, it wouldn't blow up. Guess I was wrong. That said, I added salt so, sand and bacteria tomorrow! Woot! Thanks for all the comments!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now