Jul 12, 2019
Marc Leonellii
wrote
Bought this skimmer and have had it up and running for about 6-7 months. It was working great and hadn’t faced any issues. Over the last month or so it’s started overflowing. I took it apart and cleaned everything, but that did nothing. Came on here and saw someone said to remove the sponges. I removed the sponges and it worked great for a couple of weeks, but it began to overflow again. I don’t know what could be the problem, I am upset that it’s stopped working effectively seemingly out of nowhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Reply
1 Answer
Jul 15, 2019
Angie Brumfield
agent
wrote
There are several common reasons a protein skimmer will overflow but the most common is a chemical within the water itself.
Chemical Reaction - Some chemicals react with the air that the skimmer produces and causes the skimmer to over produce foam-mate. Chemicals known to cause skimmers to overflow are, red slime remover, medications, reef/frag putties (epoxy Putty) frag glues, water conditioners, de-chlorinators, stress coat, NEW filter socks, newly mixed salt, bacteria (seeding) additives as well as other dosing medias. In order to remove these chemicals from the water column we suggest that you do several 20% water changes over the period of a month and add a good amount of fresh activated carbon to the system and change out every week till the skimmer has returned to normal operation.
Blockage - The air intake otherwise known as the venturi, is like small vacuum pulling air from the surrounding environment. Often collecting dust and debris from the air which can block the proper amount of air to enter the pump increasing the water being pulled by the pump. It is also common for salt creep to build up in the venturi and will need to be removed manually by scraping it away or dissolving in a solution of vinegar and water. Make sure you inspect the air venture, silencer and air hose for any debris or salt creep deposits. Also be sure the air hose is not bent or too long preventing proper air flow into the pump.
Chemical Reaction - Some chemicals react with the air that the skimmer produces and causes the skimmer to over produce foam-mate. Chemicals known to cause skimmers to overflow are, red slime remover, medications, reef/frag putties (epoxy Putty) frag glues, water conditioners, de-chlorinators, stress coat, NEW filter socks, newly mixed salt, bacteria (seeding) additives as well as other dosing medias. In order to remove these chemicals from the water column we suggest that you do several 20% water changes over the period of a month and add a good amount of fresh activated carbon to the system and change out every week till the skimmer has returned to normal operation.
Blockage - The air intake otherwise known as the venturi, is like small vacuum pulling air from the surrounding environment. Often collecting dust and debris from the air which can block the proper amount of air to enter the pump increasing the water being pulled by the pump. It is also common for salt creep to build up in the venturi and will need to be removed manually by scraping it away or dissolving in a solution of vinegar and water. Make sure you inspect the air venture, silencer and air hose for any debris or salt creep deposits. Also be sure the air hose is not bent or too long preventing proper air flow into the pump.