Good morning everyone! I have a question about skimmers this morning.
The other day my wife came into the bedroom and said the skimmer was overflowing, i went over to the sump and sure enough it was just pumping water right over the brim of it.
I cleaned the skimmer and gave it a good vinegar bath, i guess it has been 6 months since i cleaned it oh well. When i put it back in the tank it overflowed right away even with the valve all the way open. i left it overflow for a day or so and now its skimming fine, running higher than it usually does and skimming wetter than it usually does.
This is the second time it has happened since ive owned this skimmer and both times seemed to be out of the blue?
Does anyone have any experience with this or advice? Thank you everyone!
Most of the time this can be attributed to a few specific causes:
1) (For an in sump skimmer) - the water level in the chamber the skimmer is in is running higher than normal.
2) There's a chemical compound of some kind that the skimmer is trying to pull out. - could be an additive put into the tank, could be something sprayed in the room to clean something, could be sunscreen/lotion on the arms of someone working in the aquarium, or even the residue that comes off some new filter socks.
3) the skimmer could have been trying to remove something added with the most recent feeding
Giving the unit a vinegar bath was a good call. Taking a good look at the impeller, motor and impeller shaft is a good idea when doing this to make sure all the buildup was dissolved. Sometimes just running the pump in vinegar doesn't dissolve the build up that is between the shaft and the impeller. I'll typically take the pump apart, and soak the shaft, impeller and motor disassembled in the vinegar to get better exposure to all the parts.
Finally, take a look at the air intake and make sure that either the venturi or the air intake valve (if present) aren't clogged with anything. If a venturi based skimmer has a clogged up air intake, the pump will move more water and can cause an overflow especially when combined with one of the above factors.
I did take the impeller/shaft out and soaked them separately and ran a QTip in the motor housing to help clean out everything. I've cleaned everything that i knew to clean(and i built the skimmer! lol) and when i put it back in the tank it was still overflowing so, like you said it must have been something in the water. My wife may have put her hand in the tank with lotion on not knowing or something like that.
I only use rod's food and Bionic calcium and alk additive.
Sitting back and starring at the tank just now realized i used coral extacy that day. And It was the first time in a couple weeks, i know i know im letting you down I've been planning a wedding and got married a week ago go easy on me! lol. That may have caused it.
That chamber stays right where it always is +/- 1/8" i wouldnt think that would matter that much but i may be wrong.
skimmer overflowing
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