62G Starfire Reef [40x18x20]

[JDigital]

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post was that as I was leaving the house this morning for work I looked at the skimmer and made a mental note that I should empty it and clean the cup when I got home. I haven't touch my skimmer in weeks and it had about 1.5-2" of DARK skimmate sitting it in it too. So I felt it was due for a cleaning.


Got home tonight, walked in the door, and the damn thing was overflowing into my sump like crazy... all the skimmate was gone and back into my system. NO IDEA what happened to cause it to go haywire, as I said, I hadn't touched it in weeks with NO problems what so ever. So that sparked me to start mixing up WC water tonight (thankfully I bought a new bucket of H2Ocean along with my new acan frags today). Will do that tomorrow night when I get home from work, ya know, if the house hasn't burnt down or something.

[Kryptic4L]

airdrie air, mine does the same thing, works well forever, then goes bloody haywire for no apparent reason.

gotten in the habit of emptying mine every chance. nothing more frustrating then seeing a nice cup o skim end up back in the tank.

[JDigital]

It must be that crazy air we have out in Airdrie...

Curious what skimmer you got?

[sphelps]

Check was happens during a power cycle. If your sump level rises during shut down and everything turns back on at the same time, the short time the skimmer runs at the elevated level can sometimes be enough the fill and overflow the cup, once full it just continues to bubble over because of the lid extension. So a brief power cut could explain such skimmer issues.

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Check was happens during a power cycle. If your sump level rises during shut down and everything turns back on at the same time, the short time the skimmer runs at the elevated level can sometimes be enough the fill and overflow the cup, once full it just continues to bubble over because of the lid extension. So a brief power cut could explain such skimmer issues.

Definitely a possibility! I know just from switching off my power bars for water changes that the sump rises. I suppose with all the construction in my area there is a likelihood of power being cut briefly, although it NEVER happens when I'm actually home . Thanks Steve. I'm not sure my Reef Keeper Lite tracks power outages like my Apex at work though. Will have to check that out or upgrade.

[sphelps]

Most controllers allow blackout delays so if it turns out to be an issue adding a delay to the skimmer circuit will fix the issue.

[SoloSK71]

+1 on the cycle time between power off and the sump filling and turning everything back on. I have now incorporated this into my feeding and dosing schedule. I power off everything, feed, and then power on the power head, then the return pump, then the skimmer. Dosing, I turn the skimmer off, dose, add live bacteria, and turn the skimmer back on in the morning.

Charles