Olive oil in your skimmer? Am I that desperate?

[zebe00]

My skimmer (Vertex Omega 150) started overflowing last week. I have taken it apart, cleaned it with vinegar, scrubbed the air lines, and put it back in... same result. I have an Alpha 170 in my fish room that did the same thing. ProLine had no answers, so after 3 months, I bought a new skimmer!

Searching on youtube, I found a video where someone having the same problem sprays the foam with olive oil. I think I may try it! Has anyone done this?

Feedback is appeciated, I am sooooo frustrated!

 

[yellojello]

Have you done any carpet cleaning or any kind of chemical use nearby lately?

You can also raise the skimmer higher temporarily until it calms back down.

 

[GHill762]

have you used epoxy putty recently?

 

[zebe00]

I did mount a few frags... could that still be causing the problem?

 

[GHill762]

putty will make a skimmer go crazy for a day or two usually, but not typically a week... did you use a lot? did you maybe use some several different days?

 

[zebe00]

I used 1 stick of the 2 little fishes grey/red epoxy on 5 frags. That was when the skimmate collector shut down the skimmer. It has been shut down since then. Maybe a 20% w/c is in my near future!

 

[GHill762]

I would say that's probably your issue. They go nuts as soon as that stuff hits the water.. Try emptying the collector and starting it back up.. Keep an eye on your salinity though if it's taking out a lot of water..

 

[zebe00]

I actually checked the salinity and it was at 40! Brought it down to 35 and all is right in the world! Thanks for helping me think through this!

 

[GHill762]

I actually checked the salinity and it was at 40! Brought it down to 35 and all is right in the world! Thanks for helping me think through this!

did your skimmer calm down?

 

[jgraz]

My bet is that the Venturi has a build up on it. Check that out. Even a little bit restricting the air line will cause the skimmer to overflow over and over.

I had a similar problem with my SWC and after weeks of trying other fixes I realized that was the problem

 

[zebe00]

Venturi was clean, skimmer went right back to normal! This is something that I think a lot of people have happen and may not know why. I have always taken salinity for granted, not thinking how 2 part will cause it to rise over time.

 

[GHill762]

2-part will slowly raise salinity if you don't keep an eye on it (I've had it happen to me too..).. regular water changes will usually keep it in check though..

the skimmer overflow was caused by the putty, I guarantee it. if you google it it happens to pretty much everyone.. the putty doesn't hurt anything, it just makes the skimmer freak out for a while (there are other things that cause it too, such as some additives and some medications)..

glad you got it all figured out :nerd: