Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 protein skimmer overflowing/making tons of microbubbles for weeks now - none of the normal fixes working -

[jack.mid]

I added some artificial resin corals to my tank about 2 weeks ago and ever since my protein skimmer has been overflowing like crazy (I contacted the company and they said it is a fairly normal occurrence because of some molding chemical they use or whatever, but should go away quickly). I have removed the fake coral and washed it with dawn dish soap numerous times, I have done 3 20% water changes in the past 2 weeks, I have also added some oil from brine shrimp into the skimmer to try to combat the foam. When I say this thing is going crazy I'm not exaggerating, within about 60 seconds of turning the skimmer on my tank is so full of microbubbles you can barely see through it. I have noticed these bubbles will also get stuck to my fish which makes me hesitant to try and run the skimmer to fix the problem. The only thing I haven't done is take apart my skimmer and clean it with vinegar. If ANYONE has ANY advice at all, I would love to hear it. Its really stressing me out that I can't use my skimmer at all within my tank.

 

[andrewey]

I have the same skimmer and while I haven't run into the same issue, I've had this exact scenario play out with one my tanks when I dosed some abx. What ended up working for me was to completely take the skimmer down and wash with hot water + vinegar and run without the collection cup for 6 days. It did eventually go down after one week- I am unsure whether the compound eventually broke down and was no longer triggering to the skimmer or whether the skimmer settled in. It sucks, but I would definitely still run the skimmer- even if you only run it overnight so it doesn't disturb you or the fish.