Chemi-Clean Side Effects - Skimmer Issues

[Sdoutreefer]

I broke down and dosed some chemi-clean in my tank due to a massive cyano outbreak. I have no clue what caused the cyano, as I have really only seen cyano during the summer time, and having issues keeping tank temps down. The outbreak came shortly after opening up a new box of Tropic Marin Pro salt.... I'm pinning the outbreak on this. All of my parameters were wacked! I mean, really wacked. Dkh was sitting at 4.5-5dkh prior to additional calc and alk.

Anyway, my skimmer is going absolutely crazy. I have it dialed all the way down, with my pump sitting at 5% and it still overflows at the collection cup. I did a large water change (~20% as recommended) but my skimmer is still going crazy.

Has anyone had this issue before? And if so, how long did it take for your skimmer to go back to normal? It's been a little over a week since I dosed.

Any recommendations to get my skimmer back online would be helpful! Thanks, R2R! and Merry Christmas!

 

[*GAREEF*]

Depending on how large your tank and skimmer are it could be a couple days or a week or more.
I always check my make up water for ph, dkh and calcium before adding to my tank before water change. I use Tropic Marin pro and the dkh is always a little lower than I like so I adjust it.
In your case 4.5 dkh is very questionable at a salinity of 35 ppt. I would verify your testing tools are accurate and or calibrated correctly.
Also, when purchasing salt I always mix the salt up in its bag or bucket before using. Settling of elements in the package has been known to happen.

 

[KrisReef]

Mix up another water change.
Use the skimmer drain (if you have one?) to remove foamy water.
Discard the foam, replace with new water.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Depending on how large your tank and skimmer are it could be a couple days or a week or more.
I always check my make up water for ph, dkh and calcium before adding to my tank before water change. I use Tropic Marin pro and the dkh is always a little lower than I like so I adjust it.
In your case 4.5 dkh is very questionable at a salinity of 35 ppt. I would verify your testing tools are accurate and or calibrated correctly.
Also, when purchasing salt I always mix the salt up in its bag or bucket before using. Settling of elements in the package has been known to happen.

Tank is roughly 48ish gallons overall.

I tested with Salifert and Hannah and both were very close to about the same number on dkh. Bums me out because the box was brand new. Salinity was just over 35ppt too.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Mix up another water change.
Use the skimmer drain (if you have one?) to remove foamy water.
Discard the foam, replace with new water.

That’s what I’m thinking too, need another WC.

Good point on the skimmer drain line… didn’t think about doing that. Hopefully that will help with aeration now.

 

[*GAREEF*]

Tank is roughly 48ish gallons overall.

I tested with Salifert and Hannah and both were very close to about the same number on dkh. Bums me out because the box was brand new. Salinity was just over 35ppt too.

Yikes that is very concerning

 

[Silverking]

dont dial down the skimmer just take the cup and let it go crazy. You want the extra oxygen in the tank. wait 2 days and do 20% water change

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Yikes that is very concerning

Ya, not great....

 

[Snoopy 67]

Like it was said - remove the cup & let it run & overflow back into the sump for a few days.
It can take a while but the stuff works so be patient.

 

[KrisReef]

:cool: Ya, not great....

I reread your first post and considering the possibility of Cyanobacteria surviving the process of drying out and then being placed into a bucket waiting for rehydration so it can live another day.

It might be interesting to put a few tablespoons of salt into a small drinking water bottle and then see if the Cyanobacteria will begin growing in there also?

:rolleyes::cool:

 

[Waters]

You can run the skimmer drain line through a bag of carbon before returning the water to the sump. I have used HOB filter cartridges in the past for this. Clears it out pretty quickly.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Like it was said - remove the cup & let it run & overflow back into the sump for a few days.
It can take a while but the stuff works so be patient.

I ran the skimmer with the drain line open for a while and had tons of micro bubbles in my display. So, I shut off the skimmer. I'm going to turn it back on when I'm back from work. It just makes kind of a mess in my sump walls of my cabinet... Which is the lesser of the two evils, I guess.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I reread your first post and considering the possibility of Cyanobacteria surviving the process of drying out and then being placed into a bucket waiting for rehydration so it can live another day.

It might be interesting to put a few tablespoons of salt into a small drinking water bottle and then see if the Cyanobacteria will begin growing in there also?

:rolleyes::cool:

That isn't a bad idea! It just seems super ironic that the cyano appeared after using a new box of salt. I guess i'll test my hypothesis!