Have you ever overflowed a skimmer collection cup?

[Lost in the Sauce]

The options in the poll are confusing. Overflowed and releasing are two different actions. For me, overflowed - yes. Releasing back in the tank purposefully - absolutely not. I don’t know which selection to pick.
Hope that helped in whatever you are trying to get out of this poll . Good luck.

Sam

Overflowing does release the contents of the skimmer back into the system.

I don't think it's required to be purposeful or accidental as the results are the same. If you take the cup off and dump it, the cup is empty. If you overflow your skimmer for a while, it will be filled with clear water which means the cup is empty of skimmate. It has all gone back into the system at that point.

So if you have overflowed your skimmer and released skim it back into the system by accident, The answer would be yes, or multiple times depending on how many.

 

[Jedi1199]

Also to add... By your own admission, when that happened, you had not cleaned out the skimmer for MONTHS, and you also said that since cleaning it, you have had zero problems.

No... It had been about 3 weeks since last cleaning of collection cup. The skimmer jar itself, has never been cleaned out. I posted a thread about this just a week or so ago.

Again, this is a FOWLR tank. These fish are extremely tolerant of higher nutrient levels than most others in a standard reef.

Clown triggerfish, Powder blue tang (which is debatable on its hardiness) 2 domino damsels, 6 line wrasse, humu humu trigger, 3 stripe damsel... These are not fish we would expect to roll over and die for no reason. ESPECIALLY within a week of each other!!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

No... It had been about 3 weeks since last cleaning of collection cup. The skimmer jar itself, has never been cleaned out. I posted a thread about this just a week or so ago.

Again, this is a FOWLR tank. These fish are extremely tolerant of higher nutrient levels than most others in a standard reef.

Clown triggerfish, Powder blue tang (which is debatable on its hardiness) 2 domino damsels, 6 line wrasse, humu humu trigger, 3 stripe damsel... These are not fish we would expect to roll over and die for no reason. ESPECIALLY within a week of each other!!

Maybe the skimmate is not to blame then...?

 

[MERKEY]

No... It had been about 3 weeks since last cleaning of collection cup. The skimmer jar itself, has never been cleaned out. I posted a thread about this just a week or so ago.

Again, this is a FOWLR tank. These fish are extremely tolerant of higher nutrient levels than most others in a standard reef.

Clown triggerfish, Powder blue tang (which is debatable on its hardiness) 2 domino damsels, 6 line wrasse, humu humu trigger, 3 stripe damsel... These are not fish we would expect to roll over and die for no reason. ESPECIALLY within a week of each other!!

Did you or have you dosed anything to the tank to medicate the fish?

Or to try and stop algea?

Or any other type of chemical ?

This may have led to skimmer overflowing and in which case the meds back into the system may have caused the issue.

 

[Jedi1199]

Maybe the skimmate is not to blame them...?

I am open to possibilities.

How then do you explain that an otherwise healthy system, of high nutrient resilient fish, suddenly has a death rate of better than one fish per day?

Further, how can you explain that the ONLY change, being cleaning of the overflowing collection cup, solved the problem, not only the immediate, but in the 2 months since?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Yes it's overflowed multiple times.
The bubbles. Not the concentrated
D

 

[Jedi1199]

Did you or have you dosed anything to the tank to medicate the fish?

Or to try and stop algea?

Or any other type of chemical ?

This may have led to skimmer overflowing and in which case the meds back into the system may have caused the issue.

Go back and reread... NO CHANGES were made!! None at all!! Same fish, same foods, same feeding schedule, same amounts... The ONLY variable in my system was the overflowing skimmer cup.

 

[MERKEY]

I am open to possibilities.

How then do you explain that an otherwise healthy system, of high nutrient resilient fish, suddenly has a death rate of better than one fish per day?

Further, how can you explain that the ONLY change, being cleaning of the overflowing collection cup, solved the problem, not only the immediate, but in the 2 months since?

It doesn't make sense.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I am open to possibilities.

How then do you explain that an otherwise healthy system, of high nutrient resilient fish, suddenly has a death rate of better than one fish per day?

Further, how can you explain that the ONLY change, being cleaning of the overflowing collection cup, solved the problem, not only the immediate, but in the 2 months since?

I think that's what we are trying to put our brains together, to help find out.

If Skimmate is not inherently dangerous or lethal to be returned back into a 200 plus gallon system, What could it have been?

 

[MERKEY]

Go back and reread... NO CHANGES were made!! None at all!! Same fish, same foods, same feeding schedule, same amounts... The ONLY variable in my system was the overflowing skimmer cup.

Unfortunately the skimmate didn't do it but something did.

You will have to figure that out as the tank is in your house.

Think really hard and I bet something was changed or happened....

 

[Jedi1199]

I think that's what we are trying to put our brains together, to help find out.

If Skimmate is not inherently dangerous or lethal to be returned back into a 200 plus gallon system, What could it have been?

Then lets go off board here and relate the story my friend told me... I can't verify this firsthand as I was not there, but he told me he accidently knocked over his skimmer into his sump and eradicated 4 of his frag tanks almost overnight?

Do we take these relations as fairy tales? Do I take his story as a myth and disregard it, with my OWN experience?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Go back and reread... NO CHANGES were made!! None at all!! Same fish, same foods, same feeding schedule, same amounts... The ONLY variable in my system was the overflowing skimmer cup.

Fwiw, My money would be on something foreign and toxic getting into the water. Maybe a cleaning agent, Maybe someone in your house aerosolized something..

200g water + 12floz of fish poo concentrate doesn't equal 70% death.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Then lets go off board here and relate the story my friend told me... I can't verify this firsthand as I was not there, but he told me he accidently knocked over his skimmer into his sump and eradicated 4 of his frag tanks almost overnight?

Do we take these relations as fairy tales? Do I take his story as a myth and disregard it, with my OWN experience?

There's one member I'm very close to who's child used bleach close to sump and killed multiple fish accidentally...

 

[Jedi1199]

Unfortunately the skimmate didn't do it but something did.

You will have to figure that out as the tank is in your house.

Think really hard and I bet something was changed or happened....

OK so I am a liar.. I have no idea what I'm talking about cause you don't believe it's possible.. thanks

 

[Smirkish]

Go back and reread... NO CHANGES were made!! None at all!! Same fish, same foods, same feeding schedule, same amounts... The ONLY variable in my system was the overflowing skimmer cup.

Curious how long it had been since the skimmer had been emptied. Dumping a Ton of skim into an otherwise clean system would certainly shock coral and some fish… (though in some cases, I would expect they’d enjoy the extra nutrients). It could still raise your nitrates drastically if a lot of heavy skim was regurgitated into the system.

 

[Jedi1199]

Fwiw, My money would be on something foreign and toxic getting into the water. Maybe a cleaning agent, Maybe someone in your house aerosolized something..

200g water + 12floz of fish poo concentrate doesn't equal 70% death.

hard to imagine when you live alone... Do you think the cats dumped a toxin into the tank?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

OK so I am a liar.. I have no idea what I'm talking about cause you don't believe it's possible.. thanks

Jedi chill homie. Nobody is attacking you here. Everyone is trying to be helpful. That means they have to ask questions. If you care to know the answer, participate in the discussion.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

hard to imagine when you live alone... Do you think the cats dumped a toxin into the tank?

Have you seen a litter box?? Do you know how many chemicals are in cat urine? Something so toxic pregnant women are advised to not be around it.

 

[gbroadbridge]

And as a follow up, if you have overflowed a collection cup, was it Lethal to your system? Were there any fish deaths, coral deaths, algae blooms you attribute to it?

If it happens, I don't stress as I run quite wet anyway.

If I were running so dry that there is a months worth of black tar in there I'd probably be worried

 

[fishguy242]

about normal here...