Red Sea reefer skimmer constantly overflowing- driving me nuts!!!

[LMSquire]

I have a RSR skimmer for my reefer 350 g2.

Every time i think I have this thing right it goes wrong.

As we speak, the air intake is all the way down and running at 5% on the reef beat app and still overflowing. The risers that the skimmer came with are on.

The only thing I can think of is that my ato was too high, and is thus keeping the water level too high for the skimmer.

For those of you with a reefer dc skimmer, what % are you running it at?

I just cleaned it out and it was FILTHY and I thought I had found the problem. Turned it up to 55% and looked great for like an hour. Then today I took a peek and there it was, bubbling out of the top.

At this point it’s like I don’t even have a skimmer and I am already having major po4 and no3 issues in my tank and losing euphyllia, cabbage leather, and chalices, yet somehow my acro and branching cyphastrea and branching montispors are thriving, go figure… so I gotta get this fixed.

Any help appreciated.

 

[slingfox]

Please post a picture of the skimmer sitting in the sump. How much water is it sitting in? I have a RSK 600 and had to buy a stand to get it to sit at proper depth. If it is sitting in too deep of water it will constantly overflow. It can also take a month or more for the skimmer to break in.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

There should be a sticker on the valve. Like a dummy I took mine off. Is yours still there I believe it’s supposed to be in 6” of water.

What unit do you have? How long has it been running?
I have the 300 took a while to settle in and now I run it at 70%

 

[LPS Bum]

Please post a picture of the skimmer sitting in the sump. How much water is it sitting in? I have a RSK 600 and had to buy a stand to get it to sit at proper depth. If it is sitting in too deep of water it will constantly overflow. It can also take a month or more for the skimmer to break in.

This exactly.

I have a 300 and mine never worked well until I built a simple skimmer stand out of pvc and egg crate. Now it works fine. Give it a shot.

 

[JHabig12]

Check the sliding gate on the bubble trap and use it to set the height in the skimmer chamber. If you have an rsk 600 I think the water level was supposed to be 7-8 inches which should line up with the sticker on the rod for the regulator knob.I just went through this awhile ago. The skimmer is very sensitive to the chamber water level.

I would also suggest setting a delay on the skimmer in the reef beat app after using the quick actions. My skimmer was coming on at the same time as my return pump before the sump level would stabilize and it would overflow some water into the skimmer collection cup each time.

 

[LMSquire]

There should be a sticker on the valve. Like a dummy I took mine off. Is yours still there I believe it’s supposed to be in 6” of water.

What unit do you have? How long has it been running?
I have the 300 took a while to settle in and now I run it at 70%

Its a dc 300 and It’s been running for over 8 months. Never have I been able to run it at over 30%. I will check for the sticker, but I think I am gonna just diy a stand because this is ridiculous and I think it is leading to a lot of problems in my tank. You should’ve seen the sludge that came out when I cleaned it yesterday.

 

[LMSquire]

This exactly.

I have a 300 and mine never worked well until I built a simple skimmer stand out of pvc and egg crate. Now it works fine. Give it a shot.

I think this is exactly what I’m gonna do. I’m going to check to see if the water is at the height on that sticker on the air valve but if it’s not that also may be because I had the ATO sensor too high. I lowered the ATO sensor tonight, so I’m gonna let some water evaporate and see what happens with that. But if that doesn’t work out, I’m just gonna go get some egg crate and lift it up and do exactly what you did so I can run my $500 skimmer at a normal level

 

[LMSquire]

There should be a sticker on the valve. Like a dummy I took mine off. Is yours still there I believe it’s supposed to be in 6” of water.

What unit do you have? How long has it been running?
I have the 300 took a while to settle in and now I run it at 70%

On a side note, could this under skimming of running this dc 300 at 5-15% be an explanation (of several possible ones that I’ve addressed) for my .90+ po4 and 35 no3 with a relatively low bio load? I’m down to .14 now using phosphate-e but a lot of my LPs still looks like crap because of it.

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

I think this is exactly what I’m gonna do. I’m going to check to see if the water is at the height on that sticker on the air valve but if it’s not that also may be because I had the ATO sensor too high. I lowered the ATO sensor tonight, so I’m gonna let some water evaporate and see what happens with that. But if that doesn’t work out, I’m just gonna go get some egg crate and lift it up and do exactly what you did so I can run my $500 skimmer at a normal level

From what you wrote here I think I know your skimmer problem. Is the skimmer in a dedicated skimmer chamber in the sump? Water lvl will always stay constant since it flows over a divider into the pump chamber. If your skimmer is in the same chamber as your return pump or ato the water level will never be constant and you will have ongoing issues. Pictures of your sump will speak a thousand words

 

[LMSquire]

From what you wrote here I think I know your skimmer problem. Is the skimmer in a dedicated skimmer chamber in the sump? Water lvl will always stay constant since it flows over a divider into the pump chamber. If your skimmer is in the same chamber as your return pump or ato the water level will never be constant and you will have ongoing issues. Pictures of your sump will speak a thousand words

It is in the dedicated skimmer chamber of the RSR 350 sump the water level remains the same. I’m wondering if that level is too high though because I had the ato sensor at the higher level. I moved the sensor to the lower level. I’m gonna drain a little water from tank to lower the level while keeping enough for the return pump to have enough water to function.

If that doesn’t work, I’m gonna diy an egg crate riser for the skimmer.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

It is in the dedicated skimmer chamber of the RSR 350 sump the water level remains the same. I’m wondering if that level is too high though because I had the ato sensor at the higher level. I moved the sensor to the lower level. I’m gonna drain a little water from tank to lower the level while keeping enough for the return pump to have enough water to function.

If that doesn’t work, I’m gonna diy an egg crate riser for the skimmer.

Your water level looks to be running at about an inch to 1.5" too high. The level in your sump should be a constant and that should be a the level of the sticker on the adjustment rod.

 

[exnisstech]

At this point it’s like I don’t even have a skimmer and I am already having major po4 and no3 issues in my tank and losing euphyllia, cabbage leather, and chalices, yet somehow my acro and branching cyphastrea and branching montispors are thriving, go figure… so I gotta get this fixed.

I know the skimmer has you frustrated but what are your PO4 and NO3 levels. You may have other issues if your loosing coral. Not having a working skimmer does not kill coral. At least not in my tanks. Cabbage leather can stand some pretty dirt water IME

EDIT: I would try raising the skimmer up. When I have ran skimmers always have to raise them higher the the manufacturer specs. How Long has the skimmer been running? Only asking because the last time I added a skimmer I had to run it a few weeks with the drain open before it settled down.

 

[LMSquire]

I know the skimmer has you frustrated but what are your PO4 and NO3 levels. You may have other issues if your loosing coral. Not having a working skimmer does not kill coral. At least not in my tanks. Cabbage leather can stand some pretty dirt water IME

EDIT: I would try raising the skimmer up. When I have ran skimmers always have to raise them higher the the manufacturer specs. How Long has the skimmer been running? Only asking because the last time I added a skimmer I had to run it a few weeks with the drain open before it settled down.

It’s been running 8 months or more. At various times I have been able to run it at a higher percentage on the app, but never at the levels that most of you guys seem to be able to run out without it overflowing. I keep in mind. This is all with the air valve completely closed. Right now as we speak it is running at 5% with the air valve. Totally closed to keep it from overflowing. I think you’re 100% right, I’m going to go and get some stuff at the craft store today to make a little platform to raise it.

As far as parameters, my PO 4 got as high as .90, however, that is what the Hanna tester Max is out so it could’ve been higher. My no3 is currently around 30 or 35, up from about 15 to 20 a few weeks ago.

The craziest part is that my Acro is thriving, as is my branching cyohasttea and Montis. It is really my euphyllia taking a big hit. Funny thing is that my torxhes and hammers were thriving when PO4 was at like .45.

To make things even more bizarre, a large, two head flag of the five head flag of the same torch in my 90 gallon reefer tank that I have in my 25 gallon lagoon is now barely opening up, whereas the torch next to it is doing fine and my hammer curls are thriving.

I am so stumped right now. All I know is that my priority is getting my PO 4 down, which I have done using a phosphate – E and last night it’s down from ..90 to about .1. Now I need to find out what was causing it to get so high so I can keep it there.

 

[LMSquire]

Your water level looks to be running at about an inch to 1.5" too high. The level in your sump should be a constant and that should be a the level of the sticker on the adjustment rod.

Ok, let me drain some water.

I find the problem to be that when I drain too much my return pump chamber gets low and starts blowing air. Any thoughts on why that might be happening?

I am a fairly new reefer so thanks for the answers and patience.

 

[exnisstech]

I find the problem to be that when I drain too much my return pump chamber gets low and starts blowing air. Any thoughts on why that might be happening?

It happens because the water level in the return chamber is getting too low. Raise the skimmer rather than lower the water level. Something as simple as some egg crate stacked up. I wouldn't worrying about trying to pull what others people pull. I have tanks with and without skimmers. The one with skimmer never fills the cup but I figure it's pulling what there is.

 

[JHabig12]

From what you wrote here I think I know your skimmer problem. Is the skimmer in a dedicated skimmer chamber in the sump? Water lvl will always stay constant since it flows over a divider into the pump chamber. If your skimmer is in the same chamber as your return pump or ato the water level will never be constant and you will have ongoing issues. Pictures of your sump will speak a thousand words

Raising the skimmer should work but you shouldn't have to. This post from DenverSaltyFarm kind of explains it. The return chamber and skimmer should have two separate water levels. You should be able to set your return chamber water lever with the height of your ato sensor. Keep this on the higher setting so you return pump isn't drawing air and cavitating. Then set your skimmer chamber water level with the adjustable divider between it and the return chamber.

What's your return pump intensity set to? If it's too fast water can't pass through the bubble trap quick enough and it ends up going over the top of chamber divider.

 

[JHabig12]

Should look something like this. Skimmer chamber level at the sticker with a slight drop to the return chamber. I'm not running the bubble trap sponge anymore.