Skimmer foaming too much

[Tony888]

Hi Everyone,

I have a new Red Sea Reefer 170 setup with a Eshopp S-200 Skimmer. I plugged in the skimmer on Day 1 and it's producing too much foam. I have live rock and sand in the tank. I understand that the skimmer needs to break in. Should I leave the skimmer foaming? I unplugged it and tried again today (Day 2). Same thing happening....

 

[Pntbll687]

Let it go, it needs to break in.

Open it all the way so the fish is a low as possible. It will help, but not cure the foam over.

 

[Yati]

If your system is new your skimmer is going to go crazy for a few days you can adjust the amount of intake to slow it down but if you let it run its course it should chill after 2-3 days

 

[Tony888]

Thank you. I was afraid that the foam would overflow in the sump.

 

[Yati]

it'll be fine, just leave it alone for a bit, you can empty the collection cup later tonight or tomorrow but give it a few hours to settle itself in

Thank you. I was afraid that the foam would overflow in the sump.

 

[Emmanuel Zamora]

Having the same problem, but is coming out of my return pipe.

 

[Tony888]

Having the same problem, but is coming out of my return pipe.

Hi Emmanuel. How many days has it been since your initial setup?

 

[Emmanuel Zamora]

2 days, and I’m just starting up the skimmer

 

[Tony888]

The manual states that it takes 5-10 days to break in the skimmer. I guess I need to be patient.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Im just throwing this outhere because Im no OG and I dont know ALOT of stuff... Im still learning, but have you put any additives in your tank? I know when I use chemi-clean for cyano mine does the samething... im not saying you used that type of additive, but it can cause issues with skimmer... Also, shouldnt you have the collection cup on? It creates the pressure needed for it to work properly I thought. Just pull the drain plug and let it foam over... Like I said its just a thought... I could be way off!!! Hahahaha! Hopefully that helps!

 

[Tony888]

Im just throwing this outhere because Im no OG and I dont know ALOT of stuff... Im still learning, but have you put any additives in your tank? I know when I use chemi-clean for cyano mine does the samething... im not saying you used that type of additive, but it can cause issues with skimmer... Also, shouldnt you have the collection cup on? It creates the pressure needed for it to work properly I thought. Just pull the drain plug and let it foam over... Like I said its just a thought... I could be way off!!! Hahahaha! Hopefully that helps!

I'm using a microbe-lift to help cycle the tank with bacteria but I haven't added anything else yet. I also left off the collection cup off because I was afraid of the foam overflowing from the sump.

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I'm using a microbe-lift to help cycle the tank with bacteria but I haven't added anything else yet. I also left off the collection cup off because I was afraid of the foam overflowing from the sump.

I would try with it on... with the cover as well.. pull the rubber plug from the bottom of the collection cup... it will just run back into the sump...

 

[PerplexyHexy]

You can try it with the top cover off too if it knocks it off from the foam... these are all things ive done to dial in my skimmer... hope it helps

 

[PerplexyHexy]

 

[Michael Naegeli]

Could also wait a few days til tank start cycling so Skimmer has some sludge to skim. I waited two weeks on all 5 of my tanks to even run skimmers. I as the last guy said, would put collection cup and lid back on and pull the plug. Gonna create some air bubbles in ur tank for a couple days but will be fine. Don’t think you will overflow ur sump if a typical setup. My Reef Octopus Elite 200 is bad to the bone, but it is doing exactly what urs is for I recently did a Chemiclean treat. Patience is best, but if u don’t run for a few days won’t hurt either.

 

[Tony888]

My skimmer is finally calming down after 3 days but I still have a lot of bubbles in the tank.