Skimmer going crazy - WHY?

[itsmanny]

So my skimmers been running for 3 months and randomly decided to go crazy. It’s been overflowing consistently for over a week now, and I can’t get it to calm down. My local fish keeper said it’s normal at the 3 months stage. It’s just cleaning out the ‘new tank syndrome’ which makes sense because my sand has cleared up massively. But the water or bubbles in the skimmer isn’t dirty and it’s still overflowing. Do I just leave it?

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I would turn it off. Let it sit a while. Let your tank get dirty. If it's always over flowing there isn't anything for it to skim out.

Skimmer requires air and fuel to work. Fish and food waste is fuel. Monitor your parameters and turn it on when you get to 10ppm nitrate.

 

[itsmanny]

I would turn it off. Let it sit a while. Let your tank get dirty. If it's always over flowing there isn't anything for it to skim out.

How long is a while? i did leave it off over night but that didn’t help :(

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Day,s weeks, however long it takes to get some waste buildup. Monitor your parameters. Unless they are high you don't have to be skimming yet in a new tank. I usually go skimmerless for at least a month.

Basically you have nothing to skim out.

 

[Doctorgori]

You should be able to adj the air/water mix to stop it, what type of skimmer is it?

If you have to leave it off Overnight might not be long enough
Skimmer overflow sometimes just has to run its course and could have several causes ….
Sometimes I just mix up a batch of fresh SW and direct the overflow to a bucket…water change opportunity…

 

[Garf]

You can adjust it as advised but could be atmospheric pressure related, or the air intake Venturi is blocked and needs cleaning.

 

[CasperOe]

Did you manage this? :) What skimmer do you have? My local 'Fish Keeper' up in Glasgow are not very proficient in saltwater equipment so chances are that you might have had questionable advice.