Skimmer Help

[Greenstarfish03]

I have a reef octopus skimmer with a sciee pump that I've been running for years. My sump is in the basement so I run a hose from my collection cup directly to the basement sump pump. A couple months ago the skimmer basicaly drained my sump out of nowhere. My apex sent me an alarm and luckily I had some salt water made up so unplugged the skimmer filled it back up. I cleaned the skimmer good and turned it back on and it seemed to be bubling as expected. It ran for a month or so and the same thing happened again. I added a new optical sensor to my apex to turn the skimmer off before this happens again but can anyone help me with my my skimmer will be running well for a month and then just go crazy out of the blue and pump water out? I have had the sme skimmer and setup for years without this issue. Im not sure what could have changed or what would cause this.

Thanks

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[dmy535]

Something is getting in the water/air that is making the skimmer go nuts. Any type of chemicals down there? Near laundry room or anything? That would be my initial thought. Second, dosing anything in aquarium? (I know you mentioned 1year so assuming you probably know this part already? But worth asking)

 

[Greg P]

Is there anything you've done recently that you can tell us about?
Have you inspected the skimmer venturi assembly for calcium deposits? Not the outer portion, but rather the inner closer to the pump.

My skimmer would go nuts if the inside of the venturi was caked with calcium. Not enough to block it, but enough to change the airflow/suction, and it would overflow due to the restricted air supply.

 

[Greenstarfish03]

Is there anything you've done recently that you can tell us about?
Have you inspected the skimmer venturi assembly for calcium deposits? Not the outer portion, but rather the inner closer to the pump.

My skimmer would go nuts if the inside of the venturi was caked with calcium. Not enough to block it, but enough to change the airflow/suction, and it would overflow due to the restricted air supply.

Thanks @Greg P . As a general rule I rarely even touch the skimmer unless a problem occurs or when I clean it say once month or so. I will take apart the venturi tonight and maybe soak it in vinegar bx im not sure if their is any build up. Very possible. One thing I did change a a few months ago was where the air hooks to the pump. The bottom of the pump where the air attached broke on the inside where the impeller meets the bottom of the pump housing. I had a spare but it had a different connection to the air line so I used a piece of pvc to convert the old connection to the new connection. From what I could tell all worked the same after this was changed though. Its weird bc it runs good for a month or two then bam drains all the water from the sump. I'll add a pick of the white pvc I added and a couple other images. Other then that nothing has changed that I know of.

 

[Greg P]

Thanks @Greg P Its weird bc it runs good for a month or two then bam drains all the water from the sump

That's what mine would do too. I have 2 venturis now and swap them weekly, leaving the spare in vinegar and scrape the inside before using. Never had the problem again in over 7 years.

 

[Greenstarfish03]

That's what mine would do too. I have 2 venturis now and swap them weekly, leaving the spare in vinegar and scrape the inside before using. Never had the problem again in over 7 years.

@Greg P seems logical. Thanks I will give that a try then fire it back up and see how it goes. I added an optical sensor on my apex to that will shut it off if it goes crazy again bc it sucks ro find the sump empty right after u get in bed and u can hear the pump running dry bc the house is quite.