Skimmer issues

[Jbrew]

Forgive me if this is normal but im new to skimmers and Reef Tanks.
I have a Reef Octopus Elite 200 INT Skimmer. It will run sometimes 1-2 days without filling up and just bubbles and skims kind of how i would expect it to do normally. Then just randomly it will fill up completely. I can empty it and bam fills back up in 5 minutes. This will happen 5-6 times in a row then i turn down the skimmer pump and it runs normal and i can turn it back up to where it was in about 30 minutes and all will work fine for another week then it goes crazy again.
Is there something im doing wrong here?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Forgive me if this is normal but im new to skimmers and Reef Tanks.
I have a Reef Octopus Elite 200 INT Skimmer. It will run sometimes 1-2 days without filling up and just bubbles and skims kind of how i would expect it to do normally. Then just randomly it will fill up completely. I can empty it and bam fills back up in 5 minutes. This will happen 5-6 times in a row then i turn down the skimmer pump and it runs normal and i can turn it back up to where it was in about 30 minutes and all will work fine for another week then it goes crazy again.
Is there something im doing wrong here?

Assure there is at least 7" of water in the reservoir where it sits and also blow thru the tube from the muffler and assure its not clogged

 

[Jbrew]

Its sitting in 9 inches and everything is clean i usually clean the top once a week and i check all the hoses at the same time.

 

[Jimbo662]

Does it run when you turn your return pump off? This usually causes the water level in the sump to rise which in turn would cause the skimmer to fill up / overflow.

 

[Jbrew]

No i have it setup so that when i go into feed mode on the main pump it puts the skimmer into feed mode as well.

 

[Jimbo662]

Does the skimmer turn back on as soon as feed mode is over or is it delayed?

 

[FUNGI]

Does it do this somewhat in-line with anything you are dosing?

 

[Jbrew]

Does the skimmer turn back on as soon as feed mode is over or is it delayed?

Yeah there is a 5 min delay between the 2 the skimmer comes on after the return pump.

 

[Jbrew]

Does it do this somewhat in-line with anything you are dosing?

No im actually not dosing anything right now that tank is about 6 months old so no corals yet and all the water parameters are great.

 

[BryanM]

Yeah there is a 5 min delay between the 2 the skimmer comes on after the return pump.

I think it is common to leave the skimmer off for an hour or two after feeding due to this issue.... If it is mostly/always after feeding you might try a longer delay.

 

[Jbrew]

I think it is common to leave the skimmer off for an hour or two after feeding due to this issue.... If it is mostly/always after feeding you might try a longer delay.

Makes sense to me ill kick the delay out to about 1.5 hours and see if it stops acting funky. Appreciate the ideas!

 

[Tangdora]

what varios speed are you running at. Your symptoms point to running at too high a speed. Notch down one level and readjust water level. Also spec recommend 7.9 -8.7 water height. Your running 9 which which is just over. Would take it down to 8.

 

[UncommonSense]

Also spec recommend 7.9 -8.7 water height. Your running 9 which which is just over. Would take it down to 8.

A small stand can be placed under the skimmer body to set the skimmer’s water height, vs making a sump static water height adjustment; if maximizing system water volume is a concern!