Skimmer gone wild

[ScubaDrew]

Skimmer was running normally most of the day, then I changed my filter sock and now its gone wild. Its producing a ton of bubbles which results in a full cup of clear skimmate / water.

My question is how do I deal with this - do i dump the water until it calms down, turn the skimmer off for a while, or pour the water back into the tank?

Currently it will fill a cup in about 45 min.

thanks,

Drew

[lcstorc]

What kind of skimmer? Most have a way to adjust them to run more wet or more dry. I would adjust it to run a bit dry for the moment and gradually raise it.

[ScubaDrew]

Hey Lynn! thanks for the reply, I know your busy/tired!

Its a red sea berlin. Its got the turbo pump on it, and is adjustable in a couple of ways. 1. i can turn the pump down 2. i can raise the collection cup up an inch or two.

I just raised the cup up, which has slowed things down - I just hope I'm skimming everything I should be.

Drew

[lcstorc]

Unfortunately I know nothing about that skimmer.
I think raising the cup is the way to go for now. Then slowly lower it.
If the skimmate is wattery then you are still getting the nasties just water with it as well.
Best of luck.
Off to bed now.

[AQTCJAK]

I have mentioned that exact issue to the manufature they stated it is the rapid change in the clearity of the water. I have tried to figure that one out for 3 years now. So i fixed the issue I dont use them any longer

[ScubaDrew]

that does make sense though - I removed my old filter sock, which had filtered everything from adding new live rock today. Inevitably, this would have released a ton of particles into the water. I don't blame the skimmer for this, in fact I'm glad to see that it responds so quickly to this change in the water. I just needed to know how to deal with the clear skimmate. In a couple hours I could foreseeably remove a substantial amount of water.

Originally Posted by AQTCJAK

I have mentioned that exact issue to the manufature they stated it is the rapid change in the clearity of the water. I have tried to figure that one out for 3 years now. So i fixed the issue I dont use them any longer

[meandean45]

Hi Drew,

You did the right thing. Just keep lovering the cup as the level of foam goes down until you're back to where you had it in the beginning. Berlin skimmers can be rather fussy when you make big changes in water pollution.
Regards,
Dean

[sasquatch]

Some people swear by berlins, I only swear at them, even at best they are twitchy, I would suggest you build a shutoff for it that only allows 1 or 2 days of skimate to collect, flooding will happen on a fairly regular basis. If you need a pic or a link let me know, this is a super easy diy. Steve

[ScubaDrew]

if you have a link handy that would be great. I did a quick google and didnt find much.

Thanks for saving me from this disaster.

Originally Posted by sasquatch

Some people swear by berlins, I only swear at them, even at best they are twitchy, I would suggest you build a shutoff for it that only allows 1 or 2 days of skimate to collect, flooding will happen on a fairly regular basis. If you need a pic or a link let me know, this is a super easy diy. Steve

[BoomerD]

Phew! When I saw the title of this thread, I feared the worst...

I was SURE there would be pics of someone's skimmer showing it's nipples...like this:

[JT101]

I have never been able to eliminate all the fine bubbles in my AquaPod 24 that are produced by my Sapphire Aquatics AP24 skimmer so what I did was put it on a timer. As soon as the lights go out at night (also on timers) the skimmer goes on, in the morning the reverse happens. Works for me!

[AQTCJAK]

Originally Posted by BoomerD

Phew! When I saw the title of this thread, I feared the worst...

I was SURE there would be pics of someone's skimmer showing it's nipples...like this:

I see true colors now

[ScubaDrew]

[lcstorc]

Now this is getting scary.

[BigAl07]

*runs to store and gets LOTS of $1 bills*