Help with a malfunctioning protein skimmer (Deltec SC1455)

[Beepinheimer]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on R2R.

I have a Deltec SC1455 that's been installed for around 6 months.
Unfortunately it hasn't worked properly at all for the time that I've owned it.

Around every 2 to 3 days the skimmer will flood (skim-mate will get flushed out and it'll fill up with clear tank water.)
The skimmer is currently sitting in about 7.4 inches of tank water (188mm), I've tried stands that place it both lower and higher up.

Currently I'm only dosing 2 part and that's it.
I do a 15 percent water change once a week.

I've already reached out to Deltec for support but they really haven't done anything other than juggled me around to different support representatives internally.

I'm grasping for straws here so any help is appreciated.

Tank specifications:
120 Gallon Display
45 Gallon Sump

Filtration:
Deltec SC1455 Protein Skimmer
CW100 Clear Water Turf Scrubber
200Lbs of Pukani (between the dt and sump)
2x 200 micron 4" filter socks

Other Equipment:
Hydor ATO
Jecod DCS 12000 return pump
Ecotech MP40 accessory pump
2x Maxpect Gyre accessory pump
2x Jaeger 150W heaters
Jebao UV sterilizer
Jebao 3x channel dosing pump

 

[legionofdoon]

Does the overflowing coincide with the water changes?

 

[madweazl]

Where do you have the water level set in the down tube? I have the best results when it is above the top of the main chamber and below the collar for the collection cup. I've never had it overflow unless there was something added to the tank to cause it.

 

[Beepinheimer]

Does the overflowing coincide with the water changes?

I checked it this morning and it was spilling over. Last water change was last Sunday September 20th (running a tad behind on my water weekly water change.)

 

[legionofdoon]

Do you rinse your filter socks, how long has this skimmer been running?

 

[legionofdoon]

NVM I see 6 months.

 

[Beepinheimer]

Where do you have the water level set in the down tube? I have the best results when it is above the top of the main chamber and below the collar for the collection cup. I've never had it overflow unless there was something added to the tank to cause it.

I have it set pretty much exactly where the supporting bracket is (the piece that connects the down tube to the skimmer body.)

 

[legionofdoon]

Also your skimmer body looks really clean are you pulling it out often or cleaning the inside some how?

 

[Beepinheimer]

Do you rinse your filter socks, how long has this skimmer been running?

I sense the filter socks every 2-3 days depending on how dirty they look.

I've tried removing them before to see if that may have been the problem and didn't have any luck unfortunately.

 

[Beepinheimer]

Also your skimmer body looks really clean are you pulling it out often or cleaning the inside some how?

Nope. I cleaned the body and pump about 3 months ago, that's pretty much it.

Since I don't really have a refugium or a refugium light that could be why.

 

[legionofdoon]

Try removing them again rinsing them will set off a lot of skimmers do you run carbon?

 

[legionofdoon]

Yeah skimmer lights definitely grow algae.

Nope. I cleaned the body and pump about 3 months ago, that's pretty much it.

Since I don't really have a refugium or a refugium light that could be why.

 

[Beepinheimer]

Try removing them again rinsing them will set off a lot of skimmers do you run carbon?

Okay I'll give that a shot when I get home from work.
I use carbon and GFO as needed.
Currently I am since the skimmer keeps dumping everything back into the tank.

 

[pirate2876]

Things that make skimmers go wonky:

• Certain foods
• New filter socks
• High/low salinity
• Tinkering with the water lvl
• Iodine dosing
• Medications
  
• Decay from new liverock/sand/fish etc
• De-chlor products
• Putting your hands/arms in he water

I'm sure I missed a few others. Do you think the pump could be ramping up and down?

 

[madweazl]

How often are the filter socks cleaned and is there a correlation to replacement when the skimmer goes wonky? How do you clean the socks?

 

[Ryan420r6]

Are you giving the skimmer time to break in after you clean it? Set it low then slowly increase throughout the day. It’s tempting to crank it up to get a nice foam head immediately but every time I did that it was overflowing a few hours later.

 

[Beepinheimer]

Things that make skimmers go wonky:

• Certain foods
• New filter socks
• High/low salinity
• Tinkering with the water lvl
• Iodine dosing
• Medications
  
• Decay from new liverock/sand/fish etc
• De-chlor products
• Putting your hands/arms in he water

I'm sure I missed a few others. Do you think the pump could be ramping up and down?

It's possible, it hasn't really made any noise or anything (it's an AC pump) and again for the most part it appears to work okay. And then like every third day (sometimes when I'm at work and sometimes at night) it'll just start going crazy.

It happened again last night when I was sleeping. The only thing that went into the tank last night was some Nori algaefor the tangs.

I did glue some frags in, but 1. I only do this like once a month tops, and 2. That would have been at least 6 hours after I had my hands in the system (I glued them in around 6 when I got home from work and I didn't go to bed until around midnight.)

 

[Beepinheimer]

Are you giving the skimmer time to break in after you clean it? Set it low then slowly increase throughout the day. It’s tempting to crank it up to get a nice foam head immediately but every time I did that it was overflowing a few hours later.

The skimmer was last cleaned around 3 months ago.

 

[Beepinheimer]

How often are the filter socks cleaned and is there a correlation to replacement when the skimmer goes wonky? How do you clean the socks?

I had this same thought myself. I thought that maybe some left over detergent was making the skimmer go nuts when I was using cloth filter socks. So I switched to nylon socks which are just sprayed out with tap water and then rinsed in a little bit of RO.

Same problem.
It's had me scratching my head for awhile

 

[pirate2876]

I did glue some frags in, but 1. I only do this like once a month tops, and 2. That would have been at least 6 hours after I had my hands in the system (I glued them in around 6 when I got home from work and I didn't go to bed until around midnight.)

I have an issue with my skimmer going crazy after using the 2 part epoxy. I should have put that on the list.