New and First time setup

[Sidney O'Pry]

I had someone set up our first tank on Monday. It's 150 gallon with sump pump underneath. I know I'm just getting started but I have a lot of suds that make a 2 inch layer of foam over the entire sump area. Does anyone know what could be causing this and how to resolve the issue? Is it unusual or will it go away on it's own?

 

[Tahoe61]

Is there a skimmer running?
Did they add any bacteria in a bottle products?
It's not that uncommon to see some foam, it typically related to debris in the sand in my experience and should resolve over the coming week.

 

[Sidney O'Pry]

Is there a skimmer running?
Did they add any bacteria in a bottle products?
It's not that uncommon to see some foam, it typically related to debris in the sand in my experience and should resolve over the coming week.

They did add a small bottle of bacteria. We did rinse the sand a couple of times (about 60 lbs worth) and we also have 80 lbs of live sand that didn't need to be rinsed. Thanks for the input. I sure hope it resolves itself. The first night it foamed so much that it ran over the sump. Oh and yes there is a skimmer running.

 

[Reefer Deez]

Welcome to R2R! Don't ever hesitate to ask a question everyone here is eager to help!

 

[scott11106]

if you ever have the skimmer overflowing you can turn it off of adjust it until what ever is causing it is rectified. even if it does foam up it should not overflow skimmer. show us some pictures if it persists

 

[declanisadog]

It sounds like pretty normal stuff, but as already stated, pics are always helpful.

 

[Greybeard]

Foam from new sand is common. Most of the 'wet' sand (I hesitate to call it live) come with a pack of some sort of chemical that is supposed to help settle the sand down. I try hard not to dump unknown chemicals in my tank, so I've always thrown them away.

Give it some time, it's likely to be gone pretty quickly.

 

[Sidney O'Pry]

I had the foam overflow the sump the first night. That was before I set up the skimmer. The skimmer really hasn't helped. It's been running since Tuesday.

Foam from new sand is common. Most of the 'wet' sand (I hesitate to call it live) come with a pack of some sort of chemical that is supposed to help settle the sand down. I try hard not to dump unknown chemicals in my tank, so I've always thrown them away.

Give it some time, it's likely to be gone pretty quickly.

Thank you.

 

[ihavecrabs]

That is a lot of foam. If it came from the sand, I would have expected it to be more tan/brown.

Do you know if they used tap, RO, or RODI water when setting up the tank?

 

[Sidney O'Pry]

That used tap and added the salt mix and Prime.

 

[Sidney O'Pry]

They used tap and added salt mix and Prime.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Tap water? oh boy... There is all sorts of chemicals, minerals, and potential toxins in tap water that will wreak havoc on a reef tank. I'd say it's almost worth it to drain the entire tank and refill it with premix from an LFS if possible. If not then distilled water and mix in your reef salt. Once that's done you will likely have to adjust ph and alk.