New tank questions

[tidus10]

I've set up my new tank and it's had salt water in it for just about a week now, 70 something gallons in the system maybe a little more. Got 10 used gallons from a friend and about 2lbs of live rock in the sump. 40lbs of rock/ 40lbs sand. And first things first, my skimmer is going nuts. On the lowest flow setting its overflowing. Any ideas? And second I didn't clean my rock or sand before adding water. And so Ive had it going for a bit and it's all cleared up now and in my sump on the glass and skimmer cords and return pump there is a slime? Feels slimy/greasy. And ideas?


~Tidus

 

[Qube]

The stuff in the sump and on the cords is most likely some of the residue left behind by the stuff in the sand that normally gets rinsed off. As far as your skimmer, its most likely trying to pull the small particulates from the sand. Even if the water is clear, it will still go nuts for awhile. I get the same thing when I clean out my skimmer with vinegar, no matter how much I rinse it, it always seems to go nuts for awhile, even though the water is perfectly clear.

 

[fragmatic]

Skimmer is working hard. Slime is crud from the rock and sand. One week is a blink of an eye in reef keeping... hang in there!

Also, salinity is a huge factor in skimming.. be sure yours is right.

 

[SloppyJ]

Is your water level hitting right on your skimmer? If the water level is too high, the skimmer will overflow.

 

[rebecky45]

When you say overflowing, do you mean with water or foam? What kind of skimmer do you have?

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[tidus10]

180 Gallon Fresh Saltwater Fish Tank Protein Skimmer SCA 302 Needle Impeller | eBay
is my skimmer in 8" of water as the manufacture suggests. and its ovverflowing with foam and i have it on a low setting..

 

[fragmatic]

If it is overflowing with foam.. it has work to do and is getting it done, if the foam is sort of dry and ends up a dark green pea soup.

 

[tidus10]

Nah it's just white bubbles. And it seems very very watery


~Tidus

 

[Dan1789]

My skimmer did this once, first try putting it in less water maybe 7 inches. Next if your collection cup has a plug in the bottom of it, hook up a tube and let it drain in there. If its something in the water, you want to pull it out instead of letting it overflow into the tank.

 

[fragmatic]

yeah.. not supposed to over flow the micro bubbles. you need to do something.. perhaps try putting something under it so it is less deep in the water. or something similar, you need less bubble column height.

Maybe a pic showing where it is and how it sets in the sump, and it bubbling away?

 

[rebecky45]

Can you adjust the height of the collection cup? This seriously helped me.

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[tidus10]

i cannot adjust the collection cup.. the tank is brand new and there is a possibility that its filled with junk but i have no way of telling if its the water or the skimmer... how can i test this? i cant do a lot of water changes because the tank is now cycling

 

[fragmatic]

Actually, you do not need to skim while you are cycling the tank. That may help...

And I should of said so long before.... my bad!

 

[SloppyJ]

I liked cycling my tank with my skimmer. It helped me get everything dialed in and broken in all at once. It was pulling some nasty crap by the end. I did have some silversides in a media bag though.