tank breakdown / restart problems

[c0njuay]

My reef tank ran into a bunch of problems a few weeks back- old tank syndrome, marine velvet(?) etc. Long story short, while I had it torn down, I took 15 years of scratches out of it. (Sanding only, no polishes.) Rinsed thoroughly and added new 'live' sand . The skimmer (alpha 170 ) is only about two months in the system, but up until the tank crashed, it was running fine. Added an old UV because I had it available and want to make sure the velvet was gone.
Now, I can't stop the skimmer from overflowing. The replaced sand was the "Live" sand type, and I also added some BioDigest to reseed the tank itself. Waited a week for all that to settle, restarted the skimmer and watched it go MAD. I opened the drain and let it overflow for about three days, figuring it would come around by itself. It hasn't. I can't figure out if it is residue from the sanding, the sand replacement, or the BioDigest causing the problem. I can't shut the water flow down enough to stop the over flowing.

Any thoughts about what went wrong?

 

[dankaqua]

My reef tank ran into a bunch of problems a few weeks back- old tank syndrome, marine velvet(?) etc. Long story short, while I had it torn down, I took 15 years of scratches out of it. (Sanding only, no polishes.) Rinsed thoroughly and added new 'live' sand . The skimmer (alpha 170 ) is only about two months in the system, but up until the tank crashed, it was running fine. Added an old UV because I had it available and want to make sure the velvet was gone.
Now, I can't stop the skimmer from overflowing. The replaced sand was the "Live" sand type, and I also added some BioDigest to reseed the tank itself. Waited a week for all that to settle, restarted the skimmer and watched it go MAD. I opened the drain and let it overflow for about three days, figuring it would come around by itself. It hasn't. I can't figure out if it is residue from the sanding, the sand replacement, or the BioDigest causing the problem. I can't shut the water flow down enough to stop the over flowing.

Any thoughts about what went wrong?

Does this thread help?

Dissapointed with new Vertex Alpha 170 Skimmer

i recently purchased a new Vertex Alpha170 its been over a month running. It's sitting in 9" of water volute 4 turns (i've tried from 3 to 6 turns).. and i'm really disappointed with its performance... ive been reading sites and blogs, tried everything but it isnt producing as much skim as...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Try running your skimmer in a vinegar and water solution for a few hours. It will dissolve whatever is making it overflow fairly quickly.

 

[c0njuay]

Does this thread help?

Dissapointed with new Vertex Alpha 170 Skimmer

i recently purchased a new Vertex Alpha170 its been over a month running. It's sitting in 9" of water volute 4 turns (i've tried from 3 to 6 turns).. and i'm really disappointed with its performance... ive been reading sites and blogs, tried everything but it isnt producing as much skim as...

www.reef2reef.com

Yeah, I saw that.
I pulled the sump apart and - 1) i had knocked the volute way out, and 2) there was a stray piece of hosing floating around that section of the sump. All my wounds were self inflicted.