What am I doing wrong with the skimmer?

[Spydersweb]

Hello all,
So, my aquarium has been up for about a month, and I started up my skimmer (the first time I’ve ever had one) about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks ago. The whole time it’s been bubbling over like crazy. I’ve tried everything that I‘ve read to make it work properly, but it won’t. After the first week I ran it in a vinegar mixture, about 10 parts water, one part vinegar. After the second week of bubbling over, I lowered the water level, and it leveled out for about half a day, and then started bubbling over again, and for the past week, I’ve had it at a lower water level. It’s still bubbling like crazy. I’ve done water changes, the valve is wide open... I’m just at a loss. The skimmer is a reef octopus 110int classic... any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fish farmer]

I have the same skimmer. The level in my sump is 7". I've noticed that if I keep the level of bubbles just below the skimmer cup it doesn't overflow. It might still need some break in time, plus with your tank being new it may not have a lot of crud to skim. I notice when I clean my cup that it sometimes need some fine tuning. For me it doesn't take much valve turning to have it over skim.

 

[Peace River]

That is a great basic skimmer! I also have the Reef Octopus 110 classic as well as two other Reef Octopus skimmers. I keep the water level at the ridge line toward the top of the body (right where it starts to taper) and then adjust the valve to keep the bubbles just below the skimmer cup. It may need a couple of weeks after your last cleaning before it will be broken in. If you continue to have issues then let us know and we will continue to help. Good luck!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Yes to the above. Operating depth sould be around 7"-8" in your sump water, skimmer sitting in water. Inside the body where bubbles collect like @Peace River said. New tank and it needs to develop some bio-film on it's inside surfaces. Takes a little time.