What causes skimmers to overflow?

[omar jawad]

This morning, I was doing my normal morning tank inspection when I noticed the skimmer was overflowing into the sump, dumping all the nastiness back in the water. It was running at this setting for over 5 days and has been in the tank since mid August. I did not add any supplements to that tank other then the normal Reef Energy A and B and some Mr. Chili coral food. What causes this to happen?

 

[Salty0331]

Hard to say, but one thing to check is the air line intake. If it gets block it will overflow.

 

[Salty0331]

Every month I physically blow thru my air line to ensure its clear

 

[twilliard]

Also venturis can get plugged with carbonate buildup.

 

[CastAway]

Many things can change the surface tension and make a skimmer run wet; something on your hands, something sprayed in the air, something released from a life form in the tank, and so on. Running wet for five days straight however, if it was, that's curios.

(My wife loves Febreze. Totally freaks me out when she uses it!)