Why does my skimmer randomly overflow ? I'm so puzzled. ..

[Jonathan blackwood]

So my skimmer has been running about 2 months now and pulls dry thick skim like crazy! Does an amazing job but... in the last 3 weeks or so about once a week. I come home from work and the skimmer is overflowing! like something or something adjusted the air flow and just put it on full throttle. .. the skimmer is never touched, nothing in the sump is around or on top of the pump, so how or why does it just freak out in the middle of the night and just go ham!?? I get so concerned that is keeps dumping all that waste it has collected back into my tank ... it was a brand new skimmer when I purchased it. Nothing wrong at all.

 

[Diesel]

Check your airline tubing for salt creep or clean out your venturi.
It might also something been released in the water due to a dosing schedule or a coral that spawned on you.
For now i would concentrate on you airline and venturi.

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

Thanks! Will try that today and clean out the airline

 

[mcarroll]

Depending on the tank, that can be a bit normal for needle wheel skimmers....if you tune them to the nth degree and then then organics load shoots up because life happens in a successful reef, you naturally get an overflow.

Assuming a cleaning, etc doesn't fix the issue, just "de-tune" the skimmer a little bit.

(Usually this means reducing the air input a little bit, but depending on your skimmer and setup there is more than one way to acheive de-tuning, so do what makes sense.)

 

[Wiz]

Funny, I woke up to the same. Just pouring out the top.

 

[jason2459]

Also, check for any blockage or growth in the exit piping.

 

[luke33]

Does your water in your sump fluctuate at all? Does this happen when you change filter socks or dose any additive or coral food?

 

[Jonathan blackwood]

Does your water in your sump fluctuate at all? Does this happen when you change filter socks or dose any additive or coral food?

Nope stays the same lvl at all times . Water lvl never rises is what I mean. And not that I know of. Just whenever I I come home from work in the morning. .. I've noticed it a few times. Not after I feed or dose or water change. It does it when I'm not home lol

 

[NanaReefer]

Murphy's Law! [emoji38][emoji38]

 

[ihavecrabs]

My skimmer pulls at different rates (pulls more organics out at night versus day for example) and if I set it for the day to where it pulls aggressively, at night it would overflow.

So I just set it at the night high and it never overflows now.

So my guess is your skimmer reacts to a chemical or "other" change in the tank that takes place and therefore bubbles at a different rate causing an overflow if you skim aggressively.

This is totally based on my experience and there is no scientific knowledge or testing to back it up [emoji16]

 

[Fudsey]

After a lot of reading about the Eshopps, many people have complained about them overflowing. I was considering getting one as they are less expensive, but after reading about them overflowing and now your post as well, I have changed my mind.

 

[ihavecrabs]

After a lot of reading about the Eshopps, many people have complained about them overflowing. I was considering getting one as they are less expensive, but after reading about them overflowing and now your post as well, I have changed my mind.

Mine is an Eshopps and I had a similar experience. It is just something you need to consider when dialing it in. Once I got mine dialed in properly, it has been working fine for years without issue.

 

[Battlecorals Verified Sponsor]

You might consider dropping the water level in the sump so that the second baffle maintains a constant water level. I know you said it does not fluctuate but its very possible that minute changes are causing the skimmer to do this,. at least its an easy thing to try and see.