Advice needed skimmer overflowing.

Hey all,
I was getting some fresh water ready for a water change, went to my display for a PH test and I noticed some foginess, looked in the sump and my Euro reef rs135 was overflowing like crazy. So I unplugged it, completed my water change, inspected the pump everything looked fine. Plugged it up again and overflowing! Advice?

Thanks!

 

Have you added any supplements to the tank today? Or any treatments? How old is the skimmer?

 

No nothing, skimmer is almost two years old.

 

Maybe the output tube has some blockage or it got tweaked?

 

Strange. How old is the pump that is feeding it? Perhaps something is up with that. I have had PHs go into overdrive when they start to wear out. Strange, but maybe the case here.

 

So after a day or so of running the skimmer with the gate almost fully closed I opened it up again to were it use to be and it works flawlessly once again. I wonder if there was some type of reaction in the water that lead to this. I only does cal and alk when needed and hadn't in a few days before this happened... Wierd.

 

Maybe you had some gunk in the gate and closing it helped break some of it loose.

 

do you routinely clean the pump and skimmer?

 

I run an Aqua C and came home one day to find a growing puddle on the floor around the tank (the skimmer does not sit in the sump, just behind it).

The skimmer was overflowing from the air intake, cycling the gate valve full open and re-adjusting the level solved the problem. The end result of valve setting was very close to where it had been and over a couple of days I adjusted it "back to where it was".

Though I never found the reason for it backing up, suspected the same thing tigermike74 suggested.

I had been running the Mag 5 that feeds the skimmer with no suction filter in the sump. After this experience, I added a bit of tubing to the air inlet and secured it over the top of the sump, and added a screen and sponge filter to the Mag 5 (another addition to the weekly maintenance check list). But I have not had another problem....

 

My skimmer directions say...
Operating tips bullet 1:
Freshly mixed salt water can cause excessive wet foaming.


But yours started it before the change... I don't know...