Octopus 110

[CrayolaViolence]

I have my refugium finished and while I wouldn't call it a work of art, it works well and with siphon breaks in all the right places, should never overflow, or if it does, it won't drain the tank at least. LOL.

Anyhow. My Octopus has been running well, and skimming protein. LOTS of protein. I have a 60 gallon tank (or55) depending on who you as. Anyhow, I got a bigger protein skimmer than needed, as advised.

However----I have been emptying the thing 3 times a day. Granted, I don't let it get full. Usually I get about 1/4-1/3 a pint out of it each time. Yesterday morning I got an entire pint but didn't empty it all day, then suddenly, overnight it filled up. I am wondering if this is normal? And why it is filling up more times than others. Now it seems to be filling regularly, and like I said, I'm emptying it before it gets even 1/2 full, I guess I am paranoid about it over flowing. Yes it's in the tank but I don't want the stuff to go back into the water.

Will this taper off at any point? I don't have a lot of life in this tank. A few corals, some tiny hermit crabs, one banded coral shrimp, I think 2 peppermint shrimp (I had 4 but I think the other two killed them) a Mandarin Dragonete, a tiny blue fish (sorry don't know what it's called), sponges, mushrooms polyps, a sea fan, more of a sea twig (LOL). I know it sounds like a lot but it's all very small mostly frags. I just put two feather dusters in there who I am in love with, and of course snails to help with the abundance of brown algae. I feed reef-chili every other day (as instructed) put in appropriate amounts of phytoplankton (as instructed)So I am just wondering will the protein levels begin to drop or will I need to continue emptying it 3x day or run a line from the drain to a container for larger collection so I can actually leave for a day?

Thanks.

Oh, the first day, it gave nothing"¦.then it was like wham, then nothing"¦now its the 3x day thing. Has been running since Saturday.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

P.s. Yes, this is a VERY new tank.
All water tests are within normal limits. PH is 8.1-8.2 as well.

 

[CuzzA]

If there is a change in water chemistry or an excessive amount of nutrients (something dies (fish, snail), over feeding, etc) your skimmer will usually respond.

You will overflow your skimmer at some point, I almost guarantee it. There's a couple ways to mitigate this problem.

1) Clean/empty the skimmer often to prevent waste making it back into the system. Utilize the drain on the cup with some silicone tubing and a ball valve to make emptying easier. The easier to do, the more likely you will do it.

2) Incorporate a float switch (Controller/Relay Switch) to shut down the skimmer once the cup is full.

For me, I have an Apex and a float switch in my skimmer cup. If for whatever reason the switch is triggered my skimmer shuts off. You can accomplish this with a relay switch and float switch too. My skimmer is also plumbed to my homes sewer with a ball valve. It makes for emptying the cup very easy as I don't have to turn the skimmer off and/or remove the cup if it doesn't need cleaning. Nor do I have to risk skimmate spilling on the floor. If you can't hook up to your homes sewer you could also use a waste collector like a gallon jug with an air vent packed with carbon. But be very careful to not leave the ball valve open, otherwise you risk a flood. Even with a float switch, they do fail from time to time. Once the gallon jug is approaching full either empty it or replace it with a new one.

Hope this helps.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

That's the thing though, nothing in the tank, that I can see, has really changed. So I am just wondering where all the protein is coming from? Water also goes through plants and nitrate rock before returning to the tank.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

To make things a bit easier, I did run a hose from the drain to a 5 gallon bucket. I figured that should buy me some time to change it out if it has a sudden protein explosion.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

I could actually run piping from the drain to the outside through a window and put a collection bucket out there. My refugium sits on a shelf under the window beside the tank.

 

[CuzzA]

Don't do it without a closed ball valve. You could drain your sump.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

Don't do it without a closed ball valve. You could drain your sump.

We have siphon breaks to prevent draining of the sump/refugium.