Reef Mishap

[ReefRacer]

IO think I finally figured out how water got on the floor and tripped the GFCI.
I came home one day and everything was off and the tank temp was 67. Drooping corals and a touch of RTN evident. Water was on the floor and the gfci tripped. I thought my sump was leaking for sure. I hadn't checked the reef the day before so I think the power could have been off 36 hours or more.
The sump wasn't leaking so I was really scratching my head until yesterday.
I have an ASM G2, and I had raised the tube way up to get it to skim wetter and had been running it like that for a few weeks. I didn't realize the pump was not connected well to the skimmer body at the uniseal. I couldn't see in there because of all the bubbles and turbulence. Apparently the splashing caused the air intake hose to clog with dried salt. This caused the riser tube discharge to increase and splash out of the sump.
There are so many ways to do it wrong.
Mike

 

[cee]

That's a fairly common thing with needlewheel skimmer from what I've read. I try and clean mine out about every 3 months. It can be a PITA on a recirculating skimmer, but since I'm operating mine externally, an overflow would be even more severe than an in-sump unit.

Dave

 

[ct_vol]

That would be what the gate valve is for... Nah but I have to clean out my air intake hose every so often... Maybe a couple times a year...

 

[ReefRacer]

Good point on the gate valve. I always thought of it is a luxury will no real benefit except convienience. I took the foam off the riser which probably contributed to the problem.
Good luck