reef octupus issues

[sbreefer]

I have a needle wheel reef octupus 300 in sump skimmer that has been the cause of three major incidents while I have been away. I set foam level and it skims great for weeks and then suddenly, it bubbles all the water oout of my sump and if I'm away, the salinity drops, my ATO cannot keep up, the reurn sucks air, tank crash etc.... what is with this thing? should I get an external? anyone else had this problem?

 

[tdwright1971]

could be an issue with your supply pump, does the water level in you sump where the skimmer sets stay a constant level?

 

[allsps40]

Benn running my NW110 skimmer for 3 years and not had 1 single issue so far. I have modded mine a bit.

 

[sbreefer]

sump level is constant via tunze photo eye ATO

 

[sjm817]

How does it empty your sump? If it overflows, doesn't in just go back into the sump?

 

[d0ughb0y]

How does it empty your sump? If it overflows, doesn't in just go back into the sump?

most skimmers have a drain hole that you can connect a hose out to a bucket outside the sump. and that is how it can empty the sump. it has happened to me.

 

[sjm817]

most skimmers have a drain hole that you can connect a hose out to a bucket outside the sump. and that is how it can empty the sump. it has happened to me.

That is something I would never do for that very reason. I leave the plug in.

 

[sbreefer]

my skimmate line goes to the drain. I suppose a ball valve here would help....

 

[d0ughb0y]

That is something I would never do for that very reason. I leave the plug in.

I believe the OP was out for an extended period of time. I do that when I go on vacation. that is what it is there fore. imho, skimmer design is not perfect in that area, exactly as described by the OP. Keeping it plug in does not make the design flaw go away, the problem is still there.

 

[sirreal63]

I don't see this as a design flaw in the skimmer, it sounds like a maintenance issue. Salt creep blocking the air is one thing I would check. It is a good practice to let it suck up a cup of hot R/O water weekly, this helps prevent flooding issues. This is one of the many reasons I prefer a recirculating skimmer, if the airline clogs, the water level in the skimmer drops, it does not rise.

 

[sjm817]

If you are going to do this you need to have some sort of a failsafe or else you risk the problem you are having. A waste container with a full shutoff float would be one way to do it.

 

[tdwright1971]

the ball valve will help but still need to find out why its overskimming, Is the return getting blocked in any way? like a snail crawling up into it? A guy at the lfs said sometimes theirs overskimms if a heavily perfumed lady walks into the store....

 

[sjm817]

Why its overskimming is very simple. Sbreefer was away. That is exactly all that is needed for something unforeseen to go wrong.

 

[fartman36]

I had the same issue but resolved it

I had the same issue but resolved it

Hi,
I have the reef octopus nwb-150 2010 model. For the first year I had this exact same problem. My water level never changed, no salt creep, no blocked airlines, clean pump, and every thing was perfect. But, like you, I would find my skimmer overflowing like mad. After many conversations with coralvue its fixed.

Here is the fix. I lowered the water level within the reaction chamber by several inches. When I turn on the skimmer the bubbles and foam now start about 6 below the top of the collection cup instead of 3 inches. At first I didn't think this would work because the bubbles would not reach the collection cup. I gave it a day or two and the bubbles eventually made it to the top. The skimmer produces a very dry skim but I have had no overflows for over a month.

 

[d0ughb0y]

If you are going to do this you need to have some sort of a failsafe or else you risk the problem you are having. A waste container with a full shutoff float would be one way to do it.

That is a good idea.

Hi,
I have the reef octopus nwb-150 2010 model. For the first year I had this exact same problem. My water level never changed, no salt creep, no blocked airlines, clean pump, and every thing was perfect. But, like you, I would find my skimmer overflowing like mad. After many conversations with coralvue its fixed.

Here is the fix. I lowered the water level within the reaction chamber by several inches. When I turn on the skimmer the bubbles and foam now start about 6 below the top of the collection cup instead of 3 inches. At first I didn't think this would work because the bubbles would not reach the collection cup. I gave it a day or two and the bubbles eventually made it to the top. The skimmer produces a very dry skim but I have had no overflows for over a month.

I tried that, the other problem is, I could end up days with absolutely no skimmate, which I did not think was good.

So on my next vacation, I may either end up using a bucket with a float valve, or just settle with really dry skim.

 

[fartman36]

I hear ya about the dry skim. At the end of the week my collection cup is only half way full. My nitrates are low and I'm using a tank rated for 150g on my heavily stocked 65g. So I'm not sure if there is much of demand on the skimmer.

I forgot to mention another way to solve your problem. I use PE mysis and didn't rinse off the mysis before I fed my tank inmates. This caused a slime coat in the skimmer. Then I would raise up my water level to have the skimmer at least wet skim. Then the skimmer and my filtration would sometimes catch up, eliminate the slime, and overflow. I did this at the same time as lowering my water level so I'm not sure how significant this was.

Also, you may want to try to keep your skim dry for awhile. It took a couple days to get a little skim and three to four days for an ok skim.