Skimmer foam overflow...pretty wild...

[Sk8r]

...if you have a high-end skimmer, various things can cause the thing to fill with water and put out foam that blows the top off the skimmer: a spawn event from snails, even Selcon doses. In my case it was, I suspect, some olive oil that got on a food item.

If this happens, set the skimmer to driest skim, and be patient. Mine took 3 days to clear up, but in the way the tank digests and breaks down things, this too shall pass.

Do watch your salinity if you have been tossing collection cups often.

 

[sde1500]

Olive oil. Your fish have high end tastes haha

Mine was doing that yesterday after a very aggressive tank cleaning. Sk8r, do you just let it overflow back into the tank? I had it as dry as I could get it, and the cup was filling very quickly so just turned the skimmer off. Can't be dumping the cup every half hour.

 

[ssick92]

I had the same issue happen, but never really figured out what it was. But olive oil... that's a new one...

 

[CStrickland]

I've had overflows from adding stuff like melafix to the tank. It helps to skim 'super-dry' by lowering the depth of water the skimmer sits in. You can either take a few gallons out of the system temporarily (with the ato off) and add them back as the water gets cleaned; or put something under the skimmer like egg crate or a tupperware to raise it up. This will allow the skimmer to remove much more of the contaminant and less of your water.

 

[Sk8r]

Selcon is partly fish oil, and it's a known offender. I figure it was likely the fact I had been popping fish cubes and there was an olive oil spill found later. Virgin Olive Oil, at that. Imported.

I let mine run and drip back into the tank, but I had a dirty filter sock (filters can get more efficient as they clog, all the way over to impermeable) so I put it back in, in the hopes of sopping up any oil. Can't say it worked, but i just let the skimmer run at its dryest, and by the third morning, it had begun to develop a truly dryer foam. I then dumped the cup and let it run. All's well, nothing adversely affected.

 

[Sk8r]

Good suggestion, CStrickland.

 

[alcimedes]

So I'm skimming what I think is fairly dry now. End up with about 1/2" of super brown water every 2 days or so.

My question is, is it stupid to have the skimmer overflow directed back to my sump? A few people recommended that it plumb to a container to catch any extra.

My concern is that say there's something like a spawning event and the skimmer goes nuts, suddenly you end up with water on the floor from your skimmer going crazy. In that scenario, I'd much rather the skimmer overflow go back to the sump vs. dump water all over the floor.

What have other people gone with, and why?

 

[Sk8r]

Definitely route it back to sump during vacation. If you can set up an alternative during times you're there to check on it, that's just extra power. Your tank doesn't yet have much to skim or your skimmer isn't as strong as some; but it's likely just that it doesn't have much crud yet.