skimmer shooting out sand storms

[timdam]

So i have a skimmer in my sump. i turned it off for a few days while i medicated for some red slime. but now, every time i turn on my skimmer, the water that shoots into the tank is all sandy.

i took the skimmer out of the tank and examined it and didn't find anything wrong. has this ever happened to anyone? any ideas?

 

[Shane Hoffman]

Sounds like salt encrusted on it while you had it shut off.....when you start it up after all that time the water blasts out the dried salt flakes......shouldnt be sand unless your pump is near sand....which if thats the case....move your pump

 

[mr pink floyd]

microbubbles...?

 

[thebanker]

You're probably seeing microbubbles. I have a noob tank but I've already dosed it once with Red Slime Remover. For the next week and a half it was flooded with microbubbles as the skimmer pulled out any built-up dissolved organics, which I assume to be lots of dead cyanobacteria. The guy at my LFS said it pulled the red slime remover out, which causes the foam and microbubbles.

I kept running my skimmer and all symptoms of microbubble "sandiness" that you're describing stopped in about 10 days.