SRO (Super Reef Octopus) 3000 Microbubble Probs!

Dustin1300

Dustin1300

Reefaholic
I've had a SRO 3000 for nearly 2-3 months now and this morning found that it had overfilled cup and was just dumping into skimmer. I discovered this while walking out door this morning so unplugged and planned on getting skimmer going once I got home tonight. Well....Came home and took skimmer out of sump and cleaned body all out as well as I could and took pump apart and cleaned all the internals.

I plug back in and it continues to overflow even though I have valve turned so it keeps the water the lowest. I've got tons of microbubbles coming back out the output and don't know why!!!!

Please, anyone, what's going on here????
 
You mean the one running to the bubble blaster with the tube that goes to canister? I took apart and cleaned it out and also blew through to ensure its clear!
 
I'm wondering if a combination of the sump level being 10 inches and the outlet barely below the water is what caused this to start happening. I can raise the skimmer 2-3 inches with a stand and get some PVC to raise the outlet a couple inches to ensure that it is high enough. What is everyones thoughts?

Below is where I saw on CoralVue that this could be the problem. Possibly the SRO was not fully broke in yet and is now broke in and this is why I'm finally running into it:

Why does my skimmer keep over flowing?


An overflowing skimmer is caused by two problems. The first is that the water level in the sump is cover the outlet pipe on the skimmer or is at the same level as the outlet pipe. When the water in the sump is running at or above the outlet pipe on the skimmer you are putting back pressure in the main cylinder of the skimmer. The water has to exit and when the outlet pipe is underwater it is pushing against the weight of the water in the sump. When the skimmer is new you maybe able to get away with this for a little amount of time, but once the skimmer is fully broken in you will have overflow problems all the time. You must either lower the water level in your sump or raise your skimmer in the sump by placing it on a small stand or even some cut off pieces of PVC pipe. You can easily cut a few pieces of PVC for the base of the skimmer to sit on at the depth that you need to raise the outlet pipe out of the water.

The second reason for overflow is that something is preventing air from entering the skimmer pump through the venturi. When air is restricted it allows for more water to be pumped into the skimmer. More water in the chamber will cause the skimmer to overflow. Make sure you check the air venturi and air hose for any salt creep deposits. Also make sure the air hose is not bent preventing air flow into the pump. If the air hose is bent reroute the hose so that it will not bend.
 
Have you absolutely ruled out something getting into the tank. I have used to much epoxy putty and it drove my skimmer nuts for 2 days before. I've also accidentally poured just a tiny bit of ReVive in my tank and again, the skimmer went crazy for days.
 
I bet you are RIGHT! I just used epoxy yesterday to cement 4 new SPS frags in. Will this just clear with a little bit of time or should I do a partial water change? I can easily do a large water change tomorrow by just increasing my water exchange with the LMIII.
 
it should clear in a little while. This happens to me when I put in a brand new filter sock as well. By the way, optimal water level for the sro3000 is around 6"
 
Water level is about 9 1/2" so I'm going to build a 2 1/2" stand and that should get it right around 7 inches. Otherwise, I'm running out of height in sump and would have to lower baffles. I'll fire the skimmer up in morning to see if things have cleared up as well as when I get home from work tomorrow to see. Thanks everyone for your responses and sedor was right on the money. I've not had the epoxy react in this way in the past with my other skimmer:)
 
Dustin1300 said:
Water level is about 9 1/2" so I'm going to build a 2 1/2" stand and that should get it right around 7 inches. Otherwise, I'm running out of height in sump and would have to lower baffles. I'll fire the skimmer up in morning to see if things have cleared up as well as when I get home from work tomorrow to see. Thanks everyone for your responses and sedor was right on the money. I've not had the epoxy react in this way in the past with my other skimmer:)
Click to expand...

Have you used epoxy with this skimmer since it was broken in (after its first month)? I have an SRO-5000sss and it went nuts when I stirred my biopellets up. I have mine in about 7 inches of water. Raising yours up to 7" will give you some room for adjustment also.

Dustin1300 said:
I don't use filter socks but what in a filter sock causes the skimmer to freak out?
Click to expand...

Usually it is a small amount of leftover detergent or clorox
 
cakeman, this is the first time I've used epoxy in the tank at all since the skimmer has been in place. Its the only the thing I've seen the skimmer blow up like this. I also plan on making a stand tonight and placing the skimmer on it in a couple days but want to make sure the silicone cures before putting into tank:)

Also, makes sense on the filter sock.
 
I tried firing up skimmer this morning and still was freaking out. I mounted frags on Sunday around 6PM so I'm hoping that skimmer starts working again tonight. Can I do anything outside of a water change that will help speed up the ability to skim again?
 
Built the stand out of eggcrate/pvc pipe and brought the skimmer out of the water more. I still am having the same problem but has calmed down somewhat. I'm thinking tomorrow the epoxy problems will have dissipated and skimming will continue. Bringing it up 2 1/2" gave me enough to get valve output above the water line enough.
 
Just FYI, the exact same thing happened with my xp2000. I used plumbers putty and the skimmer went nuts and I didnt connect the two events. After a few days, it cleared and everything was back to normal. Glad I found this thread because I had no idea what was happening with my reliable skimmer.
 
I have this skimmer and has multiple times put over 70gallons on my floor. I won't get into how it passed my fail safe but I did want to mention that the skimmer loves to be around 6.5-7" of water. Use a PVC t in the gate to direct the water quietly back to the sump. I also use a skimmer wiper that helps keep things smoothly.
 
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