Super Reef Octopus going crazy after putty

[The Escaped Ape]

I know this isn't rare - in fact probably inevitable. But it's now been three days and there's little sign it's going back to normal. Anything I can do? I've already done a water change and added some fresh GAC. This was all prompted by going bare bottom and redoing the aquascape at the same time.

When I put in the new rock work, there was some putty (maybe two thirds of a stick) involved, but it only went crazy for a shortish while (less than a day). Maybe it helped that before putting the rock in the main tank, it had had a day in another tank. This time, I added the putty in the tank, as it was to secure the last few pieces. Since then, I've had a foam fountain in the sump and I'm a little worried about water quality (the water change was yesterday and I don't have any super-sensitive coral, so it should be alright at the moment, but still...).

Do I need to just wait it out?

 

[ErikS]

........Do I need to just wait it out?

Yep, normal, happens to me after using putty - seems to increase the water tension.

 

[opusthepenguin]

Same here. I usually just drop the water level way down in the skimmer over night and then it seams to go back to normal in a day or so.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks both. It's dialed right back already, so I guess I just have to wait. It's just frustrating, as this is the longest it's been for me. As far as I can make out, the Octopus skimmers are known for being temperamental, so maybe that's contributing as well.

 

[sancho153]

if your concerned just do a really really wet skim for a week or 2 and itll clean up quickly

 

[Retired Reefer]

I had this happen to me and I use good activated carbon and it cleaned it up in about 12 hrs.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

if your concerned just do a really really wet skim for a week or 2 and itll clean up quickly

I think you've maybe misunderstood - the skimmer is overflowing with bubbles constantly, even when dialed right back. A wet skim is only a dream at the moment. :worried:

I had this happen to me and I use good activated carbon and it cleaned it up in about 12 hrs.

Hmm. I did put some new GAC in the reactor, but it doesn't seem to have helped. I might need to change it over again.

Day 4 and it's still looking like one of those Mentos/Coke experiments. :headwally:

 

[reeftivo]

Do you have a liquid Mg supplement?

A little Mg always helps me when using glue on rocks or frags. Couldn't hurt to try 5 to 10ml

always knocks my skimmers down for a couple hours until they settle down

 

[reeftivo]

double post

 

[Buzz1329]

Uh oh. It's been about 8 hours since I used 2 tubes of epoxy to attach 10 SPS frags to my rocks, and my SWC skimmer is acting just like yours, escaped ape (love that name and the icon BTW). I did a 10% water change and am running a GAC/GFO filter but the skimmer is a no go.

I just installed a power filter with GAC/floss cartridges, and stuck in a poly filter to boot. I'm hoping that in the morning, the skimmer will be operable again.

 

[Anemonebuff]

It can take a while for all the surfactants to be absorbed or purged. Wait it out you hairy, Limey ape!:ape:

 

[aquamanpc24]

NOOO do this works every time
take duck tape electrical scoth who cares what u got
place over two air intakes or one pending model (silencer)
than puncture tiny hole
add holes to balance it out
I tried waiting I tried wet skimming notta!
this worked. after a day add more holes and after 2-3 days u will be back to normal

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Do you have a liquid Mg supplement?

A little Mg always helps me when using glue on rocks or frags. Couldn't hurt to try 5 to 10ml

always knocks my skimmers down for a couple hours until they settle down

Oooh. That's good knowledge. I don't have any at the moment, but I might resort to this if aquamanPC24's solution doesn't work. Thank you!

Uh oh. It's been about 8 hours since I used 2 tubes of epoxy to attach 10 SPS frags to my rocks, and my SWC skimmer is acting just like yours, escaped ape (love that name and the icon BTW). I did a 10% water change and am running a GAC/GFO filter but the skimmer is a no go.

I just installed a power filter with GAC/floss cartridges, and stuck in a poly filter to boot. I'm hoping that in the morning, the skimmer will be operable again.

I've got my fingers crossed for you! The first time I did this, it settled out after not too long. I hope by the morning you've got a sensible head of bubbles and some decently disgusting skimmate waiting for you!

It can take a while for all the surfactants to be absorbed or purged. Wait it out you hairy, Limey ape!:ape:

Thanks, I think. :lol:

Haven't you got some streets you should be ridding of a different sort of scum?

NOOO do this works every time
take duck tape electrical scoth who cares what u got
place over two air intakes or one pending model (silencer)
than puncture tiny hole
add holes to balance it out
I tried waiting I tried wet skimming notta!
this worked. after a day add more holes and after 2-3 days u will be back to normal

This looks to be the winner so far. I've just applied the tape (fixing it in place with a rubber band, as some air was getting in round the edge of the silencer intake). A few pin holes later and I've got a foam building within the riser column, rather than overflowing back into the tank. Hopefully this does the trick. I'll update later.

Thank you!

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Just as an update - the tape over the air inlet solution, adding pin holes as things settled down, worked very well. Thanks for the tip aquamanpc24!

I then had the problem I'd seen last week, of the foam not reaching the skimmer cup! I'm not sure if the skimmer might be overrated for my tank. Still, a bit of a surprise, given that it skimmed well before with half the fish.

One thing that might have been contributing is that I noticed for some reason my water level was slightly lower than it has been previously. When I measured it, it was slightly less than 5.5", so I added some more water and moved the Osmolator sensor up slightly, so that it was back at 6", the supposed optimum water depth for SRO skimmers. Bubbles are starting to move a bit higher. I hope that's done the trick!

I must be the only person to have gone barebottom and seen a diatom bloom! Now the skimmer's working well again, I hope it will soon be gone...