Had my IN-80 for 4 months with flawless performance. Nice and quiet, thick, smelly, NASTY skimmate collecting. I have it running deep. Like in about 12" of water, but it's dialed in and has been running fine.
Recently, the motor has gotten ridiculously loud.
And now twice, the skimmer cup has just POOF overflowed. Not with skimmate, but more over just water. At this point, I have unplugged the skimmer until I can resolve this.
I don't get it. There's nothing blocking the air vent, and there is no dramatic water level change which would push the skimmer to flood like this.
I'm sure the motor is either having impeller issues or the bushings are shot or both. I have written Aquaristik to see if they can send me some fix-it parts, but am considering a replacement pump. It sounds like the Octopus BB 2000 would be about the best bet. But I have a handful of questions.
1. Has anyone used a BB 2000 on an IN 80 Skimmer? If so, any issues? (pump too big, too small??)
2. Any thoughts on why the skimmer cup is mysteriously filling with water? Remember, this JUST started and has been running in the exact same environment flawlessly for 4 months.
3. I have my skimmer output standpipe fully submerged, under the water, but am reading this creates unwanted backpressure. What is the ill-effect of this backpressure?
Any other thoughts/comments on my issues/setup? (other than running it in lower water. I can't do it due to installation space and sump design)