Why would a skimmer overflow at night?

AJT

AJT

Member
I have had my 200 gal. set up for over 6 yrs. I upgraded my skimmer to a PM Bullet & I put a new panworld pump on it.
The beckett continued to clog & I did not like it. It would skim great for 3 or 4 days & then one night it would fill 75% of the collection cup with clear water between 10:00 pm & 6:00 am & overflow the collection cup on the floor.

So after screwing with cleaning the becket so often I returned it & put my old PM venture back on it with the mak IV that used to power it. It skimms great for 3 -5 days then overnight it overflows the collection cup on tht floor. I put a T on the collection cup line back to the sump & a line from the top of the collection cup to the sump in case of over flow. I get up in the morning & ping pong ball has stopped overflow from cup & water is shooting out of the venture tube.

What changes at night to start the skimmer to go crazy??

Thanks
Andy
 
I feed in the morning 6:00 am, at about 6:00pm & about 9:00pm. I have Large tangs that start splashing water out of the tank if they do not get fed.
 
What other electric devices (pumps, lights ...) do you have on the electric line/outlet that your skimmer pump is on. I would guess that when lights go out, your pump gets more clean power and pumps stronger.

Also, when you feed, most skimmers stop production for a short period of time up to a few hours and bubble production is less until the "oil slick" from your food mixes out and the skimmer starts to perform normal again. If you adjust your skimmer shortly after you feed, you might be setting the water too high is skimmer to compensate for feed time skimmer lack of production & result in over-flow once your skimmer is back to normal & food slick is gone. Sound weird, but check out your skimmer pre & post feeding some time and notice how bubble production drops for a period of time.

3rd, how does your return from skimmer feed into sump? If the return line is under water in sump, the water level may create back-pressure on the line & could be more pressure if you dose or top-off before you go to bed which raises sump level and creates more pressure on skimmer line.

Any pics of setup?

my .02 guess
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7290795#post7290795 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ckuhndog77
What other electric devices (pumps, lights ...) do you have on the electric line/outlet that your skimmer pump is on. I would guess that when lights go out, your pump gets more clean power and pumps stronger.

I'll have to check that, but I do not think so.


Also, when you feed, most skimmers stop production for a short period of time up to a few hours and bubble production is less until the "oil slick" from your food mixes out and the skimmer starts to perform normal again. If you adjust your skimmer shortly after you feed, you might be setting the water too high is skimmer to compensate for feed time skimmer lack of production & result in over-flow once your skimmer is back to normal & food slick is gone. Sound weird, but check out your skimmer pre & post feeding some time and notice how bubble production drops for a period of time.

I'll check but it runs fine for 3-4 days including all feedings...

3rd, how does your return from skimmer feed into sump?
1/2 of the return is under water & 1/2 is exposed.

If the return line is under water in sump, the water level may create back-pressure on the line & could be more pressure if you dose or top-off before you go to bed which raises sump level and creates more pressure on skimmer line.

Top off is gravity fed with new float. I think I'll watch it Friday night with a 12 pak....

Any pics of setup? I'll check.

Thanks for the ideas!

This is driving me nuts, & the wife is not too happy about the carpet! I just ordered a water spill alarm to help. What gets me is it worked fine for 5 yrs....
my .02 guess
Click to expand...
 
You might also want to buy a waste collection container for that skimmer. Much easier then cleaning the carpet.....
 
oops..sorry

I missed that on the first read...dont ask me how.

What do you think was clogging the beckett injector? I have run a Bullet 1 with a pan world 100px for a couple years now with no problems. Do you use any type of filter sock or pad to keep large debris out of the sump?
 
I use a filter sock, but the refugium is after the sock & inevitably a small snail or something will get sucked in. I was cleaning the beckett every 3-4 weeks. couldn't deal with it anymore.

I wonder if low PH will make the skimmer overflow? My tank drops from 8.28 to 7.9 at night, big swing.
 
When you went back to your old PM was EVERYTHING exactly as it was before? Pump drawing from the same place in the sump? Skimmer at the same height? Even the type of food you were feeding?
 
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