Skimmer Overflow After Feeding

[DarrenUnwin]

Hi all,

I've had an internal Deltec MCE500 skimmer for welll over 3 years and havent really had much of a problem with it (except its a bit noisey) for my 35g tank. The problem I'm having is that occasionally on feeding (frozen or flake) it goes crazy and starts to chuck water through the collection cup like a geezer. If the timing is wrong and the cup is reasonably full, it just chucks the contents back into the tank which cant be good.

Does anyone have any ideas on what is causing it? Sometimes it goes for weeks with out trouble then one evening I have all on stopping it chucking the water through it.

For ref, I change 1/4 to a 1/3 of the water every 2 weeks religously and usual water params are low, not quite zero but acceptable.

Many thanks for the replies.

 

[SkiFletch]

Any chance you're feeding different foods when it goes crazy?

 

[Colin_T]

Skimmers generally produce more gunk straight after food has been added. The liquid they produce should be dark brown or black in colour. If it is clear then it is primarily water. This can be caused by the water level being too high for the skimmer, (the skimmer sitting too low in the tank). The skimmer might be foaming up after you have topped the tank up or done a water change. Then over the next week or so the water level drops (due to evaporation) and the skimmer stops overflowing.

 

[rabbut]

I thought the Deltec MCE's were HOB's Ski might well be onto something with the food brands if you feed more than one brand/type? Some contain more "muck" than others, often leading to Cyno outbreaks and other nasties, so if it can be linked to feeding one brand/type of food, you probibly have your problem Basically, if the skimmer usualy works fine, you need to try and link the excess foam with an action on the tank that happens arround the same time as the excess foaming...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[garybuk]

Skimmers generally produce more gunk straight after food has been added. The liquid they produce should be dark brown or black in colour. If it is clear then it is primarily water. This can be caused by the water level being too high for the skimmer, (the skimmer sitting too low in the tank). The skimmer might be foaming up after you have topped the tank up or done a water change. Then over the next week or so the water level drops (due to evaporation) and the skimmer stops overflowing.

I never new this about the (the skimmer sitting too low in the tank). Mine is in the sump and im always getting the white over flow!!! could it be because its sat half in water ??

its a v2 800 ??

 

[DarrenUnwin]

Thanks all,

The water level is pretty much the same since I have had the tank (over 3 years) so I dont think it might be this.

The feed is definitely what causes it as it only happens once I have added the food, the annoying problem is that its not consistant, i.e I can add flake one night and it goes mad but then next few nights no problem at all.

Ski, the only thing I could alter is the volume of food, but again, when its frozen the voume should be the same I think I will have to record the brand and type of food when it happens and through a process of elimination try and work it out. Still things in this hobby are sent to try us.

One thought, can a coral or shrimp emit anything that lessens the water tension that would react once the food is added hence causing the overflow as it is pretty much random. I'm sort of grasping at straws, or does it look that obvious

Many thanks to the members of the best forum going.

 

[Colin_T]

Skimmers generally produce more gunk straight after food has been added. The liquid they produce should be dark brown or black in colour. If it is clear then it is primarily water. This can be caused by the water level being too high for the skimmer, (the skimmer sitting too low in the tank). The skimmer might be foaming up after you have topped the tank up or done a water change. Then over the next week or so the water level drops (due to evaporation) and the skimmer stops overflowing.

I never new this about the (the skimmer sitting too low in the tank). Mine is in the sump and I’m always getting the white over flow!!! Could it be because its sat half in water??

Having the skimmer in a sump is usually the ideal place because the water level is normally constant. A small amount of white foam isn't an issue but if you get lots of white foam and it fills the collection cup up with clear or lightly coloured liquid, then it is probably too low in the water. Try raising the skimmer up a tiny amount, (a couple of mm) and see how it goes. You only need to make very fine adjustments to the water level to get the correct amount and colour of foam.
You normally get more foam straight after feeding.

The feed is definitely what causes it as it only happens once I have added the food, the annoying problem is that its not consistent, ie: I can add flake one night and it goes mad but then next few nights no problem at all.

Ski, the only thing I could alter is the volume of food, but again, when its frozen the volume should be the same I think I will have to record the brand and type of food when it happens and through a process of elimination try and work it out. Still things in this hobby are sent to try us.

One thought, can a coral or shrimp emit anything that lessens the water tension that would react once the food is added hence causing the overflow as it is pretty much random. I'm sort of grasping at straws, or does it look that obvious

Frozen foods/ meat foods will produce a lot more foam, black gunk, than flake or pellet food. They also produce a lot more ammonia than dry foods. Some flake/ pellet foods have a higher protein level and will create more foam than other brands. Some brands also have additives that can causse the water to go off quicker, (create black foam). Try different brands of flake or pellet, (preferably pellet) and see which causes the most problems. Tetra marine floating/sinking pellets are pretty good, but there are plenty of other reasonable brands available.

Shrimp and corals produce small amounts of waste that will be picked up by the skimmer but usually it is a tiny amount and doesn't cause much foam. If a coral is sick or dieing then it will cause a skimmer to go nuts and foam up everywhere. Likewise if the live rock starts to die the skimmer will, or should go nuts and create heaps of foam.