Modded Octopus NW150 driving me insane

[rleechb]

I have an octopus NW150 on a 58G sps tank that has been working very well until the last couple of weeks. Not sure what is causing it, but the skimmer will go crazy and overflow randomly. I've had overflows before, but they've always coincided with feeding (something gooey causes skimmer the overflow) or additives of some sort. Now, I'll set the skimmer to skim dry, and it'll skim very well for a few hours.. then I'll come back, and water will be shooting out the top of the collection cup. I'll readjust, come back in a couple hours, and then the water level will be midway up the skimmer... This doesn't happen at a set time either... the skimmer could be functioning properly for a full day.


The skimmer has a gate valve mod, and has been meshmodded. I took apart everything a few days ago, soaked in vinegar, and gave it another go to no avail. Is it somehow possible that the pump is randomly drawing more power, and causing this? If so, any ideas on a pump I can drop in and replace with?


I'm almost ready to pull the skimmer out of my sump and toss it in the trash

[Fishbulb2]

before trashing it , I would just consider replacing the impeller with a stock impeller. I suspect your meshwheel is the source of the inconsistancy.

[rleechb]

Good call, I may have to try that.

Any idea, from a mechanical perspective, how a poorly constructed meshwheel could cause this kind of inconsistency? I'd assume that an imperfection would cause poor performance, but consistently poor performance...

[rleechb]

ttt

[RichConley]

get rid of the gatevalve and put the standpipe back on.


Gatevalves dont regulate the water height in a skimmer, they regulate the output of the skimmer. If the pump isnt consistently moving exactly the same amount of water, the water level changes. Stand pipes are MUCH more stable.

Is it single pass? If so, clean out your venturi.

[Fishbulb2]

I'm not sure. I bought the mesh and everything but reconsidered modding my euroreef at the last minute. I'm pretty glad I did. I could imagine the mesh stretching over time and just going through different stable and unstable points along the way. I really can't tell you why it's doing this or how to predict it, but I can tell you that i've read from many others that this is not uncommon. Ultimately, I think the mod comes down to better performance at the cost of a little more maintanance. How long have you gone with the mod performing well? If it's several months, then the mod may be worth it for you. For me, I'd rather get a little less air into my euroreef and not have to worry about redoing the mesh every now and then. Of course it would be nice if someone with more meshmod experience would chime in for you. Since I don't use the mod, I'm only guessing here and just giving you a free bump.
FB

[rleechb]

I don't think it's the mesh. I have the mesh on pretty securely, with a layer of GG over it; not really any room for it to move... It seemed fine when I took the pump out to clean it.

I'll clean the venturi again tonight; hopefully it's the source of my issues. Unfortunately, I threw the standpipe out (argh). I see what you mean about the gate valve, but could it cause this large of an issue? The difference isn't a little overflowing vs. underskimming; we're talking massive collection cup overflow vs. water height 2-3" below the neck union.

[8BALL_99]

Its probably the mesh mod.. I bet if you change back to stock the problem will go away.. I didnt' mod my ASMs after doing a few searches. I seen several posts with people having trouble with the mod. Same deal they kept having random overflows.. One day skimmer would be chucking along great Go to work come home to a sump full of foam...I haven't touched my skimmer other then dumping the cup in a year.. Thats how I like it lol

Ofcourse if your Venturi is blocked or getting blocked it will cause your skimmer to overflow also.

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10624313#post10624313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rleechb
. I see what you mean about the gate valve, but could it cause this large of an issue? The difference isn't a little overflowing vs. underskimming; we're talking massive collection cup overflow vs. water height 2-3" below the neck union.

YES!.


We're talking about a skimmer that's neck was designed to handle about 10 scfh, and you're probably putting 30 through it. Changes in water height are magnified because of that.


The meshmod doesnt stretch. I ran my OTP3000 for a year, and tested the air weekly. No change. Ever.

[rleechb]

Yeah, I'm also leaning towards the issue not being the mesh; but at this point I suppose it could be anything.

The baffling part is that I had no issues whatsoever for 6-7 months. The skimmer was doing just fine; hardly any adjustments whatsoever. Then all of the sudden, it became really touchy. I pulled apart everything, and all seemed well.

I'm going to try cleaning it again; if that doesn't help, I may have to look at different skimmers.

Rich - Is there an easy way to make a standpipe (keep in mind that I took a hacksaw to what used to be my standpipe)?

TIA

[RichConley]

Theres a PVC fitting, I Can't remember what its called, thats adjustable. They use them on skimmers all the time. I think people use them for beckett housings too...should work.


My skimmer (also meshmodded) runs less stable than it used to, but I really believe its because I'm running it much higher than it used to, because the tank is much cleaner.

[rleechb]

I believe I've found and fixed the issue. Apparently the alk component of my 2 part precipitated into the venturi tubing; I found two large granules inside. I guess the vinegar bath I gave all the pump wasn't enough to dissolve the carbonate, which is why I usually use muriatic acid (ran out).

I'm not quite sure how this could have manifested the way it did... because I'd assume that the granule would just restrict airflow, much like a plastic valve. I suppose it's possible they were tumbling in the venturi and changing position....

Anyways, thanks for the help guys.