Reef Octopus Constant overflows

[jsdancer]

Hey guys I have a question that I hope someone can help me with.
I have an SRO Reef Octopus Int-3000 running with a bubble blaster pump. After tearing down my 180 tank I soaked pump in vinegar for a couple of days. I cleaned out the skimmer itself.

I am cycling my tank and am in week two. I have tried turning the skimmer on and it just keeps overflowing into the sump. I have turned the valve all the way open to have less pressure and it overflows. If I close the valve then it REALLY overflows.

Some helpful info
week two of cycling tank
have been dosing microbacter
sump has a chamber with water level constant
the skimmer output is submersed about

What can I be doing wrong?
What should I try?

Your help is greatly appreciated guys.

[tkeracer619]

Sounds like its in too much water.

[geaux xman]

how many inches of water do you have it?

i think mine is right at about 6" of water. anymore and it overflows. i havent installed my tunze ATO yet, so i keep an eye on it daily adjusting it here and there.

[curthendrix]

Mine overflowed on my new tank for almost a week. I finally installed a valve on the air intake and reduced the air coming into the skimmer. Ran it like this a few days and it eventually settled in. No idea why I had the issue other than something in the water from either the new tank or equipment.

[sig_1959]

I had this problem with my 2000. They are very sensitive with everything (chemistry, flow changes…). It got on track after one week. And make sure that water outlet always above water level, or just little covered

[ati70cutlass]

i have the sro-5000 it overflowed for nearly 5 hours , roughly 3 5gallon buckets before it settled down. my guess is there was some type of coating in the skimmer that caused it to try and pull it out. but after talking to some others they said its just a break in and it will soon stop. next day its over with and started pulling out the nasty

[wildman926]

They should include directions for those that are unknowing. They all need a good bath in fresh water, and it wont overflow when you first install it.

[jsdancer]

Sounds like its in too much water.

Hmmmm the skimmer out take valve is only sitting about 1/4 of an inch under water. I had the the skimmer running before the tear down and it only ever overflowed when I added kalk to fast.

[jsdancer]

how many inches of water do you have it?

i think mine is right at about 6" of water. anymore and it overflows. i havent installed my tunze ATO yet, so i keep an eye on it daily adjusting it here and there.

Mine is sitting in the sump at about 7 1/2 to 8 inches in the water.
I know that the skimmer needs to settle in and I am prepared to let it run till it does.

[jsdancer]

Mine overflowed on my new tank for almost a week. I finally installed a valve on the air intake and reduced the air coming into the skimmer. Ran it like this a few days and it eventually settled in. No idea why I had the issue other than something in the water from either the new tank or equipment.

Well I think trying install a valve for is a bit over my head. But from what I read here on RC I jsut need to give it time to settle.

I did measure the salinity and saw that it read about 1.028. That is higher than I want it to be. So I will bring it down slowly.

[jsdancer]

I had this problem with my 2000. They are very sensitive with everything (chemistry, flow changes…). It got on track after one week. And make sure that water outlet always above water level, or just little covered

That is exactly where mine is. Just about 1/4 inch below water level.

i have the sro-5000 it overflowed for nearly 5 hours , roughly 3 5gallon buckets before it settled down. my guess is there was some type of coating in the skimmer that caused it to try and pull it out. but after talking to some others they said its just a break in and it will soon stop. next day its over with and started pulling out the nasty

I went ahead attached some tubing and I am watching the excess. Had i done this this morning I would for sure have pulled and dumped 5 bucks of water.

They should include directions for those that are unknowing. They all need a good bath in fresh water, and it wont overflow when you first install it.

I did give both of mine a vinegar bath then a fresh water bath but it overflowed anyway.
Eitherway guys I appreciate all of your input!
I will let it run and settle when it is ready.

[Danzig]

ive heard if u leave things in vinegar too long it can etch and corrode things, probably not the case but possible.

[bluticSC]

I have a reef octopus skimmer. When I first bought the skimmer, it overflowed several times leaving me with a wet floor and a very upset wife. Finally I took a four inch by four inch filter foam block (maybe eight inches long) and cut a hole using a steak knife straight down the center from end to rend. I did not poke the knife all the way through. I then slipped the foam block over the end of my inlet hose (from the tank to the sump hose) What I found was that this prevented many of the smaller bubbles which were going toward my protein skimmer. I also turned the inlet of the skimmer away from the incoming hose. I have not had an over flow since. It has been nearly a year. A friend told me that the incoming hose from the tank will bring in bubbles which goes to the skimmer which build up then like a volcano causes the skimmer to blow over. Don't know if this helps or if the bubble idea is true, but the logic worked for me. I had my sump set up with the incoming water going to a collection bay, to the skimmer through some foam blocks, then to the pump back up. Good luck

[jsdancer]

I have a reef octopus skimmer. When I first bought the skimmer, it overflowed several times leaving me with a wet floor and a very upset wife. Finally I took a four inch by four inch filter foam block (maybe eight inches long) and cut a hole using a steak knife straight down the center from end to rend. I did not poke the knife all the way through. I then slipped the foam block over the end of my inlet hose (from the tank to the sump hose) What I found was that this prevented many of the smaller bubbles which were going toward my protein skimmer. I also turned the inlet of the skimmer away from the incoming hose. I have not had an over flow since. It has been nearly a year. A friend told me that the incoming hose from the tank will bring in bubbles which goes to the skimmer which build up then like a volcano causes the skimmer to blow over. Don't know if this helps or if the bubble idea is true, but the logic worked for me. I had my sump set up with the incoming water going to a collection bay, to the skimmer through some foam blocks, then to the pump back up. Good luck

Wow sounds very interesting! My setup is as follows, the tank water drains into its own chamber where I place a filter sock. The 2nd chamber is where I keep my media reactors. The 3rd and largest chamber is where the skimmer is housed. Then the 4th and final chamber is where the return line is. I have nothing in this chamber.

As of today I am happy to say that the reef octopus is running dry, BUT plan on making more adjustments since I prefer wetter stuff.

Thank you and thanks everyone else for answering and giving me the kudos to let her run!