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SeriouslyTicked · 06/18/2009, 07:30 AM

...Ok so we're using the RSA 135 Protein Skimmer from Euro-Reef Aquarium Systems. It's been running fine until about four or five months ago it started overflowing on almost a regular basis. It seems to happen about once a month, and always during the night between when I go to bed (10-11pm) to when I get up (6am).

Tank Specs:
110 gallon (high) 48 7/8 x 19 x 30 3/4 H
~50 Gallon Sump
RSA 135 Protein Skimmer from Euro-Reef

I'm trying to think back to what we changed when this started happening but nothing has change on our part. My wife and I spend a lot of time watching the tank, especially before we go to bed each night. I'm always adding Calcium and Alk supplements each night and every time I spot check the skimmer. I try and keep the top of the bubbles about 3"-4" from the top of the skimmer and it works out great. Every week I dump a good amount of waste to keep the cup clean. After the first overflow "event" I thought maybe I was waiting too long to empty the cup as I was letting it get about 4" full of waste before dumping. After these overflows started happening I would dump the cup a lot more often, not letting more than about 1" of waste collect in the cup. But that's not making a difference at all, it still overflows each month, and always in the middle of the night!!

This is usually how it goes down:
I wake up check on the tank the skimmer is overflowing again, dumping the waste that was collected back into the sump. When this happens it seems as though there are no bubbles at all and water is just flowing up and out the top. This makes a complete mess and the cleanup makes me late for work every time it happens. I empty/rinse the cup mount it back on the skimmer, power skimmer back on and pull the bubbles back down for about 24-48 hours before adjusting up again. Skimmer works beautifully, collecting waste, and humming along. I empty the cup about once or twice a week, which is usually about 1" of waste. But about a month later (during the night) the skimmer overflows again.

We do water tests about once or twice a week and we ALWAYS get the same good results. The only thing that really changes is the CA and ALK since I continue struggling to try and find a dosage that will keep the levels at what I want. But I can't find a correlation between those levels and the overflowing "events." Nothing really changes inside the tank itself, coral continue to grow, fish seem happy and continue to grow, no signs of parasites ...etc. I'm at my wits end with this. Is the skimmer malfunctioning? Am I doing something wrong? I searched the forums on Euro-Reef's site, Reef Central, and Google, but the only thing I can come up with is people saying "...the skimmer is producing too much wet skimmate..." but I honestly don't know what that means. (sorry). When things are working fine, the skimmer produces good black waste that I dump on a regular basis, and everytime I think it's not going to happen again because of how well it's working but.... it still happens!!!

What else do I need to try?

06/18/2009, 07:30 AM	#1
SeriouslyTicked Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 10	Protein Skimmer Constantly Overflowing ...Ok so we're using the RSA 135 Protein Skimmer from Euro-Reef Aquarium Systems. It's been running fine until about four or five months ago it started overflowing on almost a regular basis. It seems to happen about once a month, and always during the night between when I go to bed (10-11pm) to when I get up (6am). Tank Specs: 110 gallon (high) 48 7/8 x 19 x 30 3/4 H ~50 Gallon Sump RSA 135 Protein Skimmer from Euro-Reef I'm trying to think back to what we changed when this started happening but nothing has change on our part. My wife and I spend a lot of time watching the tank, especially before we go to bed each night. I'm always adding Calcium and Alk supplements each night and every time I spot check the skimmer. I try and keep the top of the bubbles about 3"-4" from the top of the skimmer and it works out great. Every week I dump a good amount of waste to keep the cup clean. After the first overflow "event" I thought maybe I was waiting too long to empty the cup as I was letting it get about 4" full of waste before dumping. After these overflows started happening I would dump the cup a lot more often, not letting more than about 1" of waste collect in the cup. But that's not making a difference at all, it still overflows each month, and always in the middle of the night!! This is usually how it goes down: I wake up check on the tank the skimmer is overflowing again, dumping the waste that was collected back into the sump. When this happens it seems as though there are no bubbles at all and water is just flowing up and out the top. This makes a complete mess and the cleanup makes me late for work every time it happens. I empty/rinse the cup mount it back on the skimmer, power skimmer back on and pull the bubbles back down for about 24-48 hours before adjusting up again. Skimmer works beautifully, collecting waste, and humming along. I empty the cup about once or twice a week, which is usually about 1" of waste. But about a month later (during the night) the skimmer overflows again. We do water tests about once or twice a week and we ALWAYS get the same good results. The only thing that really changes is the CA and ALK since I continue struggling to try and find a dosage that will keep the levels at what I want. But I can't find a correlation between those levels and the overflowing "events." Nothing really changes inside the tank itself, coral continue to grow, fish seem happy and continue to grow, no signs of parasites ...etc. I'm at my wits end with this. Is the skimmer malfunctioning? Am I doing something wrong? I searched the forums on Euro-Reef's site, Reef Central, and Google, but the only thing I can come up with is people saying "...the skimmer is producing too much wet skimmate..." but I honestly don't know what that means. (sorry). When things are working fine, the skimmer produces good black waste that I dump on a regular basis, and everytime I think it's not going to happen again because of how well it's working but.... it still happens!!! What else do I need to try?