Need advice

[kvdigiulio]

I have a aqua-c 180 skimmer (the older version) hooked up to a mag 9. Very easy to use and does a great job. It has more of a dry skim,dark and dense skimmate, since its been in use, until last week. It has gone crazy is the only word I can think of besides possesed. It is wet skimming and overflowing my collection cup. I can't seem to dial it in to where it once was. I took it apart and cleaned the injecter, checked the flow of the mag 9 and the hoses but no blockages. The bubbles it's producing are extreme but even with the gate valve fully open to almost all the way closed the same result.. wet clear skimmate???? Time for a new skimmer??? What do you think?

 

[lilrobb]

Any chance you dosed something recently?

 

[kvdigiulio]

Rob, You are correct. I just started maybe a couple weeks ago with some buffer to raise alk and some essential elements, and Iodide. What do you think happened?

 

[landon]

I had a similar issue with my ROE 180 when I first got it. Even with the valve all the way "open" my cup was filling up in minutes. After posting on here and asking for advise, I was informed to place a bag of carbon in the system. I don't remember the exact proportions (someone can chime in on this) of carbon to water but after a few days it was working perfectly.

kvdigiulio;553762 wrote: I have a aqua-c 180 skimmer (the older version) hooked up to a mag 9. Very easy to use and does a great job. It has more of a dry skim,dark and dense skimmate, since its been in use, until last week. It has gone crazy is the only word I can think of besides possesed. It is wet skimming and overflowing my collection cup. I can't seem to dial it in to where it once was. I took it apart and cleaned the injecter, checked the flow of the mag 9 and the hoses but no blockages. The bubbles it's producing are extreme but even with the gate valve fully open to almost all the way closed the same result.. wet clear skimmate???? Time for a new skimmer??? What do you think?

 

[kvdigiulio]

I seem to remember this happening once or twice before when I fed the fish with a fresh mixture of clams, mussles and shrimp but the skimmer mellowed out the next day.

 

[lilrobb]

kvdigiulio;553764 wrote: Rob, You are correct. I just started maybe a couple weeks ago with some buffer to raise alk and some essential elements, and Iodide. What do you think happened?

Think of it as adding soap to water, you alter the surface tension and therefor cause a skimmer to bubble like crazy.
Carbon will help to take the excess chemicals up and restore the normal skimmer functions

 

[kvdigiulio]

If I use carbon in my sump won't that rob the chemicals from the water column that I just added? I haven't used carbon since I was given that advice.

 

[jennm]

The benefits of carbon use, IMO, far outweigh any concerns. It won't strip your trace elements but it will remove a lot of dissolved organics.

Another thing that can cause some skimmers to go wacky is epoxy, or anything with polymers in them,

Carbon usually takes care of the problem.

Jenn

 

[snowmansnow]

I'm with Jen. I had this happen on my BK once after using marine epoxy to stick a bunch of stuff in place. it subsided after half a day though.

b

 

[kvdigiulio]

OK ,I've got to go with the majority of advice and go back to the carbon and see. Thanks for chiming in, it helps alot in your decision making. Jim

 

[kvdigiulio]

One more thing, which carbon should I use as there seems to be too many choices and I know it can be costly.

 

[presteige]

carbon is carbon to a point especially for what you are using it for. Just be sure to rinse it well