New Salt... Crazy skimmers in both tanks?

Jay Fortay · 04/07/2009, 04:01 PM

I switched salts from red sea standard to coral pro. Now my custom aquatics, and ETSS Reef Devil are acting up. What gives? I have been running the custom aquatic since the water change on thursday with the collection cup overflow going back into the sump (since it is skimming so rapidly). The foam is super wet if you can even call it foam. It looks like foam though. The ETSS... I keep trying to plug it in, and it goes crazy just the same. I have to leave it unplugged though as it does not have the overflow option. This is the second 5 gallon water change i have done with the Coral Pro salt. The results were the same on both skimmers, and immediate. BTW, the skimmers are on 2 separate tanks the reef devil is on my 29 display, and the CA is on my 20L frag tank.

Jay Fortay · 04/07/2009, 06:21 PM

anyone share this experience, or one similar?

Jay Fortay · 04/08/2009, 03:48 PM

seriously no one?

impur · 04/08/2009, 03:52 PM

I switched from Oceanic to Red Sea Coral Pro and did not notice anything like that.

Sorry.

jasonkola · 04/08/2009, 06:00 PM

Did you ad a water conditioner. My skimmer reacts the same way if I ad a water conditioner.

krzyphsygy · 04/08/2009, 06:19 PM

I have owned an ETSS Reef Devil and they act up all the time by over flowing or just not keeping the foam head.

To stop the over flow and start skimming put a water control valve on the feed pump and turn the water flow down a bit until it settles. It should start skimming actually very well until what is causing the problem skims out. Could take months or weeks.

I forget what they are called but the valve screws on to the feed pump and you attach the hose to the other end. You might need a barb fitting also. There is a turn valve to close the water comming through. Close it slowly until it stops overflowing. Mess with it a little bit and you will find a sweet spot and it will skim really well.

Good luck. next time get and H&S

Jay Fortay · 04/09/2009, 06:07 PM

I will try that on the reef devil, i guess I will just try to lower the output on the custom aquatic one.

krzyphsygy · 04/09/2009, 07:09 PM

Cool, it should work

Jay Fortay · 04/11/2009, 03:17 PM

I was thinking of this last nite, and I decided that I really wanted to get to the root of the problem, and not have to monkey around with my equipment. I feel that there has to be a root cause to this since both skimmers have been up and running perfectly for over a year. Now both of them are acting up.

Jay Fortay · 04/13/2009, 04:19 PM

Been a long time now... any ideas anyone?

NyReefNoob · 04/13/2009, 06:11 PM

did you check parms on salt, so you know red sea coral pro is low on alk

Jay Fortay · 04/13/2009, 06:38 PM

did not know that. Did you mean the params on the salt itself, the mixed water or just salinity of the tank in general?

Jay Fortay · 04/13/2009, 06:40 PM

If you mean salinity, I am at 1.0245

krzyphsygy · 04/13/2009, 07:02 PM

I do not really believe it was the salt that did it. i have had this happen on several occasions when I owned this skimmer and this problem is really a witch hunt. Even if you figure out what caused it, you can not change it. Unless you water change the whole system and believe me, the aggravation is not worth it. I have been there. I have done everything to fix it.
I have added new sponges for filtration to the tank and the ETSS did not recover for 4 months. And i did rinse it.
I once wanted to try a phosphate sponge also and the skimmer went nuts for weeks.
Crank the water down on the feed pump and it will correct itself and you will still skim and better I might add.

The water can get a little slimy and thats what causes it. The bubble fraction can not hold. The surface tension of the water changes.
Be very mindfull of what you put in the aquarium.

Jay Fortay · 04/13/2009, 07:44 PM

thank you for the informed response

Jay Fortay · 04/15/2009, 06:46 PM

Happy to report that the advice on the etss worked. I adjusted the Custom Aquatic one also, and now both are back to functioning properly. Thank you all for your help

krzyphsygy · 04/16/2009, 05:17 PM

Awesome!! Glad I could help

04/07/2009, 04:01 PM	#1
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	New Salt... Crazy skimmers in both tanks? I switched salts from red sea standard to coral pro. Now my custom aquatics, and ETSS Reef Devil are acting up. What gives? I have been running the custom aquatic since the water change on thursday with the collection cup overflow going back into the sump (since it is skimming so rapidly). The foam is super wet if you can even call it foam. It looks like foam though. The ETSS... I keep trying to plug it in, and it goes crazy just the same. I have to leave it unplugged though as it does not have the overflow option. This is the second 5 gallon water change i have done with the Coral Pro salt. The results were the same on both skimmers, and immediate. BTW, the skimmers are on 2 separate tanks the reef devil is on my 29 display, and the CA is on my 20L frag tank. __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/07/2009, 06:21 PM	#2
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	anyone share this experience, or one similar? __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/08/2009, 03:48 PM	#3
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	seriously no one? __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/08/2009, 03:52 PM	#4
impur Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 4,262	I switched from Oceanic to Red Sea Coral Pro and did not notice anything like that. Sorry. __________________ Great spirits often encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds. Current Tank Info: 75gal, 20gal sump, 6-54w T5 TEK

04/09/2009, 06:07 PM	#7
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	I will try that on the reef devil, i guess I will just try to lower the output on the custom aquatic one. __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/08/2009, 06:00 PM	#5
jasonkola Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 240	Did you ad a water conditioner. My skimmer reacts the same way if I ad a water conditioner.

04/08/2009, 06:19 PM	#6
krzyphsygy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,148	I have owned an ETSS Reef Devil and they act up all the time by over flowing or just not keeping the foam head. To stop the over flow and start skimming put a water control valve on the feed pump and turn the water flow down a bit until it settles. It should start skimming actually very well until what is causing the problem skims out. Could take months or weeks. I forget what they are called but the valve screws on to the feed pump and you attach the hose to the other end. You might need a barb fitting also. There is a turn valve to close the water comming through. Close it slowly until it stops overflowing. Mess with it a little bit and you will find a sweet spot and it will skim really well. Good luck. next time get and H&S

04/09/2009, 07:09 PM	#8
krzyphsygy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,148	Cool, it should work

04/11/2009, 03:17 PM	#9
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	I was thinking of this last nite, and I decided that I really wanted to get to the root of the problem, and not have to monkey around with my equipment. I feel that there has to be a root cause to this since both skimmers have been up and running perfectly for over a year. Now both of them are acting up. __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/13/2009, 04:19 PM	#10
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	Been a long time now... any ideas anyone? __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/13/2009, 06:11 PM	#11
NyReefNoob skimmer freak Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: peekskill, ny Posts: 1,209	did you check parms on salt, so you know red sea coral pro is low on alk __________________ custom 45g cube all in one, ai hydra 26, 2 mp10w, ac jr. ,bubble magnus triple doser, bm nac5 hob skimmer My dad always said the only stupid questions are the ones not asked Current Tank Info: custom 45g cube AIO

04/13/2009, 06:38 PM	#12
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	did not know that. Did you mean the params on the salt itself, the mixed water or just salinity of the tank in general? __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/13/2009, 06:40 PM	#13
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	If you mean salinity, I am at 1.0245 __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/13/2009, 07:02 PM	#14
krzyphsygy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,148	I do not really believe it was the salt that did it. i have had this happen on several occasions when I owned this skimmer and this problem is really a witch hunt. Even if you figure out what caused it, you can not change it. Unless you water change the whole system and believe me, the aggravation is not worth it. I have been there. I have done everything to fix it. I have added new sponges for filtration to the tank and the ETSS did not recover for 4 months. And i did rinse it. I once wanted to try a phosphate sponge also and the skimmer went nuts for weeks. Crank the water down on the feed pump and it will correct itself and you will still skim and better I might add. The water can get a little slimy and thats what causes it. The bubble fraction can not hold. The surface tension of the water changes. Be very mindfull of what you put in the aquarium.

04/13/2009, 07:44 PM	#15
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	thank you for the informed response __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/15/2009, 06:46 PM	#16
Jay Fortay Uber Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 929	Happy to report that the advice on the etss worked. I adjusted the Custom Aquatic one also, and now both are back to functioning properly. Thank you all for your help __________________ Witty line goes here... Current Tank Info: 225 gallon 88"x30"x20" shallow rimless. 185 gallon fish room. Reef Octopus SSS-5000, Apex Neptune, 3 Kessil A360W, Melevs Reef RODI, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold return http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365282

04/16/2009, 05:17 PM	#17
krzyphsygy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,148	Awesome!! Glad I could help