Protein Skimmer Overflow....

[lefkonj]

Woke up this morning things were fine, about an hour later I hear my pumps struggling to push. ATO is empty and my sump is running extremely low. My skimmer went nuts and was overflowing. I have a 'Davey Jones' hooked up for the skimate and it was overflowing. I have to get the Neptune IO box today with a float valve so i can hook it up to prevent this from happening again. Does anyone carry this locally? I know tropiquarium doesn't, but not sure about Aquatic Obsessions or Captivating Coral. Those are the ones that are close to me. Otherwise I will order it and get it overnighted (major $$$).

What a pain but at least i was home for it and my pumps didn't burn out.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I thought Davy Jones came with both a pingpong ball cut-off and float switch???

 

[jverna1]

you can try TB Aquatics

 

[lefkonj]

I made the davey jones myself, instead of buying one. That was the one thing i left out (Do that another time).

 

[lefkonj]

Woke up today to another overflow, what a pain in the tush.

Also got my IO Breakout box today and a float switch. This should prevent it from ever happening again.

 

[mnat]

The pressure sensitive float switches that Avast uses in the davy jones are also carried by AO. They are not the same brand but serve the same function.

 

[lefkonj]

So I am traveling this week and thank god i put that float switch in, my skimmer went nuts overnight and was shut down without an issue.

Trying to figure out why for a few days skimmer is fine, then out of no where it decides it should suck in 10 times the amount of water. Total pain. Thinking of taking apart the entire device, cleaning the tubes and everything to see if i can fix it.

 

[mnat]

Have you been dosing anything or playing around in the tank at all?

 

[lefkonj]

No changes at all, just humming along. Very annoying. That is why I was thinking that after a year i need to clean hoses and pieces of the skimmer.

 

[MadReefer]

I agree, cleaning the skimmer and pump regularly is a good idea.

 

[lefkonj]

Finally got my float switches all working. One in the skimmer cup and one the davey jones. If something happens now it will shut down the system. I am going to install a solenoid on the tube to the Davey Jones so that when the skimmer cup fills it drains it and sends an email. Finally i will allow the solenoid to open only a few times a day to ensure it just isn't going nuts. Automation is fun but man there are times it kills you.