What is up with my skimmer ???

[project5k]

let me preface this with "this is just a couple ideas of things to check" cause i dont know, i dont have a real skimmer, so i cant say anything for sure, but:

first of all, how is it that you are getting bubbles from the sump into the DT? do you have any tripple baffels in your sump?

something else, you say that you adjusted a tube in the overflow, first, why did that adjustment happen, and is it possible that by doing that adjustment, you changed the water level(or the amount of intrapped air) in the sump?

Is it possable that someone else used your water change bucket(container or equipment or whatever you use) for something else and left some contaminates in the container/bucket and didnt tell you? or maybe (and i dont know your living situation, but i think you'll understand what i mean by this) did one of the neighbor's kids come over to play, and accidentally dump something into the water?

 

[Sunshine]

Yes, we have baffels. We adjusted the overflow because it was making a noise. It was from water going into the overflow box and dropping, like a waterfall. So, we raised the water in the tank to not have that waterfall sound. omg... while I was thinking about the bucket idea.... I have 2 white 5 gallon buckets out there. One to mop the floor with, one to fill the tanks with. Geeeeeeeeeeeeez you think Mr, Clean is cleaning my tank... Crap !!!!

 

[project5k]

that would explain the foam.

time to do MASSIVE water changes, and like RIGHT NOW!

my other suggestion is to develop a color coded system for your buckets. (or at least mark them with a sharpie BIG

at my house,
Orange is for dirty stuff, could be used engine oil, could be rags, could be metal shavings from around the milling machine and the lathes, (home depot buckets)

Blue is safe for human consumption, water, dry food like rice, stuff like that

Red not safe for human contact, corrosives, chemical agents like pesticides, fertalizers, things of that nature

Yellow is explosives, flamables, things that dont like to get hot.

White is fish tanks(held to as high, if not higher standards of cleanlyness than blue.)

the charts are posted in the house, out in the shop, and on the back porch. The rule is if you violate the color code, and its not an emergency, you have to eat the bucket. No one has ever violated the color codes. Not even guests.

 

[daugherty]

mr clean it is i bet. chang the water then change it again every or every other day for a week to get all the mr clean out of the water before it kills your livestock.

 

[project5k]

yea, and keep fireing up that skimmer and watching it, i would bet that if you were to baby sit that thing it would pull a good amount of the mr clean out of the water, and would also be an good indicator as to how well your getting it out cause as it thins out, your foam should go back towords normal consistancy.

 

[dcantucson]

It's a good thing you have a large tank! Hopefully it is so diluted it won't do any real damage.

 

[Sunshine]

I can't believe it didn't kill anything. The tote I use for water changes is 30 gallons. I have it ready for a water change today. I've been letting the skimmer fill up with "suds" then emptying it. My salt bucket is almost empty, it's blue, I'll use that for the "tank only". hmmm wonder if that has anything to do with the air bubbles in the tank. What a mess I've created....

 

[project5k]

well the one saving grace is that from the sounds of it, it would have only been the chemicals that were on the surface of the bucket, and not a bucket full of dirty mop water... but it dosent take much...

 

[dcantucson]

Maybe Mr. Clean will do some cleaning in there before you get him out. :lol:

 

[project5k]

hmmm i'm gonna have to say, lets hope not...

i just keep picturing it killing all the bacteria in the tank and then the thing smelling like a sespool

that or it only kills the algae, and then that starts to deteriorate and causes water param. crazyness.