skim rate/qty jump

[parrotchute]

Last night, before bed, the skim in my skimmer was about 1/4 full, and then, when I checked it this morning, it's almost full! And not the light stuff that happens if the skimmer is adjusted to far down, but the dark, rich skim I usually get. Last week I started dosing with phosban, could this be a sudden side effect of it? Not complaining, but it's odd to get such a jump in dark matter when it's been fairly stable...

Or what if something died? I haven't seen one of my serpent stars in some time....I also scraped a lot of glass yesterday cleaning algae off, but I've done it before and that hasn't happened...hmmmm

any ideas?

 

[parrotchute]

just tested everything and levels are all nominal, 0 across the board for ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites.

 

[kmart189]

does the heavier skimmate have any type of pattern that goes along with the phosban treatments? Does it get heavier the next day?

 

[parrotchute]

that's what I sort of though, but i happened about a week after I started using it, almost overnight - maybe it "kicked in", but now it's not doing much....

 

[parrotchute]

hmm, today when I did the water change and turned my skimmer back on, the skimmer instantly overflowed! Without the cap on, the foam itself was overflowing...I waited a few seconds and it settled down enough for me to put the cap/reservoir on without it overflowing, but I've never seen the foam that high before.....
It must be the phosban causing the algae to dissolve and increasing skim output. Anyone concur?

 

[Bifferwine]

It shouldn't be the PhosBan. Do you use any sort of tap water conditioner, water purifier, or stress coat additive?

 

[daugherty]

mine did that a couple time i shut it off to clean the tank and whe i turned it back on it just filled up wih water i let it sit for a week and than all better the other time i used some aqua stick epoxy and the skimmer went crazy and i had to have it off for a long time but now it is fine

 

[parrotchute]

Just started using stress coat - would that do it? It went nuts!
It's back to normal now...phew...

 

[ZOOT098]

when i used to put any chemical in my tank it would cause the skimmer to go nuts
i have since resorted to fixing problems thru water changes

however, what i did during excessive foaming was put 2 bags of carbon in in my bubble trap (to force the water thru it), take the cup off my skimmer, and let the water circulate
the problem would go away in an hour or so

 

[yote]

Just started using stress coat - would that do it? It went nuts!
It's back to normal now...phew...

Thats the problem right there.

 

[Bifferwine]

The stress coat did it. You can't use stress coat in conjunction with a skimmer.

 

[parrotchute]

Awesome, thanks again all!