Sump Foam

Elijahh · 11/12/2018, 08:56 PM

Hi all, i added some life rock to my tank on the weekend and now my sump has started foaming up, and if I turn my skimmer on its like a volcano erupting out foam, so at the moment my skimmer is off.
There is no livestock in my tank just RO/ASW, its a new setup.
Does anyone know why this is happening?

mcgyvr · 11/12/2018, 09:17 PM

The rock was contaminated with something like a detergent.

By Life rock do you mean the Caribsea Life Rock fake painted stuff?

Elijahh · 11/12/2018, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

The rock was contaminated with something like a detergent.

By Life rock do you mean the Caribsea Life Rock fake painted stuff?

Yes that’s the stuff

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Elijahh · 11/13/2018, 03:11 AM

This is what happens when I turn my skimmer on.!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

NikonN8 · 11/13/2018, 06:48 AM

Turn the air down on your skimmer as much as you can. You're probably going to be doing a lot of water (saltwater) top-off as the cup fills and pulls that crud out of the water.

NikonN8 · 11/13/2018, 06:49 AM

Also it might not be a bad idea to just do a substantial water change, like 30-40% to get a jump on having clean water. Otherwise you are in for a long while of topping off saltwater.

sde1500 · 11/13/2018, 07:33 AM

lol wow that is quite a bit of foam. I'd toss in some carbon too, let it absorb some of what may be causing the problem. And probably just turn off the skimmer, not really needed in a new tank without livestock anyway.

Fourstars · 11/13/2018, 09:32 AM

Don't turn off the skimmer just dump it often. I think I'd get rid of that fake reef rock.

Elijahh · 11/13/2018, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NikonN8

Turn the air down on your skimmer as much as you can. You're probably going to be doing a lot of water (saltwater) top-off as the cup fills and pulls that crud out of the water.

Ive closed it, opened it, adjusted it, nothing I seem to do makes a difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NikonN8

Also it might not be a bad idea to just do a substantial water change, like 30-40% to get a jump on having clean water. Otherwise you are in for a long while of topping off saltwater.

I'm currently adding Seachem Stability to the tank to get a bio load started, so I don't really want to do a water change at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sde1500

lol wow that is quite a bit of foam. I'd toss in some carbon too, let it absorb some of what may be causing the problem. And probably just turn off the skimmer, not really needed in a new tank without livestock anyway.

I added a bag of carbon, left it in for a day and it didn't seem to make any difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourstars

Don't turn off the skimmer just dump it often. I think I'd get rid of that fake reef rock.

It's not really fake rock, it was originally live rock that's been cleaned, dried and infused with bacteria.

Elijahh · 11/13/2018, 07:02 PM

I turned the skimmer off, on and in between and it made no diffence, also I’m currently adding seachem stability so don’t really want to do a water change yet.
I did add a bag of carbon in my sump, this also made no difference.
And it’s not really fake rock, it’s aragonitic rock which has been infused with spored live bacteria.

mcgyvr · 11/13/2018, 08:32 PM

....And soap

Elijahh · 11/13/2018, 09:00 PM

Probably.!

But after having issues with live rock contamination in the past, I thought I’d try the life rock this time..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

clevername · 11/14/2018, 11:26 AM

carbon carbon carbon.

T-dub · 11/14/2018, 03:35 PM

If this is a brand new setup I would let the skimmer run. turn the air way down and let it go. Most new skimmers have a "break-in " period of about a week before you can set them correctly. That being said, the foam on the water like that does lead me to believe you have some kind of detergent in there so I would get some carbon ASAP too. That doesn't look like just skimmer foam!

Elijahh · 11/14/2018, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-dub

If this is a brand new setup I would let the skimmer run. turn the air way down and let it go. Most new skimmers have a "break-in " period of about a week before you can set them correctly. That being said, the foam on the water like that does lead me to believe you have some kind of detergent in there so I would get some carbon ASAP too. That doesn't look like just skimmer foam!

How do I turn the air down on my skimmer? It's a reef octopus classic 110 int.

T-dub · 11/15/2018, 09:17 AM

I'm not familiar with that one but I'm sure you can Google it. Good luck!

NikonN8 · 11/16/2018, 06:21 AM

I had a couple spare needle valves laying around that I utilized but in a pinch you can put a piece of tape over one side of the noise suppressor and roll up a section of paper towel or tissue for the other - let that expand to fill the hole a bit. It won't choke out the air flow, but it should retard it just enough to contain a little bit of the chaos.

Green Chromis · 11/16/2018, 07:50 AM

Hi, let the skimmer run without any restrictions, water ever is in the rock is having a very positive effect on the skimmer, so let it do it's thing. You need to do a very large water change, 50% at least, ASAP. One more thing change your carbon every few days and maybe even use a filter sock or padding to see if that helps.This is one of the hazards of using non real live rock when you start a new system, the so called bad hitchhikers are no where near as bad as this could be.

Green Chromis · 11/16/2018, 07:53 AM

Hi again, is the foam that your skimmer is producing have a pinkish color to it, or is it just my computer screen coloring it a pinkish color?

Elijahh · 11/17/2018, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Chromis

Hi again, is the foam that your skimmer is producing have a pinkish color to it, or is it just my computer screen coloring it a pinkish color?

No it’s white foam, just bad lighting when I took pic I guess.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Elijahh · 11/17/2018, 06:40 AM

Update on tank..!
I went to visit my LFS today to get some RO, I told him whats been happening with my skimmer foaming over. He tells me to raise my skimmer 3”, so I did using eggcrate and it’s been running like a dream ever since.!
After everything that I thought was causing it to foam, from contaminated life rock and RO drums, to dodgy stability and even a faulty skimmer.
All I had to do was raise it *sigh*
He did say that over time it’ll eventually end up back on the sump floor, but for now it’s great.
And no I didn’t do any water changes at all during this, as like I said previously i was running stability and didn’t want to ruin the cycle.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

11/12/2018, 08:56 PM	#1
Elijahh Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Australia Posts: 37	Sump Foam Hi all, i added some life rock to my tank on the weekend and now my sump has started foaming up, and if I turn my skimmer on its like a volcano erupting out foam, so at the moment my skimmer is off. There is no livestock in my tank just RO/ASW, its a new setup. Does anyone know why this is happening?

11/12/2018, 09:17 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	The rock was contaminated with something like a detergent. By Life rock do you mean the Caribsea Life Rock fake painted stuff? __________________ Who me?

11/13/2018, 06:48 AM	#5
NikonN8 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 89	Turn the air down on your skimmer as much as you can. You're probably going to be doing a lot of water (saltwater) top-off as the cup fills and pulls that crud out of the water. __________________ My name's Nate, not Nikon. In case it wasn't clear.

11/13/2018, 06:49 AM	#6
NikonN8 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 89	Also it might not be a bad idea to just do a substantial water change, like 30-40% to get a jump on having clean water. Otherwise you are in for a long while of topping off saltwater. __________________ My name's Nate, not Nikon. In case it wasn't clear.

11/13/2018, 07:33 AM	#7
sde1500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Glocester, RI Posts: 3,336	lol wow that is quite a bit of foam. I'd toss in some carbon too, let it absorb some of what may be causing the problem. And probably just turn off the skimmer, not really needed in a new tank without livestock anyway. __________________ My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1.

11/13/2018, 03:11 AM	#4
Elijahh Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Australia Posts: 37	This is what happens when I turn my skimmer on.! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

11/13/2018, 09:32 AM	#8
Fourstars Registered Member. Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Third rock Posts: 291	Don't turn off the skimmer just dump it often. I think I'd get rid of that fake reef rock.

11/13/2018, 07:02 PM	#10
Elijahh Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Australia Posts: 37	I turned the skimmer off, on and in between and it made no diffence, also I’m currently adding seachem stability so don’t really want to do a water change yet. I did add a bag of carbon in my sump, this also made no difference. And it’s not really fake rock, it’s aragonitic rock which has been infused with spored live bacteria.

11/13/2018, 08:32 PM	#11
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	....And soap __________________ Who me?

11/13/2018, 09:00 PM	#12
Elijahh Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Australia Posts: 37	Probably.! But after having issues with live rock contamination in the past, I thought I’d try the life rock this time.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

11/14/2018, 11:26 AM	#13
clevername Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Manchester, MO Posts: 1,125	carbon carbon carbon.

11/14/2018, 03:35 PM	#14
T-dub Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Marshall, MN Posts: 214	If this is a brand new setup I would let the skimmer run. turn the air way down and let it go. Most new skimmers have a "break-in " period of about a week before you can set them correctly. That being said, the foam on the water like that does lead me to believe you have some kind of detergent in there so I would get some carbon ASAP too. That doesn't look like just skimmer foam!

11/15/2018, 09:17 AM	#16
T-dub Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Marshall, MN Posts: 214	I'm not familiar with that one but I'm sure you can Google it. Good luck!

11/16/2018, 06:21 AM	#17
NikonN8 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 89	I had a couple spare needle valves laying around that I utilized but in a pinch you can put a piece of tape over one side of the noise suppressor and roll up a section of paper towel or tissue for the other - let that expand to fill the hole a bit. It won't choke out the air flow, but it should retard it just enough to contain a little bit of the chaos. __________________ My name's Nate, not Nikon. In case it wasn't clear.

11/16/2018, 07:50 AM	#18
Green Chromis Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: miami,florida Posts: 640	Hi, let the skimmer run without any restrictions, water ever is in the rock is having a very positive effect on the skimmer, so let it do it's thing. You need to do a very large water change, 50% at least, ASAP. One more thing change your carbon every few days and maybe even use a filter sock or padding to see if that helps.This is one of the hazards of using non real live rock when you start a new system, the so called bad hitchhikers are no where near as bad as this could be. __________________ Natural Reefer Current Tank Info: 600 gallon Carribean Reef System, ETSS Protein Skimmer, 1.5HP Tradewinds Chiller, Reef Breeders Photon V2+ LED Lighting For The Refugium, Mitra LX7206 LED Lights For Display Tank

11/16/2018, 07:53 AM	#19
Green Chromis Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: miami,florida Posts: 640	Hi again, is the foam that your skimmer is producing have a pinkish color to it, or is it just my computer screen coloring it a pinkish color? __________________ Natural Reefer Current Tank Info: 600 gallon Carribean Reef System, ETSS Protein Skimmer, 1.5HP Tradewinds Chiller, Reef Breeders Photon V2+ LED Lighting For The Refugium, Mitra LX7206 LED Lights For Display Tank

11/17/2018, 06:40 AM	#21
Elijahh Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Australia Posts: 37	Update on tank..! I went to visit my LFS today to get some RO, I told him whats been happening with my skimmer foaming over. He tells me to raise my skimmer 3”, so I did using eggcrate and it’s been running like a dream ever since.! After everything that I thought was causing it to foam, from contaminated life rock and RO drums, to dodgy stability and even a faulty skimmer. All I had to do was raise it sigh He did say that over time it’ll eventually end up back on the sump floor, but for now it’s great. And no I didn’t do any water changes at all during this, as like I said previously i was running stability and didn’t want to ruin the cycle. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk