Warning for Recirculating Skimmer Users With Skimmer Overflow Bucket

[TheClark]

I had an experience the other night that rattled me pretty good.

 

Our system has a big old recirc skimmer. One pump makes bubbles,and the return pump manifold feeds the skimmer.

 

Some Chaeto was sucked up into the return pump and clogged at the seaswirll. This meant less water pumping into the tank.

 

In return, this caused way more water to be pumped into the skimmer, it started overflowing immediately into the overflow bucket.

 

The float switch triggered, and the bubble pump stopped pumping.

 

However, the APEX was not programmed to turn off the return pump in this case.

 

There was a mini flood, but luckily I was sitting right here.

 

APEX is now programmed to turn off return pump also if skimmer overflows, email, text, yadayada..

 

So if you have a 'puke' bucket on a recirc skimmer keep this corner case in mind.

 

Hope this helps someone out there avoid this situation.

 

 

[Higher Thinking]

Whew! That's a close call. Thanks for sharing your insight and experience.

[Bombertech]

Lucky you were in your office!

 

It makes you wonder, which is the lesser of two evils, setting your bucket to spill onto the floor or setting it up to overflow back into your sump... Sounds like a lose/lose depending on the size.

 

Do you use pump intake screens? I started using 2" net pots over the intakes of my pumps after the brittle star imprisoned in my sump repeatedly stuck it's arms in the intakes.

[TheClark]

Lucky you were in your office!

 

It makes you wonder, which is the lesser of two evils, setting your bucket to spill onto the floor or setting it up to overflow back into your sump... Sounds like a lose/lose depending on the size.

 

Do you use pump intake screens? I started using 2" net pots over the intakes of my pumps after the brittle star imprisoned in my sump repeatedly stuck it's arms in the intakes.

 

 

 

Overflow to sump, for sure would have been better in this case! Must of the crud was in the bottom of the 5 gallon puke bucket it wouldn't have been that bad. Unfortunately the skimmer is in the frag tank, skimmer bucket underneath it on the floor.

 

I need to squeeze an intake screen into the return chamber as well, also a very good point.

 

 

 

[kireek]

Sounds awful and stinky.This is why I dislike chateo.If there is something to clog up( like my siphon hose over and over again)it will clog it up.Glad to hear nothing really bad happened.