Skimmer overflowing from Epoxy Putty

[mvallee]

Moved around a bunch of stuff in my tank and used Epoxy Putty to attach all the coral for the first time, Skimmer went nuts and overflowed the collection cup which really sucked because I had not cleaned it out yet, lesson learned.
I finished around 2 yesterday and this morning when I turned on my skimmer turned all the way down it still bubbled and flowed right over.
I used a whole stick of the stuff in my 180 will this subside on its own or do I need to do water changes, I just did my weekly 30 gallon water change before the rescape and thinking I may try doing another tonight when I get home but have no water made so gonna be a late night .

anyone else experience this and have an idea how long for it to run it's course, should I be concerned any ramification to the life in the tank?
It's 180 gallon tank with 55gallon sump 200 pounds of live rock and a skimmer as my only filtration, I normally do not run socks in my sump nor any carbon but do have filter socks and loose carbon I can put in a bag if that will help.

 

[JohnK]

Totally normal for epoxy to send the skimmer overflowing. It usually works itself out in hours to days.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

I never glue more than 5 things at a time because of the amount of skimmate it creates. If your skimmer overflowed back into your system, you should do a couple of water changes, especially if it was dark in color. Skimmer waste is nasty. Otherwise, it will take care of itself. My corals actually like the epoxy. I always get good pe after using it.

 

[jdemarco]

best money u could ever spend is on a collection cup which will stop air flow from skimmer when it gets filled. of course in my seven years of reefing I have also cause my skimmer to go nuts wither with epoxy or a water change or whatever it may be, but having a skimmate issue is impossible with the proper collection cup....look for one which cuts off the air, usually with a float or ping ping ball, and this will never be an issue ever again.....there are plenty of issues that can and will get the best of you from time to time in this hobby but imo collection cup should never be one of them......lool into investing in one of these collection cups because as common as i thought they were i still think that lots of people dont have them/know about them/use them...you will never have skimmate issue again.

 

[jamesdong009]

Like the others said, it is totally normal. I'm doing the same tomorrow and expect my skimmer to go nuts for a bit.

 

[mvallee]

good to know, no harm to the tank other than not being able to skim which should be fine for a few days.

Thanks everyone for chiming in

 

[choff]

A whole stick? Think days not hours.

...stupid auto correct

 

[mvallee]

Yeah if I would have known I would have been a little more frugal with it. Day 3 and still can't turn the skimmer on but no ill effects to the livestock and nitrates are staying low

 

[choff]

I've had my skimmer off for a week while I've been doing a prazi treatment and it's been killing me. Interestingly, my ORP has been going up slightly. I was expecting it to plummet. The prazi must have something to with it.

...stupid auto correct

 

[mvallee]

I don't monitor ORP, something else to look into over the winter. I took the down tubes off where the tank dumps into my sump to get extra aeration and have one of my power heads creating turbulence on the surface so was not to worried.

That skimmer of yours is a beast but I guess all that flow into all your tanks has kept it up

 

[mvallee]

haha guess I should have looked up what ORP was before replying, thought it had to do with oxygenation, that is my reef learning moment for the day.

 

[choff]

Sweet can you explain ORP to me now?

 

[JasonandSarah]

Anytime I do something I know will overflow my skimmer, I put a 2" stand underneath my skimmer for a couple hours.
Not only does it stop your skimmer from overflowing but it also makes things get back to normal quicker ime.... by raising the skimmer you can set your skimmer to still skim and remove whatever is coming off the epoxy.
I do this often because every time I add a new poly filter my skimmer goes nuts at least over night.

 

[mvallee]

Thanks I'll try that next time.

I've heard a few mentions of these poly filters, something I'll have to check into.

 

[choff]

That's a great idea. I always try opening it up as much as possible, but that never works. Never thought I'd the obvious and raising it.

BTW, I just did a prazi treatment and talk about killing your skimmer. It's been over a week and I have done 3x50 gal (approx 15 pct each change) WC and it's still going crazy.

...stupid auto correct

 

[mvallee]

have you tried the Poly filter, they sound like they're made for pulling meds and contaminants out of the water. I am thinking I am going to get a couple for emergencies and figure out how I can put it in my sump to get flow through it. They are a little pricey IMO but if they work as advertised could be a good thing.

I ended up putting a bag of carbon in a filter sock in my sump and was finally able to turn my skimmer on the next morning, could have just finished working it's way through but it is nice knowing everything is up an running now.
I do have some eggcrate around so I will be raising the skimmer next time I need to glue something too.