62G Starfire Reef [40x18x20]

[Kryptic4L]

airdrie air, mine does the same thing, works well forever, then goes bloody haywire for no apparent reason.

gotten in the habit of emptying mine every chance. nothing more frustrating then seeing a nice cup o skim end up back in the tank.

[JDigital]

It must be that crazy air we have out in Airdrie...

Curious what skimmer you got?

[sphelps]

Check was happens during a power cycle. If your sump level rises during shut down and everything turns back on at the same time, the short time the skimmer runs at the elevated level can sometimes be enough the fill and overflow the cup, once full it just continues to bubble over because of the lid extension. So a brief power cut could explain such skimmer issues.

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Check was happens during a power cycle. If your sump level rises during shut down and everything turns back on at the same time, the short time the skimmer runs at the elevated level can sometimes be enough the fill and overflow the cup, once full it just continues to bubble over because of the lid extension. So a brief power cut could explain such skimmer issues.

Definitely a possibility! I know just from switching off my power bars for water changes that the sump rises. I suppose with all the construction in my area there is a likelihood of power being cut briefly, although it NEVER happens when I'm actually home . Thanks Steve. I'm not sure my Reef Keeper Lite tracks power outages like my Apex at work though. Will have to check that out or upgrade.

[sphelps]

Most controllers allow blackout delays so if it turns out to be an issue adding a delay to the skimmer circuit will fix the issue.

[SoloSK71]

+1 on the cycle time between power off and the sump filling and turning everything back on. I have now incorporated this into my feeding and dosing schedule. I power off everything, feed, and then power on the power head, then the return pump, then the skimmer. Dosing, I turn the skimmer off, dose, add live bacteria, and turn the skimmer back on in the morning.

Charles

[JDigital]

Well I have decided that I am going to restart this tank. I'm going to pull all the marco dry rock I started with out, re-home most of the fish to my 180G tank at the office, and start from scratch. New water, new rock, fresh start. There is just something not right in this tank that I can not put my finger on. This tank has been up and running for nearly a year with absolutely ZERO progress and hundreds of dollars in coral down the drain. I have lost EVERY SINGLE piece of SPS I have tried in this tank. Everything from easy to keep montis/digi's, red planet, to harder to keep stuff that was doing very well in MUCH younger, less mature frag tanks at the LFS.

I tried feeding Oyster Feast and Live Copepods per some conversations with a fellow reefer on NR.com that yielded no results with regards to improved coral vitality (SPS specifically). None of my fish are coral nippers so I can rule them all out. I've inspected and dipped all frags before putting them in my tank (although still could have missed something, the procedure was still there and I have no seen bugs or pest of any sort). Carbon and GFO made no difference in my tests with them.

I got 2 things that seem to do ok in this tank. The fish and a few (4) acans. Zoas don't grow (or gradually disappear), ALL SPS dies, I'm not interested in softies for this tank so haven't even tried putting them in.

So I'm gutting it and starting fresh. Maybe in a years time I will actually have something to show off in this tank, because as of right now after nearly a year hundreds of dollars in dead coral, I basically have a handful of fish and 4 small acan pieces (which are for the most part less than 6 weeks old). Something clearly isn't working/right/balanced in this tank and no test kit new or old can give me any indication to the problem as they all point to average readings for Ca/Mag/dKH, low PO4, no trates/trites/ammo.

[kien]

good to see you back at it. If you're losing pretty much everything that you put into your tank then something is definitely up. Especially if your water parameters are in check. Good luck! The only suggestion I can think of to give to you is to maybe invest in a Prayer Reactor.

[lastlight]

That sucks Josh but a fresh start might do wonders. Good luck.

[Skimmerking]

Josh I was having problems too man. and once I moved my tank from the old house to the new house and with a fresh new water like 98% my tank is looking amazing. I feel for ya bro I have had crappy luck but now with the new house new girlfriend, new water completely the tank is doing amazing. the wallet isn't doing good thou lol corals are flourishing thou so im happy. the Red Algae is all gone. I really think the Mitras Light has helped with the Algae. It has to be i have checked everything that I can think of. the rocks are all purpling up really nice too.