PSK-75 cup overflowing randomly

I have a PSK-75 set up in my 10G sump that is under my 36 Gallon reef. I went to Hawaii for 6 days and left someone to feed the fish. The cup usually never got full in a week, and I had the level dialed down so the skim wasn't super clear so I wasn't concerned about them emptying it. When I got back the cup was full of clear skim and there was the remnants of an explosion from the cup overflowing and the skim inside going everywhere. I have had the skimmer for about 5 months and have cleaned it twice. I've never had this issue but lately I'll come check the skimmer and the cup will be full of clear water and the bubbles will be going crazy. I dial down the water level using the valve a bit and get the same result. Can you tell me what is going on here?

 

Check your needle wheel to see if anything has caught inside there or check the air tube if it has one. Not familiar with that protein skimmer.

 

No supplements different for five months, no underwater weld, no changes in water level etc..

 

Sound to me like the airline or filter might have a small clog. Try cleaning all of the air intake parts very well and see if that helps.

 

First of all you have to know there's nothing wrong with your skimmer. Second, only you know your skimmer better than anyone. so when you have a someone take care of your tank, this is a common problem we hear reported. A skimmer require fine tuning and i think this is what you need to start again. Basically what happened is when it overflow, the skim-mate goes right back into your tank. When this happen, it drives your skimmer crazy (this is very normal). Here's the suggest to get your skimmer working back to normal again.

1. Dial down the water level at the lowest water level inside the skimmer.
2. Take the collection cup out and just leave the skimmer running (even if is overflowing). Let this run for 2-3 hrs. at least to calm everything down.
3. Put the collection cup back and you can fine tune it slowly.

 

I tore apart the skimmer again to clean it. Because the airline tube is white, I could not see a large buildup of calcium inside the tube. I blew it out last time it was cleaned so this was a surprise. There were large chunks of calcium buildup that was clogging the tubing. Although the problem is solved, as anyone heard of or seen this? Any remedy besides just making sure to clean it?

 

Yeah, it's pretty common with all skimmers. They need their maintenance, or they all start doing some odd things.

 

Mikejrice is correct, with skimmer this is very common when salt built up. is good to keep an eye on the skimmer in case of performance drop. when it goes, all it takes are just the minor things only. funny thing about a skimmer is if one little thing doesn't work, it effect the skimmer performance. as always good luck

 

You need to add the skimmer to your monthly maintenance. I completely tear mine apart and clean it once a month. Clogged airline is common if they go uncleaned.