Skimmer Overflowing? Try the Rem's Reef Method!!

Collection cup fitted with ball valve.

I had a mild but persistent Cyano (red slime) problem a few months back. While water changes kept the problem somewhat at bay, there were still a few spots where the red slime was clinging on. I had some cyano remover left over from a previous treatment, so I figured I would give it a try again.

Everything went well; the cyano went away, nothing perished. Good times. I did my 20% water change, replaced carbon, and in kicked on the skimmer. The skimmer overflowed. The annoying white clear foam rose through the skimmer's collection cup like a volcano... Not a real one, more like a papermache volcano from a science fair... but sill fiercely annoying! I removed the collection cup to let it do its thing. It overflowed.

I added more carbon and did another water change. It. Well... Overflowed. I let it run for a day and night. Guess what? It just kept overflowing. BLAST! I've used the product before and it usually got better on its own. This time- my skimmer continued to overflow.

*ReefKeeper Alarm Triggered*

Well my aquarium has been giving me grief, off and on, for some time now. Between float switches sticking, temperature fluctuations, and faulty/clogged Aqualifter dosing pumps I've had my aquarium overflow already. After the overflow, I added a float switch to my aquarium that will 1) trigger an alarm and 2) shut off the return pump.

Today while in class, I was notified by my ReefKeeper Lite by email that one of my float switches had activated, triggering an alarm. This float switch is located in my display, and is only activated when the water level gets dangerously high.

Upon notification, I was able to completely shut down the return pump and my ATO pump. I was also lucky enough to have someone close by to check on the tank. Sure enough, the tank had filled up and my sump was full to the rim, but no water had spilled out on the floor; a disaster was averted! Floors were dry, fish were safe, and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

While I'm going to have to do some investigation and tinkering to see what I can do to prevent this issue from happening again, I was lucky that my ReefKeeper emailed me. I didn't have to leave class, and I didn't have to worry all night about what was happening. it also prevented I'd come home to in 9 hours had I not been able to catch this.

While aquarium controllers aren't necessary for every tank, I'd have to say that today my ReefKeeper earned its spot as the best (and coolest) gadget on my aquarium.