What could cause this ?

[Phil]

Hey gang, here's the scenario. I cleaned out my sump and skimmer. Never touched any plumbing. Fill sump back up and turn on skimmer. Add brand new filter socks. The socks will overflow in less than 24 hrs without having added any food for the fish or corals? What the heck can cause this? Thanks a bunch for any suggestions.

Phil.

 

[Poseidon]

too fine of mesh on the socks, tiny particles will clog them up extremely fast

 

[Phil]

In this case these are the same micron socks that I have been using for the past year. 200 micron BRS socks. Prior to cleaning the Bubble King and the sump, I could go for 3 to 4 days before they started to overflow. That was with feeding as well. These are new socks and with no food added. This is what has me confused.

 

[pulpfiction1]

i found if i disturbed my DSB or made any major cloud in my tank that the socks would clog quick,otherwise i get 2 weeks no problem on my 200micron socks

 

[Phil]

Cool, so lets thing about this a bit. I shut down the system. I syphon the sump dry, wipe it down etc. I remove the bubble king and clean it in vinegar. Rinse it, put it back in and fill up the sump. Turn things back on and now (new, same brand and micron) socks overflow?

 

[pulpfiction1]

im saying in my situation,that there can be debrit,like if i vodka dose to much,or stress everything out that i beleive a slime is in the water that clogs MY sock,with sand and anything else free floating,change your socks and see how it goes

 

[Phil]

Thanks, and I did think of that and replaced the new sock with another new sock and it still happened in under 24 hrs. Not really sure where to turn from here?

 

[unibob]

Are you replacing with brand new? I find I can never get them as clean as when they come.

 

[Phil]

Yes, brand new never used. I cannot see it being stress / excess slime etc as all the work was in the sump. The skimmer was offline for about 8 hrs maximum, the return pump was offline for maybe 3hrs but the 2 mp40's and the lights were on in the display tank.

 

[spyd]

Thwe only debris I could think of that would cause this is from the plumbing itself... When you clean the sump, you turn off the main pump. When the main pump kicks back on, the inital force of water will blast any stuck debris in the plumbing off and into your tank... That is the only theory I can think of though....

I just cleaned my sump last week and found when I turned my pump back on that this happened. I don't run filter socks though so no issues for me. But my reactors and everything plumbed off my main pump were running with a lot more flow telling me there was a lot of debris built up in the plumbing.

 

[Phil]

I shut down the return when I feed the fish at 5pm each day. It never pukes very much debris from the plumbing back into the tank. This is one very weird issue.

 

[spyd]

I agree... Only other thing it could be is bacteria maybe... Do you run bio-pellets?

 

[Phil]

Setting up my new Reef Dynamics bio-pellet reactor this coming weekend. This is really odd.

 

[Poseidon]

i wonder if maybe the manufacture labelled the socks wrong and it is in fact a finer micron?
or maybe for some reason your flow is a bit faster than normal?
did you by any chance turn your ball valve on your return up a bit when you where cleaning?

those are the only two things i can think off.. it is rather strange lol

 

[Boga]

Lots of good comments here.

I observed that old socks, after so many "wash" cycles, loose their 200 micron properties. In some areas they are thinner, you almost can see the difference if you look at a light.

Also did you keep the exact water level as before in the drain compartment?

 

[Phil]

I did think about whether BRS sent me 100 micron socks and when I do compare them to 100 micron socks these are more flexible and do appear to be 200 micron. Even when I have tried new 100 micron socks in the past they would last almost 3 days before getting near the overflow point, certainly not less than 24 hrs like now.

The return flow was not adjusted as that valve is no where near anyplace I would even accidentally bump it. The water level was marked on the sump before cleaning started and was filled back up to that line. Thanks for the idea's everyone, hopefully we can find an answer to this.

 

[spyd]

If they did send you a 200 micron instead that would definitely explain a lot. Just way too tight of a weave and would clog up in no time at all.

 

[Phil]

If they did send you a 200 micron instead that would definitely explain a lot. Just way too tight of a weave and would clog up in no time at all.

These are definitely 200 micron socks. Derek, even when I had 100's in the past they would last almost 3 days.

 

[Poseidon]

[quote author=spyd link=topic=5776.msg55533#msg55533 date=1373459458]
If they did send you a 200 micron instead that would definitely explain a lot. Just way too tight of a weave and would clog up in no time at all.

These are definitely 200 micron socks. Derek, even when I had 100's in the past they would last almost 3 days.
[/quote]

yes, but 200 is a smaller micron, (finer mesh) than 100, hence the reason it clogs up fast, i would complain to BRS and have them send you the proper ones.

 

[unibob]

100's are for sure a finer mesh/felt. They will clog a lot quicker.

I'm not sure Phil, hope you figure it out.