help with protein skimmer problem and black sand

[unboundmind]

Long story short, the air valve for my protein skimmer got flooded I think when my sump was flooded after the main pump was accidently turned off. Can I revive the pump and if so how do I go about it. After this incident half the cap was water and half foam the the lid wouldn't stay on. General information tank is 85 gallon with live sand and rock, and crabs and snails. Just starting. BTW some of the sand is black is that normal? Thanks

[Elegance Coral]

I'm a little confused about some of your questions. Was the Lil Giant pump submerged under salt water?

As far as the sand turning black, yes, it's normal. Not good, but normal. Despite what you may have heard, you can't let a sand bed set at the bottom of your tank undisturbed without it fouling and turning black over time. IIWY, I'd pull that sand bed and start over with a new one. Then keep it clean with routine vacuuming with a gravel vac.

[unboundmind]

Originally Posted by Elegance Coral

I'm a little confused about some of your questions. Was the Lil Giant pump submerged under salt water?

As far as the sand turning black, yes, it's normal. Not good, but normal. Despite what you may have heard, you can't let a sand bed set at the bottom of your tank undisturbed without it fouling and turning black over time. IIWY, I'd pull that sand bed and start over with a new one. Then keep it clean with routine vacuuming with a gravel vac.

Hi, thanks for responding. The pump for the protein skimmer was submerged in the sump holding tank. The air intake went underwater when the main sump pump tank was turned off for maybe 10 sec. Last night I took the protein skimmer apart, got all the water out, put back together and did a dry run with water and it seemed to work fine again. As to the sand, bummer if I have to replace it but for sure sounds like the black sand needs to be taken out. I just put a bunch of new sand in with the old. Do you think removing the black and starting to clean will be enough or should I pull it all and all the plants and put more sand in? When ou put sand in do you need to rinse it? Thanks for the tip on the gravel vac, I'd forgotten I need that too.

[Elegance Coral]

Can you put a hose on the air intake for the skimmer so that the end is way above the water line? This way you won't have this problem again.

Plants? What kind of plants? What kind of critters are you keeping?

[unboundmind]

Originally Posted by Elegance Coral

Can you put a hose on the air intake for the skimmer so that the end is way above the water line? This way you won't have this problem again.

Plants? What kind of plants? What kind of critters are you keeping?

yup i put a hose on. the plants are salt water plants suppossed to be part of the natural biological filter system as they grow. i have caulerpa and one red mangrove.

[Elegance Coral]

You'll probably grow to hate caulerpa. It will crash on you, turn your water into milk, and cause a big mess. Chaeto is much more user friendly and performs the same job.

I asked what critters you were keeping because some of the more delicate reef creatures do not do well when exposed to the substances that turn a sand bed black. If you don't have any delicate critters in the tank, you can try syphoning out the bad places in the sand, then begin routine vacuuming. The main thing is to keep the sand as clean as possible.

[unboundmind]

Originally Posted by Elegance Coral

You'll probably grow to hate caulerpa. It will crash on you, turn your water into milk, and cause a big mess. Chaeto is much more user friendly and performs the same job.

I asked what critters you were keeping because some of the more delicate reef creatures do not do well when exposed to the substances that turn a sand bed black. If you don't have any delicate critters in the tank, you can try syphoning out the bad places in the sand, then begin routine vacuuming. The main thing is to keep the sand as clean as possible.

Thanks I'll get it out. Do you use or recommend any particular vacumm?

[Elegance Coral]

This is all you need to vacuum your sand. http://www.thereeftank.com/compare-m...rge-pro-clean/