Battle between Protein skimmer vs Phosphate reactor

[shukri]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, didn't know whether there was similar
issue being raised in this forum, anyway, I have 2 aquariums,
both 200 Gallon/ 5 yrs old, first is fish-only tank medium bio-load, second is reef tank mostly LPS, both running with needle wheel skimmers.
Both skimmers were running very satisfactorily, until last month
I decided to install phosphate reactor with 100 grams Rowa Phos to the reef tank. To my disappointment, I found out the day after that the skimmer stopped functioning ( not producing any "dry foam"), I moved the skimmer to the fish-only tank ... voila.. it worked ! I then tried to swap the skimmer with the one installed in the fish-only tank, same thing happened ( no foam produced ! ) .
Any comment(s) ??? thanks !

[luke33]

It will be like your skimmer is breaking in again, more than likely the pump on your phosphate reactor had some oil or something in it. Just put your skimmer back and let it go for a few days, and i'm guessing it'll be fine. As long as its still producing bubbles its fine.

[BLockamon]

The addition of the phosphate media has probably disturbed the surface tension in the reef's water. Give it a day or two, and the skimmer should start back up again.

[Reef Sponger]

I agree, the phosphate reactor should work well together with the skimmer. Give it some time to break in.