The SOS Zaya is a creative new reef aquarium accessory that can prevent the overflow of protein skimmers. The Skimmer Overflow Stopper is another one of those super niche reef aquarium products brought to you by the makers of the original Algae Mower Vac.
At first we thought that the Skimmer Overflow Stopper was merely a float switch to prevent protein skimmer cups from spewing skimmate all back in your sump and aquarium water. The SOS Zaya does provide a float switch to go inside your skimmer cup, but a secondary float switch inside the sump can actually prevent over-skimming before it even starts.
Taken from the Zaya website and actually quite accurate for aquarium product literature: “If you use a protein skimmer, the chances are it will overflow at one time or another! There are many factors that can cause a protein skimmer to suddenly and quickly overflow: Forgetting to empty the skimmer collection cup, reactions from chemicals, additives, feeding, medications, venturi air intake gets blocked by dust, salt or debris, or after a power outage or turning off the return pump when the skimmer is on“.
This latter point is the one that seems to have plagued us and other users of super high air volume protein skimmer users. Despite our best laid plans to have nice big sumps which resist changes in water level no matter what we do, it’s almost inevitable that a combination of actions to your tank might cause the skimmer to overflow.
Interestingly, in most cases skimmer overflows are not a cause of serious harm. But when a week’s worth of concentrated skimmer waste gets dumped right back into the aquarium water, it grates on our obsessive compulsive desire to have the cleanest aquarium water possible. The simple peace of mind the SOS Zaya offers costs a paltry $48 – sure you could DIY it yourself and or use an aquarium controller and accessories to perform this function, but this is one device that posits a very good value, especially for those of us who suffer skimmer overflows due to sometimes silly reasons.
The SOS Zaya is easy to install by simply plugging your protein skimmer pump into the outlet of the SOS Zaya which is rated for 800 watts. If we were in the business of maintaining and servicing aquariums for a living, we’d probably put one of these on each of our aquarium accounts. [SOS Zaya]
