Lets see some tunze skimmate!

[Flatlander]

I like running mine wetter. When run dry, the cup crud builds up much faster and slows down skimming, IMO. It does make some thick stinky crud that way though. :lol:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1129232

Honda, did you happen to see this thread. Not sure if yours is in sump or not but the correct bottom plate placement made a huge difference in mine. I would guess I had water escaping from the plate when in wrong. Alwyas wondered why mine skimmed so well in tank and not as good in sump, almost like I could not hold enough water in it.

 

[Flatlander]

"oops" double clutched there. :lol:

 

[Village Idiot]

Here's about 2 days worth...hard to take a good pic in a tight cabinet.

 

[just dave]

9005

9002

 

[Melbourne]

honda, here is a pic of the foam column on a 9010 DOC + foam extractor + mesh mod. You have to turn down the air otherwise the bubbles will just overflow the top of the skimmer (too much air for the body).

I've observed that the bubble size is not as fine as on my Deltec or Bubblemaster. Still decent for such a compact skimmer.

 

[trmiv]

Some nice skimmate here! I just ordered a Nano Reefpack, I'm excited to see how it works. I'm moving from California to North Carolina and shipped two of my fish that I've had the longest to NC. I'll be setting up a FOWLR nano for those two fish for 6 months in our apartment there (temp while we look for a house. once we get that I can get my 120 setup!). The nano reefpack looked like an awesome setup for that.

Anyone have any skimmate pics from the nano reefpack?

 

[wcpeixoto]

This is mine 9210, after 48 hrs of cleaning. It also collects 100~150 ml/day.

 

[Melbourne]

9010 + valve mod + mesh mod + extractor

About 4 days worth of wet skimmate - actually a little more but it was all the measuring cup could take. I collect into a bucket.

 

[honda2sk]

can u please go into detail about these mods you did?

 

[Melbourne]

Honda,

The mods are simple - one is the replace the standpipe that comes stock with the sump kit with one made with parts from Home Depot. I used a 1" to 3/4" elbow reducing fitting and some 3/4" PVC and a 3/4" PVC T and a 3/4" ball valve to make this. The elbow goes into the hole on the DOC skimmer where your old stand pipe elbow went. The PVC you cut to length, a short piece to the 3/4" T. The top has another piece of 3/4" PVC that is slightly higher than the blue line on the skimmer body. The ball valve or gate valve is attached to the other part of the T with a small piece of 3/4" PVC. Everything is done with slip fittings and nothing needs to be glued. If you can find a nice gate valve I would use that instead since it is easier to adjust.

This will allow you to adjust the water height inside the skimmer. This is only required for additional tuning since the mesh mod generates so much air, too much actually for the DOC skimmer body.

The mesh mod is pretty popular and draws a ton of air. I have a meshwheel skimmer also and a bunch of regular Aquabee needlewheel's and the meshwheel really pulls in the air. In the case of the Tunze, I don't modify the stock impeller at all, I just add a single layer of Enkamat secured with fishing line. Trim it to fit.

Here is one of the threads on meshwheels.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=966407&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

The combination allows you to generate so much foam that it will literally shoot out the top of the skimmer, obviously this is not desirable so you tune it down through the use of the air valve on the skimmer and the adjustable valve on the output pipe you make.

 

[honda2sk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10127750#post10127750 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Melbourne
Honda,

The mods are simple....
The mesh mod is pretty popular and draws a ton of air. In the case of the Tunze, I don't modify the stock impeller at all, I just add a single layer of Enkamat secured with fishing line. Trim it to fit.

Where do I acquire Enkamat?

I found this:
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4323/cid/1278

but it only sells in larger quantities...

did you just tie it with the fishing line to the pinwheel impellar?

Do you have a picture of it installed?

 

[Melbourne]

I bought some from another member on RC, paid $5 for a 8.5"x12" sheet of it. Try posting up in the wanted or filtration forum someone is bound to have some. But yes that is what I used. I'm going to modify another one of my DOC skimmers since this mod has worked really well. Even for a 9005 I had sitting around. I'll take a picture of the impeller in a bit. You just tie it securely with fishing line. I'm using Berkley 6 lb test but you can use whatever you have handy - I think most folks use 10 lb test.

 

[honda2sk]

thanks for the info! I would definately appreciate that pic when you get a chance, seems simple enough but hopefully it will help me do it right.

 

[Melbourne]

Here is a picture of an impeller with one layer of mesh. You will need to tie it to each wing on the impeller for a nice secure fit.

Here is the skimmate from a 9005 + mesh mod, which is mounted in-tank in a bare bottom 30g propagation tank with one small clown. This is a weeks worth. Results not as nice as the 9010 mesh pumps but still better than it was stock.

One other thing - I think the in-sump application is the best since you can run the valve mod for better adjustment and I noticed that with the mesh mod in tank, you will get some micro bubbles escaping whereas I did not notice any before the mesh mod.

 

[fraggin]

thx for the info melbourne, i will have to look into that for a tuneup on my 9010. looks very easy and simple to do.

something i notice is no one seem s to make a drain hole in the cups, so it doesn't have to be emptied.

 

[etrigo29]

a bit out of line with the subject, but how would most people rate the happiness with their Tunze skimmers. I'm torn between this (9005 or 9010) vs a ASM or Euroreef skimmer

 

[rvitko]

A drain hole doesn't make much sense. It would defeat the safety the cup offers. When full the foam column collapses and skimming stops. Besides that the cup is easily removed and even with a drain should be cleaned weekly as the solids that build up in the neck impede skimming, a clean cup skims the best.

 

[Andrew]

Bump... I'm hoping to have my 9010 for my 75 gallon tank by the end of this month or next.

 

[etrigo29]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10267706#post10267706 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Andrew
Bump... I'm hoping to have my 9010 for my 75 gallon tank by the end of this month or next.

ditto that....anyone else got some more pics of this? I really want to be sure of this before I buy it because that deltec is winking at me

 

[honda2sk]

holy crap this mod is driving me crazy. worked like a charm for the past few weeks. filled the collection cup every 3 days with nice dark skimmate. worked great for past few weeks. last night i came home and the foam was going NUTS! it was exploding up out of the riser cup. had to almost literally close the air screw all the way in to stop the foam from overflowing! why would this happen out of nowhere? I have the ball valve on the exit pipe all the way open and have not touched that since I set it up a few weeks ago.

melborne ever happen to you?