Problems with 9010 skimmer

[honda2sk]

I am having a little problem with my 9010. The foam does not reach very high in the collection cup (not even 1/3 of the way up) and therefore hardly any skimmate is collected. It is set up for in sump use, the water level is about 1/2" below the blue line, I tripled check the sump kit connections as well as the part where the venturi connects to make sure it is pushed in enough.

It makes lots of white bubbles but they never reach high up enough. Any ideas on how I can correct this?

Thank you.

 

[rvitko]

Is water exiting the outlet pipe? The water level only applies to in tank use without the pipe so that would not be the issue. Is the tank new or sparsely populated?

 

[honda2sk]

Tank is several months old and quite heavily populated.

Water is exiting the outlet pipe.

Which brings to mind another question if you have a moment. What is the point of the blue sponge around this outlet pipe? Since it is a solid pipe, water can only exit through the top hole. Should the top of the pipe be submerged underwater? Because mine sits a little above the water line so I can see water coming out of it when the skimmer is in operation.

 

[rvitko]

The skimmer can be anywhere from 4-11" submerged in this configuration, the water slowly percolates out and the foam is supposed to catch any bubbles. I would double check that the pump outlet is inserted in the clear jet pipe and that the hose is not kinked or pinched between the pump and the skimmer body.

 

[honda2sk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9969652#post9969652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rvitko
The skimmer can be anywhere from 4-11" submerged in this configuration, the water slowly percolates out and the foam is supposed to catch any bubbles. I would double check that the pump outlet is inserted in the clear jet pipe and that the hose is not kinked or pinched between the pump and the skimmer body.

Ok just double checked

the pup is indeed inserted in the clear jet pipe and the hose is definately not kinked, because it is gently swooped over the clip that is in the vicinity. I have read your past posts on this subject and made sure to double check these items before posting this thread.

Could that hole in the back related somehow to this problem? I do not have it plugged or anything, just wondering.

 

[rvitko]

The hole is normal and water should be exiting that hole. How many turns open is the venturi screw? How long has the skimmer been running?

 

[honda2sk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9970491#post9970491 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rvitko
The hole is normal and water should be exiting that hole. How many turns open is the venturi screw? How long has the skimmer been running?

The venturi screw is open almost all the way, one more turn and it will fall off. I have adjusted it from all the way in, to all the way out, in half turn increments. The highest the foam gets its where the top of the collar of the skimmer body. It just pokes slightly above that collar and reaches about 1/4" into the visible part of the collection cup.

The skimmer has been running for about a month now.

It is in a low flow area of the sump as per Tunze's manual.

Could it be the pump needs a real good cleaning because of sediment buildup? Its only been a month though so I dont see how that could have happened so quickly.

Thank you for your help.

 

[rvitko]

Did it skim well at first? It could be that some sediment has built up if there was a lot present.

 

[honda2sk]

I took apart the pump as per manual and noticed that it was only a little dirty, definately nothing that would impede performance. I cleaned it out nicely as well as the collection cup and body of the skimmer.

I reinstalled everything very carefully. Did not skim for the first few hours but by the next day I could see the foam starting to make its way up the collection cup, albeit not very much.

This was all a couple of days ago.

Fast forward to present. The skimmer has been running for a few days now and the foam is barely halfway up the cup. It is definately skimming better but still not enough to get the foam even close to getting up over lip of the riser. Its ALMOST halfway up the cup. It has collected less then a tablespoon of skimmate.

I definately have a high bio-load with many fish, inverts, and living stones, especially since I have not been skimming anything for a few weeks now trying to get this thing to work.

So what other ideas you have to make this work?

 

[rvitko]

If you send it to me I will run it on my tank and figure out the problem, I use a 9010 at present and on my 58 I get about 150ml per week but it is just a pair of clowns and an anemone.

 

[khoivo1]

i have the same problem here with my 9010 skimmer,,,

 

[pezcubano]

About to buy Tunze 9010

About to buy Tunze 9010

Hello all,
I don't mean to hijack, but in lieu of reading your thread I'm a little nervous. I'm about to purchase a Tunze 9010 for my 75G . The skimmer will go in a 20G sump. I know the manual calls for quiet water, but I've read various posts where people use it in turbulent water and its done fine. I'm planning to put the Tunze in somewhat turbulent water. Has anybody had problems with this?

This thread is the first one where I've read about problems regarding foam collection. Is this common with Tunze's?

What sort of throughput should I be looking for in a return pump so that it matches the Tunze 9010 well?

Thanks in advance...

 

[rvitko]

I use 2 of them, most problems are some sort of assembly error. I have seen leaking housings and other issues that are the result of a defect but usually it is just an issue with how the user put it together. If your flow through the sump is less than 5 times the tank volume you should not have any issues. Turbulence is a minor issue it usually will not halt skimming unless it is an extreme situation.

 

[Slick Fork]

pezcubano: I have one of these on a 100gallon Display with a 50 gallon sump, I get about 100-150ml/day of thick gross skimmate and absolutely love this skimmer. Don't hesitate to buy it, you won't regret it.

 

[pezcubano]

I don't want to steal Honda's thread, so should I start another thread?
Is the rule of thumb 3-5x tank volume or total system volume (including sump)?????
I currently have about 7x the SYSTEM volume going through the sump, so what I'm going to do when I get the Tunze is try it out with my current flow (around 675gph on my 75G tank/20G sump), and if the flow is too much, I'll limit the amount of flow through the sump and supplement the tank flow with a powerhead.

 

[rvitko]

7* can probably work fine but if the sump is very choppy it won't work as well. It is more energy efficient and addds less heat to use a small return and powerheads to supplement the flow.

 

[khoivo1]

honda2sk,,did your skimmer work yet?? what wrong was it?

 

[Maeda]

I think he sold it.

I had the same problem at first, but then realized the sump kit bottom plate was backward.

It slips in easier the wrong way(atleast it did for me), and reversing it solved my problems.

 

[canesfan44]

I just wrote this on another thread:
I had a problem with my 9010(I bought it used from here), the foam wasn't rising in the cup and adjusting the screw, to control the air/foam, did absolutely nothing. I bought a 9005 collection cup hoping it would help, but didn't. Then when I took it out of my sump to clean it I finally noticed a hole/gap in the plastic piece where the screw goes. I put some silicone sealant over the hole to plug it and now it works great, so I would just check the plastic inlet piece, where the screw goes, to make sure there is no hole or gap where air can sneak in. hopefully this helps