Some questions regarding Nano DOC 9002

[circa_falk]

Hi ,
I bought a nano DOC skimmer on 4 of Jan 06 and ran it in my sump tank ( water level , bubble level adjustment ) accordingly to the instruction manual. Today is 8 Jan and no skimmate has been produced still. I would like to know if the break in for new skimmer take so long or did i miss out anything during installation ?

 

[rvitko]

Is it foaming at all? Is the tank new or established?

 

[circa_falk]

Hi,
it is foaming , currently I tune it to neck level where the instruction manual advice to set . The tank is an established tank about 2 years .It is a 2 footer tank with LPS and fishes.

 

[circa_falk]

I have uploaded some pic of the bubble size foaming around the neck of the 9002.Please check out my gallery.

 

[rvitko]

Is the water level high enough and fairly constant?, the water should be 1/2"-3/4" below the venturi screw. The bubbles look larger than they should be, is the specific gravity high enough? Did you open the screw 3 full turns and not just half turns?

 

[circa_falk]

Hi Rvitko, the water level is currently exactly 1 inch below the blue screw ( is it too low ) , salinity is 1.024 . I have since raised water level such that it is <3/4 " from the blue screw. The water level in my sump is fairly constant.
What puzzles me is the size of the bubbles which looks big?

Are you running a unit too Rvitko?Is the unit skimming well? Perhaps are you able to show a pic ?

 

[rvitko]

I set one up at the LFS for testing and it started skimming within an hour and the bubbles looked smaller, like champagne bubbles. I'll get a pic tomorrow as i need to go buy some supplies.

 

[circa_falk]

By the way, rivitko, I realised that there is a small plastic thingy ( like air hose attachment ) protruding just underneath the skimmer cup in the manual, but the way I have is missing that part and is exposing a hole instead. Is that a factor as to why my skimmer aren't skimming ?

Please see the circled red in the gallery.

 

[rvitko]

It should be just a hole. The larger skimmers have a nipple but that was for adding ozone and the small skimmer is not a very good ozone reactor. I am going to get you some pictures in a couple hours.

 

[amheck]

I'm still not getting any skimmate out of mine, either. It's been going for a week now (I think) since I got it back from Roger.

It seems to be bubbling fine, but no dark skimmate in the cup. Every once in a while it will be very wet and the cup will fill up in an hour. I back off the venturi, but sometimes it doesnt seem to affect too much. I've even had the venturi closed and was getting the cup filled with water. I've been very careful to keep the water level constant.

Maybe this skimmer just takes a while to break in.....

 

[rvitko]

Guys, give me a couple days. Unfortunately they had started remodeling and taken the skimmer down. I have reset it up here at my office and will get the answers for you. I also plan to call Tunze tomorrow.

 

[rvitko]

I have found one big thing to look into. The L that connects the airline must be firmly pressed into the venturi- makes a night and day difference in the adjustability and air flow. The guys at the shop told me they got a cup of water every few hours but never adjusted it down. I was getting nothing so I experimented with running the pump with the venturi outside the skimmer and found this was my problem.

 

[circa_falk]

Hi Rivitko,
My skimmer started to produce thick foam w/t the neck of the collection cup today . I think it is a good start compared to the previous days where watery bubbles are produced. Now I am waiting to see when these foam will emerge from the neck into the collection cup.

Picture uploaded . in my gallery.

 

[rvitko]

That looks normal to me, it looks like foam is collecting and condensing the way it should.

I came in today to a cup full of clear water. So far my observations are we have two problems and keep in mind, mine is a prototype made back in September and deviates slightly from what you have so this may not apply but based on Aarons comments I assume it is so.

First, be sure the L is firmly inserted, this is critical, once this is correct I think you will find the problem is a cup full of water and not no skimming at all.

Now, you are at the cup full of water stage and here is where the bigger problem is. As Aaron said the venturi screw doesn't work perfectly. From what I can tell the hole that the screw is supposed to cross is too far back so the screw doesn't close the hole. The screw is standardized so the issue has to be the top plate. For an immediate solution I found that a screw that is the same diameter but slightly longer is included in the installation hardware and will close the hole and give you the range of adjustment you need to get proper skimming. Apparently some people skimmers are fine as delivered as I have gotten a few positive comments. If yours isn't let me know and I can send the screw if necessary for the time being and I will work on getting the new top plates to replace the ones that aren't correct. Unfortunately I couldn't get through to Tunze today, the line was busy every time I tried.

 

[circa_falk]

Hi Ritviko, indeed my happiness was short lived. Less than 1/2hr after posting the pic of foam formation in the neck, skimmer went crazy and filled up the whole cup with water:mad2:
I have checked the venturi injection nozzle air input and verified it is securely inserted in place. I guess you are right about the blue screw not fully covering the air hole, have tried to replace it with the other black screw you mentioned (yes slightly longer than the blue one and w same diameter) . It did sure work better as the water level in the chamber can be fine tuned using the black screw and not blue screw.

Where to you set the level in the neck to usually btw?

Let's see what happens tomorrow when I do the update

 

[rvitko]

Basically set the level to where the cone starts to constrict. Guys, I am very sorry for this and I promise I will get you the top plates so the screw works properly. I am not going to leave you hanging but it may take me a while. I hope to speak with Mr Tunze tomorrow.

 

[amheck]

Roger, pls let me know what you find out. I have looked everywhere, but I'm sorry to say I don't know where the longer black screw is.

 

[rvitko]

Aaron, please PM me your address and I will send you one so we can get you up and running.

 

[CamBarr]

roger can you post some pics of you're skimmer

p.s. thank you for being so outgoing and willing to help

cb

 

[rvitko]

Yes, I only got some pictures of how to assemble it and I had it running yesterday but today I moved from my 75 to a 120 and so the skimmer is moved but being in a new tank with about half new water it isn't doing anything, I will get the pictures uploaded tomorrow- should I not have it done by say 3pm, bump the thread.