Tunze 9001 no longer foaming after sump install

[Righteous]

I've got a 8.5 gallon shallow reef tank (7 gallons actual) for which I installed a Tunze 9001 just over 2 weeks ago. My plan was to have the skimmer in my sump once I got it up and running, but in the meantime I had placed it in the display tank in order to get the break in started. I was pleasantly surprised when it started producing skimmate the very first day after a couple of hours. For the next two weeks after installation, I continued to get a good tea colored skimmate, and it would fill up quickly anytime I added amino acid supplements.

This weekend, I finally completed my new sump project, which included drilling my display tank and plumbing in a 10 gallon sump. (~6 additional gallons of water). During the process, coral, live rock, and skimmer were placed in a holding container with heater and flow. Out of the nearly 13 gallons of total system water, after the change I would guess that about 8 gallons was newly made up saltwater.

After placing the skimmer in the sump, I noticed it was no longer producing any foam. I'm seeing large bubbles at the base of the cup, but that's it. So it's been about 72 hours without change, and no foam rising. Even after feeding amino acid supplements to the tank, I see no change in foam production at all.

Is this normal with such a large water change, or should I be concerned the skimmer was somehow damaged in the move? After the move, the water was a little cloudy from the disturbed substrate, but cleared up with a filter sock and some filter pads in the sump. I rinsed out the skimmer with some RO/DI in case some sand got inside, but it seemed to have no effect.

How long should I wait to see if it starts producing skimmate again?

 

[rvitko]

If the air intake is connected to the pump (did not come loose in the move) and the pump is running. The issue is likely the water change and supplements. Amino acid supplements usually inhibit skimming for a few days before the skimmer goes crazy and fills with water for a few days. Any dechlorinator, stress coat, including those present in some salt mixes will also inhibit forming a foam head, if you don't add anything else, within a week you should see the beginning of skimming and it is very probable it will foam over for a few days.

 

[Righteous]

I checked the air intake hose multiple times to confirm it is connected, and it is. What's also weird is that that prior to the sump, I had to turn off the skimmer during the amino supplement because it would overflow almost immediately, and at no point did it have trouble creating a foam head. So the only supplement added has been Reef Energy A&B, which I added every day during skimmer use. No dechlorinator or stress coat, and I use the high end ESV seawater system for salt mix.

Also prior to the sump, I did a 2 gallon water change, which also had little impact on the foam head or skimmate production.

So basically the primary change has been the addition of extra water volume, and the sump itself with plumbing. I did rinse the sump, PVC and tubing, etc prior to use, but perhaps there was some residue?

If I place the skimmer in a bucket with freshly made saltwater and nothing else, should it create a foam head, or does the foam head itself require organics?

 

[rvitko]

Skimming requires organics, think of it like whipping egg whites, that is essentially what you are doing, the egg whites are protein, the air and water churning is the whisk, both have to be their for it to work. I think you just need time, so much of the water is new any waste is very dilute any suspended sediment from the move also breaks down the foam column.