Tunze 9002 Microbubbles

[9MonthsofRain]

I have used my Tunze 9002 on another tank, but when I set it up again to use it I have microbubbles escaping out of the vents down towards the bottom on the sides of the skimmer. The bubbles are still coming up towards the top as well.

I've checked to make sure the hose didn't come loose from the needle valve on the top of the skimmer and adjusted the air intake all the way open and all the way down as far as it will go, but still have this problem.

Is there something that has come loose or any ideas on how to resolve this?

I've looked inside and I'm at a loss, but I can't use the skimmer with all the bubbles it puts into the tank.

Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[rvitko]

If it was working fine before, my suspicion is it is a water chemistry issue with the new tank. The surface tension change from various additives will really affect how far the bubbles carry, the skimmer will also produce more bubbles if the water is gas saturated from rapid coral or algae growth (highly oxygenated from photosynthetic activity) or a very high KH creating a high CO2 equilibrium. The only mechanical culprit would be that the nozzle is not inserted through the baffle or the baffle plate is broken.

 

[9MonthsofRain]

Thanks Roger,

I took a look inside and the assembly part with the air tubing, venturi and outlet tubing was in the bracket and pointing up into the black cowling that divides the top section from the bottom section. It's a little difficult to see inside the skimmer, but everything looked placed correctly and nothing looked broken.

As far as water chemistry, I'm using Tropic Marin Salt and had just mixed it. I've added some SeaChem Reef Essential additives (Reef Plus, Reef Carbonate, Reef Complete).

I'll try running it with the microbubbles for a day and see if it doesn't solve itself as the first thing to try. The only other idea that comes to mind at this point is to leave the lights off for a day to see if that has any effect.

The contents of the tank itself is 6 or 7 pounds of live rock that has been curing in a separate tank for the last 6 weeks. There aren't any corals and although there are still patches of hair algae, the rock isn't completely covered, so it doesn't seem to me like there is enough algae or coral to have a significant impact on the water chemistry.

I am using a different skimmer collection cup, but it was tested on the other tank, and worked there. The collection cup needed to be a different size to fit in my application.

 

[in2deep]

I bet if you let it run for a few weeks the microbubble problem will go away once it gets used to the new tank. Mine did.

 

[9MonthsofRain]

I think you're right, in2deep. I let it run for a day and the initial skimmate was very dry and white looking foam. It's hard for me to tell if it's fewer microbubbles or not, yet.

That's good to know it's likely to just clear itself in a couple of weeks. Thanks.

 

[Ashr]

I am also having the issue. The 9002 worked great for the first few weeks but now I am having the same issues. I have checked everything inside and all seems good. I will let it run again for a week or so and keep tweaking it and see if that works.

 

[rvitko]

Most microbubble issues are related to water chemistry. If you did not disassemble or move the skimmer in the 3 weeks since you set it up and the bubbles have just now started we can assume it is most likely one of the reasons below that is the cause.

Oxygen supersaturation, in this case the bubbles will usually increase as the light hours progress. This is caused by more dissolved oxygen than the water can hold. This can be from algae, fast growing corals, too long a photo period, a new tank, water changes done with cold water, water temperature fluctuating from cool to warm between night and day. The skimmer disturbs the pressure and degasses excess oxygen. Removing algae, reducing daylight hours and correcting temperature swings as well as letting new water for water changes sit for at least 24hrs will help correct this problem. It also tends to resolve itself as a tank matures.

Surfactant added to the aquarium- Surfactants act like dish washing detergent, they change the surface tension of the water and affect bubble size and how far they carry. Any decholorinator, stress coat, slime algae killer, vitamin, amino acid, fatty acid or medication can have this effect. As the added substance is degraded and removed the microbubble issue will disappear. Also notable some filter medias can have this effect, particularly filter flosses and pads that are not phenol free.

A high KH will result in a high CO2 level and can also have this effect. KH above 14 dKH is a possible culprit.

 

[mullinsd2]

if it is not skimming, then you should try cleaning out the cup and skimmer