Tunze 9002...with no results

[MechEng99]

Hi, I just purchased a Tunze 9002. After playing with it for 3+ hours yesterday, there is still no bubbling whatsoever.

My tank is 8 months old (40g reef only). The skimmer is placed at the water mark in the water. If I raise the skimmer about 6" out of the water, foam does start, but it comes nowhere near reaching the top of the skimmer. I've tried opening and closing the airscrew. My only thought is, is there supposed to be water in the air tubing? When I open the airscrew, water just pours out (I assume it's called an airscrew for a reason.)

Thanks so much for any and all help. I'm excited to get this going!

 

[rvitko]

I would suspect something is wrong with the venturi assembly on the pump. Take the pump out and double check that the hose has no kinks and the elbow that supplies the air to the venturi is inserted properly. If this doesn't solve it I will send a new venturi nozzle. Water should not come out of the air screw. Either the airline is inserted wrong or the venturi nozzle has a defect that is reversing its function.

 

[MechEng99]

Makes sense. It'll be a couple of days before I get a chance to take it apart. You don't happen to have a good diagram of the internal parts, do you? I just have the owner's manual, and it's rather small to see. If not, I'm sure I'll be fine.

Thank you!!!

 

[rvitko]

All I have is the manual but I can send it as a PDF so you can zoom in with Acrobat.

 

[MechEng99]

No, I'll be fine. Thank you though! Hopefully I'll have some time tonight to take a look-see. I really appreciate your help.

 

[MechEng99]

I took the skimmer apart, found nothing obviously wrong, and put it back together. Water is no longer coming out of the airscrew, however, there is still no bubbling occuring unless the skimmer is 3/4 out of the water. Even then, the bubbles come nowhere near close enough to reach the cup. When the skimmer is at the water mark, the water appears to be completely still. I only have 72 hours to report a defective product from the company I purchased it from. Should I go ahead and contact them?

 

[rvitko]

Don't worry about it, I will send a complete new venturi tomorrow if you PM me your address. I suspect it has a wrong nozzle from another model skimmer.

 

[MechEng99]

You have a PM

 

[MechEng99]

After replacing the new nozzle and tinkering around with it for a few minutes, everything is in working condition! Every time I put it back together, a piece would become disconnected inside. Since the exterior was black, I couldn't see this happening. So, all I did was make sure that piece was really well connected...put it back together...and voila!

Thank you so much for your help!!! I'm very impressed with this little skimmer...and even moreso with the customer service.

 

[rvitko]

Thanks! I am glad it worked out.