Tunze 9004 Tuning?

[Olliesshop]

I purchased a Tunze 9004 skimmer 2 1/2 weeks ago and am having trouble getting good skimmate. I'm new to the saltwater side after years of freshwater, so I don't have experience tuning skimmers. Also, my tank is pretty new, at 3 1/2 months old, and is fully cycled. Now I'm trying to use the skimmer to get the Nitrates down from the current level of 9 ppm.

Questions:
"¢ From the comments I've read, it seems like it might take another week or two to break-in. Does that sound right?
"¢ How often should I clean the cup? I've been cleaning it when it gets dirty, which is every couple of days. Is that too often?
"¢ The water level is set to the 2nd or 3rd mark down from the top, since it seems to work best there. Am I way off or does that sound right?
"¢ I've been experimenting with air flow, but is that a good idea? Or should I just let it run wide-open?

Thanks for any help!

 

[rvitko]

Please note that a skimmer cannot remove nitrate, it can reduce how quickly it rises but without using an additive that can bind the nitrate to a larger molecule, the skimmer cannot remove it. It removes larger organics that break down into nitrate and phosphate but some always do become nitrate and once nitrate, only biological processes, additives which bind it, filter resins and water changes will remove it. Also be very careful on interpreting test kits, all but the very best lab type kits from Lamotte and Machinery Nagel tend to measure total nitrogen and not Nitrate, the real Nitrate level will usually be about a 1/3rd of what the typical hobbyist test shows. With nitrate you are looking for trends, not exact numbers, is it going up and how fast is what you need to note.

Their is a mark on the back of the skimmer for the water line, follow that mark. It is best to leave the air as open as possible, always start with it wide open and adjust it as little as possible. By now I would expect some skimming, the break in mainly has to do with how watery it is and how many bubbles escape. A skimmer can only skim larger organics like proteins and cellulose so inhabitants that are being fed (or dying and decomposing) have to be present in sufficient number. I would generally clean the cup every few days.

 

[Nrupaw]

I purchased a Tunze 9004 skimmer 2 1/2 weeks ago and am having trouble getting good skimmate. I'm new to the saltwater side after years of freshwater, so I don't have experience tuning skimmers. Also, my tank is pretty new, at 3 1/2 months old, and is fully cycled. Now I'm trying to use the skimmer to get the Nitrates down from the current level of 9 ppm.

Questions:
"¢ From the comments I've read, it seems like it might take another week or two to break-in. Does that sound right?
"¢ How often should I clean the cup? I've been cleaning it when it gets dirty, which is every couple of days. Is that too often?
"¢ The water level is set to the 2nd or 3rd mark down from the top, since it seems to work best there. Am I way off or does that sound right?
"¢ I've been experimenting with air flow, but is that a good idea? Or should I just let it run wide-open?

Thanks for any help!

I am a Tunze 9004 user.

Water Level - if you look at the back of the skimmer, there is marking where it says 'osmolator level'. thats what you should run it at. I didn't know myself. it doesn't mention in the manual. happened to come across it when i was cleaning it once. lol

the optimal level for me is like an 1/2 inch above the bottom of the intake baffles

Tunze 9004 is a great skimmer but its a b*tch to open up and put back together. when i first got it, it didn't skim properly for a whole week. took to to my LFS and they put it back together for me the right way. guess the internal parts had moved around during shipping.

here's how the inside of it should be setup (found this pic online)
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/i...mline-DOC-Skimmer-9004-4_zpsacdbbf9e.jpg.html

if not broken/not need cleaning, then don't open up. took me hours to put back together with LFS help

give it 4-5 days to start skimming. i ran mine in a vinegar water mix for 48 hrs to remove manufacturing oils prior to putting it in my tank. if you din't do that, then it'd take some time to start skimming properly. basically you want to look for the level of bubbles to rise up in the neck every day you check

I run my skimmer with the air wide open and the tuner just slightly tightened. give me wet skimmer, which i believe is right. i haven't played with it too much

for me every 2-3 days the cup is 1/2 full. i empty it out, clean the cup's neck with a toothbrush and stick it on back


hope this info helps you

 

[Olliesshop]

Please note that a skimmer cannot remove nitrate, it can reduce how quickly it rises but without using an additive that can bind the nitrate to a larger molecule, the skimmer cannot remove it. It removes larger organics that break down into nitrate and phosphate but some always do become nitrate and once nitrate, only biological processes, additives which bind it, filter resins and water changes will remove it. Also be very careful on interpreting test kits, all but the very best lab type kits from Lamotte and Machinery Nagel tend to measure total nitrogen and not Nitrate, the real Nitrate level will usually be about a 1/3rd of what the typical hobbyist test shows. With nitrate you are looking for trends, not exact numbers, is it going up and how fast is what you need to note.

Their is a mark on the back of the skimmer for the water line, follow that mark. It is best to leave the air as open as possible, always start with it wide open and adjust it as little as possible. By now I would expect some skimming, the break in mainly has to do with how watery it is and how many bubbles escape. A skimmer can only skim larger organics like proteins and cellulose so inhabitants that are being fed (or dying and decomposing) have to be present in sufficient number. I would generally clean the cup every few days.

Thanks Roger ...

Thanks for the reminder on it not being able to remove Nitrates. I'll research this more. Do you have any ideas?

On the testing, I have a Lamotte test kit and it's reading a 2, which converts to 8.8 ppm. I'm trying to get rid of Cyano Algae and Hair Algae that just won't go away. My Phosphates are 0 ppm (Hanna) and I have a reasonable amount of flow so I'm thinking the Nitrates are too high?

Great news on the water mark and air flow, that should help!

 

[Olliesshop]

I am a Tunze 9004 user.

Water Level - if you look at the back of the skimmer, there is marking where it says 'osmolator level'. thats what you should run it at. I didn't know myself. it doesn't mention in the manual. happened to come across it when i was cleaning it once. lol

the optimal level for me is like an 1/2 inch above the bottom of the intake baffles

Tunze 9004 is a great skimmer but its a b*tch to open up and put back together. when i first got it, it didn't skim properly for a whole week. took to to my LFS and they put it back together for me the right way. guess the internal parts had moved around during shipping.

here's how the inside of it should be setup (found this pic online)
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/i...mline-DOC-Skimmer-9004-4_zpsacdbbf9e.jpg.html

if not broken/not need cleaning, then don't open up. took me hours to put back together with LFS help

give it 4-5 days to start skimming. i ran mine in a vinegar water mix for 48 hrs to remove manufacturing oils prior to putting it in my tank. if you din't do that, then it'd take some time to start skimming properly. basically you want to look for the level of bubbles to rise up in the neck every day you check

I run my skimmer with the air wide open and the tuner just slightly tightened. give me wet skimmer, which i believe is right. i haven't played with it too much

for me every 2-3 days the cup is 1/2 full. i empty it out, clean the cup's neck with a toothbrush and stick it on back


hope this info helps you

Thank you for your help on this!

I'll set mine to the water level you suggest and see what happens.

I took mine apart too, to make sure everything looked ok. It sure was a challenge getting it back together.

I'll take your other advice too ... Thanks again!

 

[Nrupaw]

Ping me if you have more questions.

 

[rvitko]

Lighting can be a factor in algae problems, sunlight, low K bulbs and older bulbs can all be causes. Lower redox due to built up detritus or inadequate flow or skimming can also be causes. Hair algae can persist due to phosphates bound to the rock. For cyan I always just use hydrogen peroxide 3% dosed at 1 teaspoon per 50 gallons per day for 2 weeks, this will usually substantially knock it back if not eliminate it so long as the cause is not a lighting issue, shaving an hour off of the photoperiod can also help as can an interrupted photo period, for example 5 hours, a 1-2 hour break and 5 hours, lower algae cannot handle the interruption very well.

 

[Olliesshop]

Lighting can be a factor in algae problems, sunlight, low K bulbs and older bulbs can all be causes. Lower redox due to built up detritus or inadequate flow or skimming can also be causes. Hair algae can persist due to phosphates bound to the rock. For cyan I always just use hydrogen peroxide 3% dosed at 1 teaspoon per 50 gallons per day for 2 weeks, this will usually substantially knock it back if not eliminate it so long as the cause is not a lighting issue, shaving an hour off of the photoperiod can also help as can an interrupted photo period, for example 5 hours, a 1-2 hour break and 5 hours, lower algae cannot handle the interruption very well.

Thanks Roger. I recently reduced my lighting by 3 hours a day, to about 10 hours, it has noticeably helped with the Cyano. I also rearranged the rocks and powerhead to get better flow in the affected area and now the Cyano is pretty much gone. I'll also try breaking up the photo period.

On the hair algae, I think you're absolutely right about phosphates bound to the rock, since it only is affecting certain spots on the rock and leaving the rest of the live rock completely clean. Also there's no hair algae anywhere else in the tank. This really helps!

 

[Olliesshop]

Tunze 9004 Protein Skimmer - Custom Height Adjustable Mount

Tunze 9004 Protein Skimmer - Custom Height Adjustable Mount

I'm still in the process of tuning my Tunze 9004 skimmer and one of the most difficult adjustments to make has been using the magnets to to adjust the water level/flow. Therefore, I decided to design and make a custom mount with built-in height adjustment that can be controlled precisely. The mount replaces the magnets with a relatively simple hang-on design. I need to replace the ugly long bolt with something shorter and maybe plastic, but it works for now. I hope this gives other users ideas. Also, if you've noticed the long blue airline, that's for attaching the air inlet to a CO2 scrubber I made, using Sodalime. The scrubber increases my pH by 0.14-0.18 points, which really helps keep my pH around 8.2-8.30.

Here'a link to other pictures ... https://olliesshop.smugmug.com/Aquariums/Tunze-9004-Mount/i-sxZDQW8
Also, here's a video I made for my YouTube channel ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez1uuQ3lepM

 

[Olliesshop]

Skimmate production is highly variable... is that normal?

Skimmate production is highly variable... is that normal?

Since my last post I've made a lot of progress in trying to tune the skimmer. Although, I'm not able to find the right height, it seems.

First of all, some updated background:

• My 20g Tank is 4 1/2 month old, obviously still getting started. About 20 lbs of "getting to be Live Rock".
• My Nitrates consistently run around 10ppm and won't go below that without a waterchange.
• I'm running Biopellets in my media reactor, which being used up. About 1/2 of them are gone after 10 days, but I have to measure how much that actually is in terms of volume.
• I have 2 small Clownfish, 1 Hermit Crab, 2 Astraea Snails, about 4 Nassarius snails
• Persistent GHA only on the Live Rock I bought about 4 months ago.
• I feed the Clowns 3 times a day in what I think are very small amounts. Morning Flake food, Mid-day Blood Worms and Afternoon Arcti-Pods. I'm gradually trying to cut back, since it's probably the source of my Nitrates?

It seems, from my Newbie perspective, that my Nitrates should be lower with the Biopellets and the Skimmer. So I'm wondering if I'm not tuning the Skimmer correctly. I currently run the air flow wide open and then adjust the height a couple of times a day. Is that the best way or should I just set the height to the marked level on the back of the Tunze 9004 and let the Skimmate production settle in to what it will be.

Another point is I assume my rocks are not "Live" yet, since it's only been a few months. So I'm hopeful when they become fully live they will help with the Nitrates.

Thanks for any help on this.

 

[rvitko]

It is possible the CO2 scrubber is overly restricting the air flow. I would set it to approx the marked line on the back, possible even a little higher (so the line is above the water level by a small amount, 1/8" or so). What color and amount of skimate production are you seeing?

 

[Olliesshop]

It is possible the CO2 scrubber is overly restricting the air flow. I would set it to approx the marked line on the back, possible even a little higher (so the line is above the water level by a small amount, 1/8" or so). What color and amount of skimate production are you seeing?

I hope the CO2 scrubber isn't restricting flow, since I drilled a ton of holes in the bottom of the plastic jar. Although, I ended up using standard silicon airline tubing, which is the blue line in the picture. I also replaced the flow valve that came with the unit to a ball valve from Two Little Fishies.

It looks like I have the level set too low, based on the underwater picture. Should the inlet grooves be just barely underwater?

The skimate you can see in the pictures. It's usually very watery and a tan color.

I'm also including a video showing the airflow, the valve and the CO2 scrubber ... https://olliesshop.smugmug.com/Aquariums/Reef-Tank/i-qBZr7Nk/A

Thank you for the help!

 

[rvitko]

From the video and photos, everything looks good, my only concern is that the long length of skinny airline is a lot of added resistance and is certainly restricting the air a lot, I would try to keep the added hose as short as possible and that might boost the performance but the skimmate looks about right as does the surface skimming action. Are you sure of the test kits accuracy?

 

[rvitko]

Nevermind, I reread and you are using a Lamotte so unless it is expired, it should be spot on.

 

[Olliesshop]

Thanks once again Roger!

FYI, I test once a week with the Lamotte kit, which seems to be very accurate. My daily Nitrate measurements, though, I do with an API kit. It gives a rough reading, which is about 2-4 points lower than the Lamotte test kit.

On the air inlet, were you ever right. I shortened the hose considerably and also took out the valve and it has a lot more flow now. The valve was dramatically restricting airflow as you can see from the IDs of the valve vs. the hose. Now it's crystal clear why Tunze uses the clamping valve, since it doesn't restrict flow when it's wide open.

I sure have learned a lot on this, and will definitely absorb a ton more.