Tunze 9006 Skimmer males tons of micro bubbles.

[VJV]

Hi, I bought a 9006 skimmer and a 3166.50 filter for my 100L quarantine tank and even though several months have gone by the skimmer keeps producing a lot of micro bubbles. It also does not seem to produce a lot of skimmate, even though that could be due to the fact that I only have two fish in the tank.

I understand I can close the trapdoor below but 1) would this not decrease the skimming and 2) given that it has been on for a month already shouldn't the bubbles have gone away by now?

The last time I had the QT going for 2 months and it never stopped producing them.

Thanks!

 

[rvitko]

1) It slows the skimming response, in may slightly reduce how much is removed because with the longer response time some waste will decompose, but the main effect is that waste is removed more slowly.

2) Not necessarily, a QT tank is particularly difficult as the water is likely changed frequently and in large volumes and it is a relatively small set up. You will generally need to close the shutter door to reduce the microbubble production.

 

[VJV]

Tunze 9006 Skimmer males tons of micro bubbles.

Thanks! Can i close it completely? And you are right, I do make large (2x50%) water changes every week so the water is always new.

 

[rvitko]

Yes, you can close it completely. If possible just to test, you might try not doing a water change for a couple weeks or aging the new saltwater longer, freshly mixed it will have a high level of dissolved oxygen.

 

[VJV]

Thanks! I will close it and see what happens. Given this is a QT with no live rock I am afraid that ammonia builds up if I skip the water changes. I also use Red Sea Pro sly which they specifically mention that under no city stances should be mixed by more than 4 hours, so not sure if aging it is a good idea. In any event, being a QT I am not overly concerned about the bubbles. Just wondering if there was a problem with the skimmer which apparently is not the case so all is well [emoji4].

 

[rvitko]

That is strange, usually how long you mix salt is important to the KH, it needs to take in some CO2 and react fully to balance out, it could be the way it is mixed, the older literature always recommended an air pump for 24-72 hrs, it could be that a water pump makes heat and causes a precipitation.

 

[VJV]

That is correct. Red Sea even has a video on YouTube on how to do it. The instructions state that you mix it from 30min to 2h, but never more than 4h, and at room temp. Previously I used to mix it for 24h with a heater and indeed there was precipitation but since I have started using the recommended method it is good. One alternative could be to use only water from my main display for water changes in the QT...?

 

[rvitko]

This could be something to try, you might also try mixing the salt water with just an air pump and airstone, it is very slow, but that is what the manufacturer I use recommends. I have always used hW and they suggest to add the salt to the water, never the other way around and to stir it to dissolve most of it and then simply add an airstone and wait at least 24hrs.