tunze 9010 not skimming

[slowflow]

I have a 9010 skimmer in sump, the water level is about 7 inches, I can not get it to skim well. It has dry foam that goes to the top of the skimmer cup, but never really over flows

 

[rvitko]

How long has it been running, does water exit the outlet pipe?

 

[slowflow]

it has been running about 1 month, it does exit out the exit pipe

 

[rvitko]

OK, the most likely culprit is the venturi nozzle. I will post some pics and explanations.

 

[rvitko]

Here is what the hydrofoamer housing should look like, the tip, here it is brown but yours may be black, is the venturi nozzle. A nipple from the airline plugs into this, it should fit firmly, so much so that you can lift the pump by the hose. If it comes out easily the nozzle is defective. Be sure that the airline is not pinched, their is a hook in the skimmer body that retains the hose, if the hose is pinched between the pump and the body that can also be a culprit.

 

[rvitko]

Here is a pic of the nozzle removed

 

[rvitko]

If it comes off like this it has come unglued or is broken.

 

[slowflow]

The nozzle is on, and will hold up the pump. The cylinder shaft not the one the pump flows water too, but the clear one came off, can it be glued back,could that be the problem. And if it can be glued back, what type of glue

 

[rvitko]

Can you post a picture? Do you mean the silencer? The only clear tubes are the Jet pipe and the Silencer.

 

[slowflow]

I am having a hard time posting a picture, but it is a clear clinder the has 2 air lines going into it, a black air line at the top, that connects to the blue screw, and a clear air line at the bottom that connects to the pump

 

[rvitko]

So that piece came loose? It is not disconnected? If the airhoses or caps they attach to came loose it is a more difficult repair and we should probably replace it, this would make sense as water would seep in and reduce your airflow since this piece is basically a muffler to silence the air flow.

 

[slowflow]

The cap piece came off, how can I go about replacing that part.

 

[rvitko]

Send me the skimmer body and we will replace it.

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin TX 78753

It sounds like it had a rough time in transit.

 

[Crillo]

Can't you just glue the nipple to the nozzle so there are no leaks around it or is there some other problem with these nozzles?

I understand it becomes harder to clean.

 

[rvitko]

That is not a good idea, these parts have to be clean to work well and if you glue it you will need to buy a new one likely in less than a year.

 

[happyclam]

Huh, thats funny. My nozzle came off like that right out of the box (the 3rd pic).It does produce foam which almost rises all the way, but I thought that was because of the low bioload (only refugium set up right now) that it wasn't skimming. If that is suppose to not come off, how do you disconnect the pump for maintenance?

 

[rvitko]

You just pull the airline nipple out of the nozzle and the whole pump with nozzle pulls out. If you give me your name and address I will send the part you need.