Tunze 9010 problem

[AndreP]

Got my 9010 6 months ago.It never works fine.Only 10 to 20cc a day for 2 days then stop till i clean the cup.It stop for about 8 hours when i feed fish...Tried everything,clean,check every parts.Nothing seems broken...Very disapointed with that...I bought it in Canada(Jlaquatics).What should i do.

 

[rvitko]

Contact J & L or Xenia, they will likely want it back and will test it and see what may be wrong and repair it.

 

[AndreP]

I contact them and they told me it is normal for that skimmer....If it's right it is the worst skimmer i ever seen and i have seen a lot.

 

[rvitko]

Barring some installation error, there is something wrong, if you will pay to ship it to me and pay for return shipping I will take a look at it.

 

[AndreP]

The Canadian distributor send me a new nozzle today. I install it a few minutes ago and i am waiting to see the result.If it doesn`t works i will ask what is the price for shipping and send it to you.
Thanks , André.

 

[AndreP]

I received and tried the new nozzle, i have a slight amelioration.Yesterday i gave a vinegar bath and this morning i made a complete clean of allllllllll parts.Restrart 6 hours ago and still nothing seems to come near the cup.The only thing i see is full of bubbles escaping from the base of the skimmer, re-open the skimmer and all parts seems ok.Is it normal to have some bubbles in the tank when you have no foam near the cup?Do i have to wait longer?

 

[rvitko]

What additives are you using and how long has the tank been set up? I would give it at least a day but it sounds like there is some sort of additive causing a problem.

 

[AndreP]

Iodine and strontium once a week(yesterday) The tank(130g) medium load, no sump,calcium reactor and ozone(not on the skimmer).8 months old.Can you tell me why the bubbles escape from the base??Do i have to re-open for the third time to see if something wrong?The bubbles seems to go down instead of going up!!!

 

[AndreP]

Bubbles going at the right place this morning.This skimmer always work the same way...Begin to skim in the night and reduce production in the day then stop when i feed.It takes 6 hours to start again, so it works properly only 12 hours a day.Could it be a weakness in the pump?When i remove the cup and look inside there is not much water movement.By the way water level is right on the blue line.Is it possible to look a video of this skimmer working properly? I want to try everything before sending because i don't want to be without skimmer to long.
Thanks

 

[rvitko]

I am sure you can find a you tube video, I know there are several for the 9002 skimmer. You should also be able to find many pictures here if you run a search.

What foods do you feed? Are you using the sump kit? Do you have a lot of algae growth?

 

[AndreP]

First i feed frozen(mysis,shrimp,cyclop-eeze)rinse with water someday and flake or pellet other days.I dont use sump kit, the skimmer is hold by tunze magnet.No trace of algea on the rocks but a little problem with diatom on the sand.

 

[rvitko]

What is the flow rate through the sump? Is the current in the sump very strong?

 

[AndreP]

It's not in the sump, the skimmer is on the tank.

 

[rvitko]

OK, is the flow rate by the skimmer very strong?

 

[AndreP]

No

 

[rvitko]

Are you sure the pump is installed so that the outlet of the pump is inserted into the clear jet pipe inside the skimmer body?

 

[AndreP]

It is difficult to see if it's in but i feel it's ok.This is the first thing i look at before i replace it in the aqua.Do you think that the temperature inside the top may have something to do with the decrease of foam when the light are one.I have 3x250 mh plus 2 vho and of course 2 fans and the back of the top is open.

 

[rvitko]

It is possible that the temperature is the issue. I think it may be that the pump is not inside the jet pipe, that would be the most likely to explain the poor performance and the excessive bubbles. If you remove the front plate you will be able to look inside the skimmer to see it went in. I think we ruled out vitamins, oily foods, algae growth leading to oxygen saturation.

 

[AndreP]

Skimmer re-open for the x times...The pump is in the jet pipe,the air tube is not bent.Return the skimmer in the tank.Still the same thing:full of bubbles at the beginning and when it begin to produce some skimmate then there is less bubbles in the tank.I think this skimmer is haunted...I will try again with JL to see what they could do with it.

 

[rvitko]

The only other thing I can think of is checking the venturi nozzle, I know you replaced it but it should not have come apart like this, if so it is broken and the impeller housing must be replaced-