Tunze 9010 Skimmer Question

[messina06]

Roger,
You helped me out before in this forum on a few questions i had in getting my skimmer to work properly. It seems as though i am still not getting the results that i feel I should be in regards to the amount of bubbles making it into the collection cup.

I am now thinking it has something to do with the water level in my sump. It is currently about 3 inches below the blue water level line on the side of the skimmer. Is that the max water leval hight or is that where the water should be to work properly? If so, i can make some changes to my sump area to raise the water level in that section.

Thanks

 

[rvitko]

If you are using the sump kit and it is installed correctly so water is exiting the standpipe, then any water level from 4-10.5" is fine and should not make a difference. The key is water must always exit the pipe at a slow trickle. This means the water inside is dammed up to the correct level.

If you are not using the stand pipe/sump kit, the marked line is the maximum and the minimum is about 1.5" below that.

 

[messina06]

i am just at a loss then...i cant seem to get this thing to work properly. I have purchased a new Hydor pump and water is coming out of the pipe. It is not shooting out of it but it is def flowing out of it. I did the air test where i unscrewed the blue screw, disconnected the clear air tube and put my fingers on botht the inside and outised of the hole, no air leaker out. Is there anything else i can test as i will be taking it apart again when i get home to see if i see why i cant seem to get the bubbles to stay in the tube and ultimily collect in the cup. I do get a tiny bit but i have 9 fish and just feel that it should produicing more stuff. Thanks roger

 

[rvitko]

Do you mean a Hydrofoamer pump? A Hydor pump would not work, this skimmer is really built around the pump and needs a Tunze 9010 or 9011 pump to work properly.

There are dozens of possibilities, everything from a mature tank that has enough detritivores and secondary consumers (sponges, forams, etc) that there is not much organic load left to a mechanical issue with the skimmer or an issue with placement (flow is too fast near the skimmer). I would be sure the pump is installed properly so that the output is inside the clear jet pipe in the skimmer. I would also be sure the venturi nozzle is not damaged. You are welcome to send it in and I would go over everything and depending on how much downtime you could spare I could run it for a few days and check the skimmate production, or I could just check the mechanics and air draw are correct (basically 1-2 days vs 4-7 days)

 

[messina06]

sorry, yes i meant hydrofoamer pump. I will take it apart and see if i can see anything, i will then rerun it for a bit and see if i can get any better results. that tank is definitly established with many detrtivores so maybe that is the case. I just see pictures of skimmers with tons for skinmate. If the problem continues I will take you up on that and send it in.

The skimmer is next to the overflow but i have an acrylic box that minimizes the water agitation, maybe this is the reason as well. I may try and create more of a barrier and see if that helps aswell/

Thanks once again for the quick reponse.

 

[rvitko]

It is not unheard of for a tank to achieve a natural balance where there is not much to skim, basically the owner becomes more skilled at knowing when and how much to feed and all the small life in the tank of sponges, tube worms, tunicates, forams, take up the leftovers. In these cases even a much bigger skimmer will struggle to pull much more out and usually if more is removed, some of this life will decline. It really depends on the set up type, if you are running a fairly sterile SPS bare bottom tank with rock that was dry and sterile, this will likely never happen and the skimmer will always be performing, but in an established mixed reef with natural live rock with an abundance of life on it, it certainly can happen after a couple years or more of being up and running.

It is also entirely possible the skimmer is not performing properly, the real test would be to try it on another system, if you have a good LFS, live rock curing and holding tanks are always a good test, there is definitely plenty in such a system.

 

[messina06]

interesting....I sure wouldnt mind that to be the case!
I have had this tank established for roughly 10 years and have tons of live rock and a well established sandbed with refigium. I do have tons of brittle stars/tube worms and other criters that help clean out the system. I jsut did a recent upgrade to my system in regards to lighting and flow and just want to make sure all my systmes are in check as i begin to introduce SPS. I still plan on removing the skimmer and taking it apart to make sure everything looks good. Maybe I should run it in a bucket with 1 part white vinigear / 4 part water for a few hours to clean it out? I have noticed that there are actually tube worms in the interior of the skimmer.

WHat do you think?

 

[rvitko]

I would do that, but make sure the skimmer is completely submerged with the blue air adjustment screw removed, this will draw the solution through all the air passages and get them thoroughly cleaned, I would run it at least 6 hours.

 

[messina06]

I will do that tonight. Would it be best to run overnight or would that be too long?

 

[rvitko]

That would be fine, I would keep it under 12hrs, it is essentially like running a mini 20W heater in a 5 gallon bucket, the water does get warm, after about 6 hours the water will be about 85 degrees and you don't want it to get to much hotter or the pump safety could activate.