tunze 9010 skimming issue

[nemosworld]

I have a tunze 9010, and lately it won't skim properly.
i have tried taking the air screw all the way out, no good, then i modded the water outlet with a valve to raise teh water level, no good.
the problem is, the skimmer makes a thick foam, but it's having trouble making it all the way the cups neck. sometimes it makes it into the collection cup but it is very little.

does the pump or impeller need replacing?
or just servicing?

Thanks!

 

[rvitko]

It needs more air, my guesses would be the venturi nozzle is dirty or broken or the airline is kinked or pinched inside the skimmer at some point. Raising the water level by a valve on the outlet is usually counterproductive as water will back up into the airintake and reduce air flow more. If it worked before and has stopped working I would lean toward the pinched/kinked airline or the dirty venturi valve. The best place to start is with submerging the entire skimmer in 1 part vinegar to 5 parts warm water. Remove the blue screw when you do this and make sure the whole thing is under water, even the screw and top lid, plug in the pump and let it run for a few hours. This will pull vinegar and water through the air lines and venturi and get everything cleaned out.

 

[nemosworld]

Thanks, will try that.

 

[dlaflamme]

nemosworld, I'm having the exact same problem in my 9010 (and have been fighting a huge algae bloom for months as a result). I got advice to come here from a coworker to look for Roger, and was about to post the same question when I searched and saw your post....I've been ready to throw in the towel and completely rebuild my 140 gal reef to get rid of the algae, and scrub the heck out of every rock - but I know that won't necessarily help long-term if my skimmer isnt working.

Not sure about you, but I'm skimming very "wet" and end up with 1/4" skimmate every two weeks if I'm lucky. It's been a frustrating few months doing manual algae removal, phosban media, and "no-light treatments," only to have it all come back within a week of lights going back on.

I have not been able to figure out why the Tunze hasn't been skimming properly (with all the stuff in my tank, it should be filling the cup!), so will try Roger's advice above...did it work for you?

 

[dlaflamme]

This is embarassing, but I'll share this in case anyone has the same problem....I may have found out my issue - after letting this thing clean overnight in a 5:1 water:vinegar solution, I noticed there was no water coming out of the outlet pipe. I pulled out my manual, and there's a troubleshooting section on this that pointed directly to a potential cause. As it turns out, at some point several months ago, I must've dislodged the outlet tube from the skimmer, and then in re-installing it didn't notice the part #9010.400, "Sleeve below cover," had fallen out - it was hiding in a corner of my sump. Without this part, there was no internal pressure building up to push old water out, and (I think) without much new water exchange inside the skimmer, it just kept skimming the water inside the box. So I'm thinking that the water inside the skimmer just got so clean and with very low exchange, there wasn't much skimmate to pull out of the water, except for the 1/4" every couple of weeks (so i guess there's a been a tiny bit of water exchange)

I cleaned the skimmer so well that it may take a few days before it reallly starts pulling out the junk, but I now have water seeping out of the outflow pipe. I'll cross my fingers. Nemosworld, in your photo it appears you have water coming out of the pipe, so I suspect this is not your problem.

DOH!