Tunze 9015 Headache

[fixedwing]

Hello Roger,

I purchased a Tunze 9010 and then found out that the difference between the 9010 and 9015 was the collection cup. I was able to trade my cup out for a 9015 cup at Mid Cities Aquariums (In Euless, TX), you should know of them. Anyway, I have been disappointed in the unit's performance. I have a 140 gallon tank with a lot of mixed corals along with about a dozen small to mid size fish. I would think my bio-load should be a lot more than filling the 9015 collection cup up only about a 1/8" every 4 "“ 5 days. Not only that, it will never collect anything after that point. I've only been using the Tunze for about 2 mths and within these 2 months I have tried the following: set the unit in a bucket with vinegar/water to clean it out, clean my collection cup every 3 "“ 5 days (I've tried scrubbing the cup and just rinsing, results are the same), adjusted the air valve and even took the entire screw out for a couple of weeks, disassembled the unit to ensure nothing was loose or missing, took the unit to Mid Cities Aquariums to make sure a professional could confirm nothing was missing or loose, rearranged my refugium and placed the unit in a lower current part of the refugium, purchased a new top off unit to ensure a consistence water level and probably a couple other things that I just don't recall.

Do you have any recommendations on what to do????? I have done everything that Mid Cities Aquariums has told me, but nothing seems to work. They're telling me that my bio-load should be a lot more with the amount of livestock I have. I was excited to purchase my Tunze, but honestly over the past couple of months it's been a little frustrating and has been a headache.:sad2: PLEASE HELP, the only thing I can think of is maybe the cup, but I've been ensured a number of times that is not the case, what are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Todd

 

[rvitko]

Todd,

My guess is the propeller is too small or the venturi nozzle is damaged, depending on the date of manufacture the props have ranged in size, to address start up issues in brown out situations and lower voltages, the 9010's were made for about a year with a smaller prop and this won't work on a 9015. The cup does need to be cleaned weekly at a minimum and daily for best results, this goes for any skimmer, the crud on the cup impedes further skimming. Personally, I prefer the 9010 and I would have stuck with the 9010, it can skim wetter so the cup doesn't gunk up so fast and it would be sufficient for your 140.

Send me the pump with the nozzle and I will get it fixed up.

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin, TX 78753

 

[fixedwing]

Thanks Roger

Since I never ran it with the 9010 cup on it, I will get that back first and see what happens.

If I have the older model, would it be better to still replace the prop.

Todd

 

[rvitko]

On the 9010 it doesn't make a huge difference as you never use thee full performance, but on the 9015 everything has to be at the optimum to get full airflow.

 

[smatter]

Your refugium may be doing such a good job you just don't have much to skim. If you use carbon or other chemical media you will also see a reduction in skimmer production. I run a 9010 with a 9005 cup in tank as the heart of my 40g SPS biotope. I pull out about 200ml of medium tea weekly with the screw open 2.5 turns. When I run it wide open I get 400ml of lighter stuff weekly. I clean the cup twice a week. You would think with the short cup and the power of the 9010 it would just flood the cup, but there just isn't much for it to pull out. I suspect you have a similar situation. The 9010 cup should make a nice difference.

 

[str1988]

I had the same setup, a 9010 and then purchased a cup to make it a 9015. I always seemed to get better performance out of the 9010 cup and finally just stuck with it. I ran the skimmer in the tank with magnets and also in a sump with the sump kit and the results were the same with both types of setup.