Tunze nano skimmer help!

[dstoneburg]

I have a tunze nano skimmer I purchased used. The first few days it worked wonders, I then took it out to move some stuff around and put it back in and for the past five days it hasnt stopped the microbubbles. They are going crazy! So I took it apart and cleaned it and the past few days no change. What shall I do?

 

[dstoneburg]

Its not skimming like it should(or was) either. Its creating small bubbles and overlfowing very fast when the screw is barely open. When it worked great the screw was open about 5 turns and creating very large bubbles.

Heres pics, kinda hard to tell but every spec in the pic are micrlbbubles. And a shot of the underneat of the tunze shows tons of microbubbles.

 

[rvitko]

When you worked on the tank did you add any new additives or stir up the sand or due a water change? I suspect a change in the surface tension has caused this and it will resolve itself in a few days.

 

[dstoneburg]

Its been about 3-4 days or so. I did add some aquamend(Which ive been told makes the skimmer go wild) possible stirred some stuff up, but five days for it to go back to normal?? I also did a water change. Its hard to believe thats what causing it, and if it is, is it going to happen everytime I mess with the tank?

 

[rvitko]

Aquamend is an epoxy stick correct? This does cause this and it can take quite a while to return to normal. For our epoxy stick we always recommend that the epoxy be applied and cured in a seperate container for just this reason. It may take a while to settle down but I believe the epoxy is the main culprit. Running some carbon or a scavenger resin will help.

 

[dstoneburg]

Argh, any guess on how long 'a while' is? Also I run carbon 24/7 and have been. Thx for the quick replies!

 

[rvitko]

I would expect it will slowly settle down as the epoxy residue is removed, normal scenario in these case is a couple days of no skimming, a few days of cups full of water and then things start to get back to normal.

 

[dstoneburg]

Whys it affecting this skimmer so much, when ive used the same product before and didnt even phase my das-ex1?

 

[shawnz28]

My guess without knowing tank sizes etc... is dilution or better said quanity of epoxy used to tank volume. I am guessing the DAS was used on a larger tank than the 9002. If the skimmer fills the cup quickly with "clear" water are you pouring the water back to the tank or down the drain? I dont use epoxy much myself for this reason well that and i just prefer superglue

 

[dstoneburg]

Its dailed down so low its not filling the cup. The bubbles its producing in the skimmer are microbubbles. Im doing a 15% water change tonight hoping to help the situation. I used superglue gel + epoxy, and as of yet never heard anyone have a problem. If I let the skimmer actually skim something the cup fills in about 15 seconds if I set it to the lowest it will go. So thats pretty much out of the questions.

 

[rvitko]

I have had this same experience with all the skimmers I have used which include several Tunze models, an older Euroreef with Eheim pump and Sanders skimmers as well as a Red Sea Berlin. Anything that affects surface tension will cause this, the more compact a skimmer is, the greater the effect as smaller skimmers usually cheat the contact time with recirculation baffles and the effect of surface tension is a bit exaggerated. It will go back to normal but it is going to take a while.