Tunze Products Driving me crazy

tsintse

New member
Ok at this point I am very frustrated with my 3 tunze purchases in which I have never been able to function properly.

First purchase, about two years ago I bought a Tunze 9002 DOC skimmer for my modified Nano Aquapod. After a couple months in my tank I noticed no production of foam and figured something was wrong with it so took it out to examine. I disassembled everything and couldn't find a thing wrong. Put it back in the tank, week or two later still nothing...this is a dirty nano, with nothing but zoas and mushrooms and there is definitely stuff to be skimmed out of there. I have no time to deal with this so I grab an old Aqua C which has been performing at an expected mediocre rate. The 9002 has been sitting unused in my garage until recently.

Purchase no. two, about a year back I was having a custom 20 gallon nano built by Jason at CFI and needed a temp holding tank for the livestock that was going into the new tank. I bought a tunze nanostream 6025 just to keep some water moving. Worked great for a week and then would sporadically start making a horrible clicking noise. Took the unit out and apart, put it back together only to have it stop functioning again after another week. No big deal, it's a temporary tank and not going to be running forever. In the meantime I thought I would try running the old 9002 on the temp tank...absolutely no luck.

Finally my most frustrating purchase from Tunze, a 9005 doc skimmer. The sump for my new custom nano has limited space and it just happened that the 9005 would fit in their perfectly. I was very skeptical about purchasing another Tunze unit since my experience from the 9002 but everyone reassured this must have been a fluke. So I bit the bullet and picked and picked up a 9005 plus the magnet mounting kit. I was incredulous when after a month in the sump I was getting nothing as far a foam production. After pulling it out and examining it I found the internal pump broken and disconnected from the body. Marine Depot was very kind and sent me another unit no questions asked. So now I have unit two which is sitting in my sump at the blue line marked on the side of the unit and still NOTHING. I'd say unit two has been installed as recommended by the directions in the box in my sump for 2+ months and I could probably produce more foam blowing into the water with a straw.

So I need to ask.. what gives? Do I just have the worst luck with your products? Am I missing something? Is there some special procedure that needs to be done with these skimmers before they function? I have almost 600 dollars into what are considered top of the line products and not one has worked for me. It's frustrating because I have a VERY limited amount of time between work, family, and graduate school which is why I try and buy products that are supposed to perform out of the box. Now I feel like I'm faced with a lot of extra work to try and get this stuff functioning the way it's supposed to... well the 9005 at least, I was so frustrated with the 9002 that it's now last weeks trash.

Any suggestions before I call Marine Depot for an RMA?
 
I would happily repair your 9002 and your 6025 can be replaced, the early 6025's had some defects and we are replacing them. The 9005 I would need to get back and see what is wrong. You can send all the items to me and we will get them taken care of.

The 6025 I know was a defect and we will make it right but without seeing the 9002 or 9005 I could not guess as to what may be wrong.

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin TX 78753
 
Thanks Roger, give me a couple days to get everything together and properly boxed. I have a couple questions but I'll shoot them to you in PM.
 
I spent a month trying to get my working and realised I had forced the nipple that attaches the airline to the pump too far and it was blocking the nozzle.

I took the pump out and tried it in a salt bucket. It was obvious then that the pump was still pumping fine so it had to be something to do with the air. You then have to work out why the air isn't getting mixed in. Least ways thats how I figured it out. I guess if the pump is still good you will be able to fix it at home. If its gone it is a return to base.
 
Hey Wookie, thanks for the tip. I have the stuff packed and ready to go but I'll definitely give that a try before I put extra work on Rogers desk.
 
tsintse, I tried to send a PM but your inbox is full:

The 6025 is no problem, I will replace it and the 9005 has a defective pump, I will replace that. However the "9002" is actually a 3110/2, we stopped making this skimmer over 4 years ago. It needs a new pump but it is an older model, the pumps are obsolete but I do have stock and can fix it up. The pump runs $45.40. The main differences between the 9002 and 3110/2 besides the color (9002 is black, 3110/2 was brown) is the pump is weaker by about 30 gph. The pump mounting is different as well so it cannot be upgraded. It was a weaker skimmer but should be adequate for up to a 29. Let me know what you want to do about the 3110/2.
 
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