Tunze skimmer and hair algae: solutions?

[happyclam]

Hello Richard.

I have a fair amount of hair algae growing in 130g system. I am currently running a 9010 skimmer on it. The venturi was broken in shipping and I reglued it using 2 part epoxy gel but it made no difference so I am going to be ordering a new impellar housing/venturi on the Tunze website.

I just wanted to double check if you think the new part will make a big difference in skimmer performance. I would hate to spend a lot on shipping to find it only makes a negligable increase in performance. I mean, do you think a properly working skimmer should clear up my hair algae issue, or should I just let the skimmer run as it is and use the $40 on a phosphate reactor instead of the new impellar housing?

Skimmer is run in first chamber of sump. I try to clean the skimmer at least 1 x a month, as I do not normally use filter socks so quite a bit of detritus drains into the sump. Skimmer is run using sump kit, blue screw completely removed. 100 mL of dark skimmate collected every week. I try to clean the neck/reaction chamber at least every other day (swish the cleaning brush around neck while operationg, rinse with a spray bottle of saltwater).

System:
130 total gallons
120 lbs LR
~2" sand bed
1 x Yellow tang
2 x Diamond goby
3 x Green chromis
2 x peppermint shrimp
and a couple of snails and hermits
I feed 1/2 to 1 cube rinsed mysis daily, nori for tang daily

Thank you once again for all your help. Great customer service for sure.

happyclam

 

[rvitko]

The only way I could know is if you sent me the old part to check out, which I am happy to do. My experience with hair algae is you have to attack it from all angles, phosphate remover, skimming, increased KH, reduced light interval and possibly new bulbs as well as water changes. It also takes a couple months to really see results. So in terms of priority, if the skimmer is performing to a reasonable extent, the phosphate reactor may be a better purchase, on the other hand, I have always just put phosphate remover in a bag in the sump in an area of good flow.

 

[happyclam]

Also, I remember reading somewhere that in 2007 a batch of venturi were drilled with too large of holes, decreasing bubble production. Could this also be affecting my skimmer? I think I purchased my skimmer in 2008 (I'll have to check my records to be sure).

I will be pulling out the skimmer this weekend for maintenance and might take you up on that offer to check out the venturi.

Also, do you think it would be safe to dose vinegar/vodka with this skimmer?

Thank you once again for all your help.

 

[rvitko]

The oversize hole is obvious problem, the nipple for the airline pops out with the slightest touch making it near impossible to install the pump. When this fit is right you can almost lift the pump by the airline.

I can't see a reason to use vodka or vinegar anymore with the carbon/solid vodka pellets that are now on the market, they seem much more fool proof and effective.