Tunze 9001

[Hallowhead]

Howdy,

I've been using the tunze 9001 on my IM AIO and I've never felt great about it's performance. The skim is always super wet and I find the cup always filled with water instead of gunk. Does anyone have luck with it ? Or recommend a better one ?

 

[Midrats]

The 9001 is a solid little skimmer. They do tend to skim on the wetter side. Water level is important. I used to run the water level a little below the water level line to achieve a drier skim. Certain things like floss or socks if not thoroughly rinsed in hot water make it skim wet. As far as small skimmers go you'll be hard pressed to find one that can produce dark skimmate, the reaction chambers are just too small for the foam to drain.

 

[Hallowhead]

The 9001 is a solid little skimmer. They do tend to skim on the wetter side. Water level is important. I used to run the water level a little below the water level line to achieve a drier skim. Certain things like floss or socks if not thoroughly rinsed in hot water make it skim wet. As far as small skimmers go you'll be hard pressed to find one that can produce dark skimmate, the reaction chambers are just too small for the foam to drain.

I'm not sure I'm entirely sure where the water line even is. It's always wet and fills up so quickly about a day.

I may need to try changing location. You said you ran it below water level implying the skimmer was deeper into water ? Or higher out of water ?

 

[Midrats]

I ran the water level .25" below the squiggly line, so more out of the water. Does the water level stay constant in the chamber you have it in?

 

[Erik the Red]

I am seeking for some help from other users of the same skimmer.

I am into the cycling phase, no fish in the tank.

The advised water level mark of my Tunze (excluding the collection cup) is 3.5 inches above the actual water level, but still it is skimming wet like hell and making a huge amount of foam. The air is fully open.
There is a huge amount of microbubbles coming up from the side of the skimmer (but not in the display tank). The pump and foam barrier are mounted as shown in the instructions.

do you have any ideas why it works like that? Is it normal?

thanks for your time!

 

[X-37B]

I used one on my nano and still have it somewhere, lol.
Still in cycle turn it off.
You need doc for it to work right.
Wait until you have a bioload and then turn it on in a month or 2.

 

[Erik the Red]

I used one on my nano and still have it somewhwre, lol.
Still in cycle turn it off.
You need doc for it to work right.
Wait until you have a bioload and then turn it on in a month or 2.

So you think its not working properly for a lack of bioload?

 

[X-37B]

So you think its not working properly for a lack of bioload?

Yes. When you get a bioload you can adjust the skim level by raising it up.
Is this the dc version?

 

[BitReef]

BRS did a good video about skimmer tuning. If you do not have any bioload in your tank, then there’s not enough “fuel” and your skimmer is running lean. Probably best to turn it off until you have some tank inhabitants and are feeding, producing nutrients.

 

[lancesmith1]

if he is cycling live rock in the tank he has a bioload. and / or is ghost feeding.

 

[X-37B]

Just looked at your build thread.
Started with dead rock.
From the pics the skimmer needs to be raised up as the water level is to high.

 

[Midrats]

^^^This^^^ The water level is really the only way to control the consistency of the foam on the 9001. Raise it up a half inch or so and adjust as needed.

 

[Alex808]

Mine runs like a champ. Water level is right around the line usually but depends on the flow in my Aquaclear110 and I keep the air Nearly closed. It really doesn’t need that much air to run and when it’s wide open it’ll just splash water up into the cup. I get nice funky green skim that’s really cloudy and the cup is really funky too. Only took a few day’s to break in but day 1 was making skim.

My system was approaching 1 years old before I added the skimmer btw.

 

[Erik the Red]

Yes. When you get a bioload you can adjust the skim level by raising it up.
Is this the dc version?

no, it is the standard motor version

Just looked at your build thread.
Started with dead rock.
From the pics the skimmer needs to be raised up as the water level is to high.

I started with dry rocks, but I have literally just received 4kg of live rocks to help with the cycle since the water is white and cloudy. It never happened before, but it’s also true that this was the first time I started with dry rocks.

The skimmer is already 3.5 inches (ca. 9cm) above the advised water level. If I pull it more up, the pump will be in the open air

thanks everyone for the reply, by the way!

 

[Fishel]

Same issue here but my tank is day 1 cycle lol. I’ll turn it off for now. Just wanted to note though the directions say to run the thing with air wide open after the break in. I know someone mentioned running it reduced.

 

[Alex808]

Same issue here but my tank is day 1 cycle lol. I’ll turn it off for now. Just wanted to note though the directions say to run the thing with air wide open after the break in. I know someone mentioned running it reduced.

Right here. I keep the air valve almost shut. Whatever the pump is doing it’s very efficient because I’m getting good foam and a ton of skim. It’s very watery skim but it’s super cloudy and a ton of funky skim on the casing. My tank was very mature though by the time I set it up.