Tunze 9004 HELP

[Adam Kuhn]

Hello All,

I’ve been out of the hobby for years but recently jumped back in at the request of my 12 year old daughter. I’ve been piecing together a JBJ RL 45 but am having some pretty bad luck so far. Recently I snagged a used Tunze 9004 skimmer from eBay and am pretty disappointed so far. I’m running it in the left most chamber facing the outside of the tank with the rear magnet about 1/4” below the water line. It’s been running for just over a week and I’m having two issues:

1) it’s LOUD. I’ve checked the pump, air tubing, and everything else I can think of. I was hoping it would start to break in but it’s not getting any better at all

2) it’s producing a crazy about of bubbles. I have to keep the airline almost completely closed to keep it under control.

I’ve tried starting the skimmer with the line wide open, different water levels, etc. I took it apart and the pump itself seems to run silently when submerged when on its own.

Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

Adam

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R Adam. Unfortunately I have no experience with that skimmer, but hopefully someone who does will chime in. Just wanted to welcome you to the forum

#WelcometoR2R

 

[kin_itsu]

I have this skimmer.It seems quiet to me.And about the bubble I suggest you use the foam under the skimmer.After a few days ,the bubbles will be gone.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Welcome to R2R. I have this skimmer. When you first turn it on you need to open the valve all the way and then quickly close the valve but not completely all the way(or closed). The airline needs to look pinched while still creating foam in the cup port. The slightest hair of a turn will adjust from a dry to wet skim. The foam should reach the lower 3rd of the cup port.

The airline valve allows for a wide/large adjustment but we only use a fraction of the valves capability. The tiniest and slightest adjustment is all we do.

 

[Midrats]

Can you see a distinct waterfall falling into the intake grate? If not it's mounted to low. Mount it as high as possible while still achieving the waterfall. The more you close off the air, the faster the water flows through the skimmer resulting in bubbles escaping. Run the air wide open to slow the flow out of the bottom. There are also lots of things that act as surfactants. Certain additives and felt, sponges, or filter floss can cause excessive foaming. Poly-Filter is particularly bad.

 

[Adam Kuhn]

Thank you all! I’ve been tinkering with it but will give these ideas a try. I did order a waterbox 75.2 this week so I may be searching for a new skimmer anyway (I don’t think the sump has a high enough water level). I’m assuming my issues with the 9004 are user error since so many people seem to have great experiences. Thanks again!

 

[dimidragos]

Yes, it’s a good skimmer and should be quite for sure. In my opinion if it’s noisy something is wrong with the skimmer. If you see the waterline on the skimmer and you use that level you shuld by able to use the skimmer. Try to open the skimmer body (you find instruction on YouTube) and look maibe something is lose inside from the shipping. If everything look but your skimmer still noisy I believe you need a new one

 

[dimidragos]

I don’t have a good experience buying used aquarium hardware. It’s easy to get broken stuff or hard used items with short life. Only if you get a very good deal and deserve to overhaul the product

 

[bckey]

I bought this skimmer for an IM Nuvo 40 and hate it. It takes up the entire overflow chamber so not able to catch waste on that side. The skimmer cup just sits on top and doesn't snap on. Hard to see the skimmer cup in back. I have to get a flashlight to check it. It has to sit sideways in the chamber. I ended up buying an eshoppes nano that fits in the 2nd chamber in the back and skims really good and the cup sits in there with an oring. Tried putting the Tunze back in to free up a chamber for my heater but I soon realized exactly why I hated it and took it out. I have used the Tunze 9004 dc a total of probably 5 days on those 2 times of use and never ever liked it. It is a $200 waste of money imho. It may work for someone with a different aquarium but for the IM Nuvo 40 it flat out stinks. A lot of people on these forums love it and recommend it for the same aquarium that I have which is why I bought it in the first place. I just can't understand why when the eshoppes nano skims great and fits way better with a smaller footprint. Plus you caan use your filter sock or an intank overflow for the 1st chamber because it is now free. All my opinion but in this hobby a lot of money is wasted on wrong choices and even with research you can get bad advice.