Tunze DOC 9004 Skimmer?

Tristan · Sep 28, 2016

So I've been looking for a skimmer for my 25 and I've narrowed it down to this. Reviews on this? Is it good or bad? Tips? Do you skim wet or dry? Etc.

saltyphish · Sep 29, 2016

I skim wet with mine.

reefwiser · Sep 29, 2016

Tunze skimmers are great they are well made and easy to clean and take apart. I generally skim dry.

Midrats · Sep 29, 2016

Long time Tunze fan here. I have the 9004 on a small tank mounted internally. It draws water in from the surface and does an excellent job mitigating any surface film. I have it set to produce a dark tea colored effluent. Adjusting the air and height of the unit one can skim wet or fairly dry. I have had no issues with bubbles escaping.

Tristan · Sep 29, 2016

squareriggersailor said:
Long time Tunze fan here. I have the 9004 on a small tank mounted internally. It draws water in from the surface and does an excellent job mitigating any surface film. I have it set to produce a dark tea colored effluent. Adjusting the air and height of the unit one can skim wet or fairly dry. I have had no issues with bubbles escaping.

Ordered it today. It's coming tomorrow. Hopefully it does a good job

redfishbluefish · Sep 29, 2016

I liked the 9004 when I had it on a JBJ 28. Started with a 9002 that I didn't like. The 9004 is easy to adjust and clean and does a good job....I like a nice dark skimmate...so "dry" I guess.

jamesbog283 · Sep 29, 2016

I just bought one tonight and it's giving me problems setting it up I'm brand new to this hobby so please forgive my ignorance. This is what it is doingThe top reservoir is filling with water
Then leaking out the top
I'm getting extremely frustrated here trying to figure out why its doing this.... I've been messing with it for almost 3 hrs advice please?

Darryl · Sep 29, 2016

turn the air down almost closed till it breaks in and then slowly open the air up
the foam should be at the bottom of cone for a bit then after it breaks in it will stop that.
that simple

jamesbog283 · Sep 29, 2016

By turning the air down i get a small build up of bubbles by the intake is that normal?

Darryl · Sep 29, 2016

yes and if you have to almost shut the air off till it breaks in thats fine too the lower the air bubbles are in cone the dryer the skim will be
be patient

jamesbog283 · Sep 29, 2016

Thank you! It just didn't look like anything in any of the videos I'd seen and was trying to make it work without breaking something...lol. Lucky it was only my sanity

Darryl · Sep 30, 2016

no problem enjoy it i have several on my tanks and they are the cats meow.
once you get the hang of this then look into the tunze 9004 Controllable

reefwiser · Sep 30, 2016

Great job more air is not a good thing with a skimmer. It doesn't take a lot to get one to work.

Midrats · Sep 30, 2016

From what I can see it looks like you might have it mounted a little too deep. I have found that it works best with the water no more than one third up the intake grill. I keep mine at a quarter of the way up. If you don't see a distinct waterfall effect into the intake you will see the problems you are having. They also work best with the air wide open. Reducing the air inside the body of the skimmer speeds up the flow of water which can lead to bubbles escaping, especially during the run in phase.

jamesbog283 · Sep 30, 2016

squareriggersailor said:
From what I can see it looks like you might have it mounted a little too deep. I have found that it works best with the water no more than one third up the intake grill. I keep mine at a quarter of the way up. If you don't see a distinct waterfall effect into the intake you will see the problems you are having. They also work best with the air wide open. Reducing the air inside the body of the skimmer speeds up the flow of water which can lead to bubbles escaping, especially during the run in phase.

I did raise it last night slightly. I actually did not even see the water level mark on the back so I've adjusted it accordingly. The air screw currently is almost closed tight. If I open it anymore the reservoir fills and I get the issue in the videos :/. My tank is now pretty full of micro bubbles but I understand they will go away once the skimmer is broken in? A day or two is my understanding?

Midrats · Sep 30, 2016

Disregard the mark on the back and raise it as far as you can while maintaining a waterfall effect into the intake. Closing off the air causes bubbles to escape, I don't recommend it. Let the cup fill up. Just dump it. It'll settle down soon, don't worry. You can also post a question in the Tunze sponsored forum here. Roger gives some of the best customer support in the industry.

jamesbog283 · Sep 30, 2016

squareriggersailor said:
Disregard the mark on the back and raise it as far as you can while maintaining a waterfall effect into the intake. Closing off the air causes bubbles to escape, I don't recommend it. Let the cup fill up. Just dump it. It'll settle down soon, don't worry. You can also post a question in the Tunze sponsored forum here. Roger gives some of the best customer support in the industry.

Cool thank you. I'll do that tonight after work. Does it matter that the cup fill is about a minute? Lol I'll have to stand there 24/7 to dump it until it breaks in.

Midrats · Sep 30, 2016

It won't hurt anything to sit full for a while. Moving it up will help too. This is standard ops for this skimmer, and all skimmers for that matter. I've not had one not settle down after a day or two.

jamesbog283 · Sep 30, 2016

squareriggersailor said:
It won't hurt anything to sit full for a while. Moving it up will help too. This is standard ops for this skimmer, and all skimmers for that matter. I've not had one not settle down after a day or two.

What is the tunze sponsored link? I'd like to ask roger a few questions. As soon as I raise it and open the line completely the micro bubbles get worse and the cover start floating off the top? ::