First Time Skimmer Owner - Looks Like I Made A Fountain Out of It

[Zach72202]

So I purchased a fluval flex 32.5, and it came with some extra equipment. One of those pieces was a Tunze in-tank skimmer- which one, I have no idea.

Now I have this thing, I set it up in tank (picture will be below) plug it in, and I see bubbles. I think that's a good sign. What isn't good is the fact that this baby looks like a legit fountain. The cup fills with water within 1 minute. I have tried almost closing off the airline- keeping the airline fully open, I don't see much difference.

I am going to say that I just have no idea what I am doing rather than its broken.

Image attached of what I see happening.

Thank you for reading!

 

[KrisReef]

What is your pH? Alk?
Is the tank cycled?
(I have no idea what the issue with your skimmer is. )

 

[Zach72202]

What is your pH? Alk?
Is the tank cycled?
(I have no idea what the issue with your skimmer is. )

It is currently just a FOWLR Tank with only a Green spotted puffer in it. I actually don't even have a test kit for saltwater yet, so I cannot answer these questions. I did not know these could affect it.

Tank is cycled though. The fish is happy and healthy, so I never worried about it. I'm just starting with saltwater (I am very good with freshwater) so these gadgets are new to me, as you can tell by the HOB filter on the tank lol.

 

[KrisReef]

I was just asking the typical questions that folks ask when trying to trouble shoot a new tank. Trouble shooting equipment is a completely different set of questions, but I don't know the questions for your skimmer because I have no experience with that particular gadget. Lol Great you are starting out with fish. Someone with experience with that skimmer will come along shortly, hopefully! Welcome to Reef@Reef!

 

[mdb_talon]

What kind of light?

Lol sorry i couldnt resist i got a laugh out of Krisreef's irrelevant question so i had to ask my own!

Honestly no experience with that skimmer. Some chemicals (chemiclean, melafix, many other) can cause a foaming skimmer. Probably more of a setup issue but worth mentioning.

I cant tell in picture but how high is it in tank? Make sure water level is around the middle of the teeth. Maybe even move up a bit if possible.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Raise it up if you can? Ive never owned. Seen or operated that skimmer but if you can. Id raise it up out of the water more. Hths
D

 

[Zach72202]

Raise it up if you can? Ive never owned. Seen or operated that skimmer but if you can. Id raise it up out of the water more. Hths
D

I just put it as high as it goes, and it may have helped, but marginally. That vent on the front you see is where the water flows in.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Can u raise the collection cup? Or put the gasket lower on the neck?
D

 

[Zach72202]

Can u raise the collection cup? Or put the gasket lower on the neck?
D

No, it really only sits on there one way, at least I am aware of. I took a peek at the instructions online and didn't see anything about that, but I didn't really read it super thoroughly either.

 

[360marine]

What is your salinity at. Skimmer don’t work at all I. Fresh water and poorly if the salinity isn’t as close to 35ppm or 1.025. Also the height the water level the more likely you will have blow ups. I would suggest getting a test kit ASAP. And read read read the directions the. Look up the skimmer on youtube and watch some videos. Then play around with your water/air mixture.

 

[Gzfrank]

This is very common for a new skimmer. I’d take the collection cup off for a few days to a week. Once a nice slime coat has been established, add the cup back, then start adjusting for the amount of skim you want.

 

[Gzfrank]

Also, I second getting a test kit ASAP.

 

[Zach72202]

What is your salinity at. Skimmer don’t work at all I. Fresh water and poorly if the salinity isn’t as close to 35ppm or 1.025. Also the height the water level the more likely you will have blow ups. I would suggest getting a test kit ASAP. And read read read the directions the. Look up the skimmer on youtube and watch some videos. Then play around with your water/air mixture.

Salinity is at 1.025

This is very common for a new skimmer. I’d take the collection cup off for a few days to a week. Once a nice slime coat has been established, add the cup back, then start adjusting for the amount of skim you want.

The thing is it isn't new. The person I got it from ran it for a long time and only recently stopped using it because he got a bigger skimmer.

I suppose I can at least just let it run for now, can't really hurt much at the <10 watts or whatever it uses

Also, getting a test kit very soon

 

[Gzfrank]

The thing is it isn't new. The person I got it from ran it for a long time and only recently stopped using it because he got a bigger skimmer.

Did you clean it before putting it in your tank?

 

[Zach72202]

Did you clean it before putting it in your tank?

I did not think about cleaning the inside of the skimmer, but I did clean the inside of the cup. Good idea.

 

[Gzfrank]

I did not think about cleaning the inside of the skimmer, but I did clean the inside of the cup. Good idea.

Clean it, run it without the cup for a while, add the cup then adjust to you likings. Should solve the problem.

This process lasted about a month on my skimmer.