Tunze 9012 micro bubbles from the bottom

[rvitko]

The 9012.110 can come off and be loose in the skimmer, 3130.480 fits very tight, so this would be unusual, but not impossible.

 

[Idech]

The 9012.110 can come off and be loose in the skimmer, 3130.480 fits very tight, so this would be unusual, but not impossible.

@rvitko I have a 9012 DC and having similar problems. (I have checked the user manual and see no 9012.110 part. The 3130.480 is not missing on mine. In fact I don’t even seem to have this part).

I am getting discouraged as this is my first skimmer so I’m hoping you can help me. I can post a video if you need.

I also have the micro bubbles. They are coming from the bottom of the grate though, not the sides. Maybe from the bottom as well, not sure.

It’s sitting next to my Comline 3168 filter, in case it matters.

At first at least it was skimming, even if it had bubbles. The skimming problems started after I raised my water level higher after managing to raise my Osmolator 3155 higher on my rim. Then the skimmer was sitting too low but I couldn’t get it higher because of the rim. I had extra 15 mm magnets so I used them to raise the skimmer.

Now the skimmer is sitting higher and the water level is halfway down the grate, as the instructions says. Just like it should. But now the foam is so low, it’s barely reaching the bottom of the cup and there is no skimming action.

The air control is about 20%. Before if I turned it up the skimmer would overflow. Now even if I turn it to 50% and more, the foam won’t go more than halfway and the bubbles stay small, so still no slimming.

I am going literally crazy ! This thing is sooooo high maintenance and now it’s not even skimming anymore. It needs to be adjusted many times a day, every day : sometimes after feeding, after cleaning, after dosing plankton and even after adjusting, because it is so sensitive you barely touch the dial and it can go in overflow mode…

I really need help. If this wasn’t so expensive it would be in the garbage right now.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

 

[rvitko]

9012.110 is a rectangular plug that is installed on the underside of the pump, it has the Tunze logo on it and two holes of roughly 3/16" diameter. 3130.480 is a plug in a hole on the back of the skimmer, the same hole that on your 3168 has the intake pipe installed.

Bubbles exiting the bottom is a symptom of either a very restricted airline, overly deep submersion, high flow under the skimmer creating suction or a surfactant additive (stress coat, dechlorinator, organic supplements like vitamins and aminos, any medication or algaecide, some filter medias can also have this affect, specifically organic scavenger resins and any non phenol free floss or pad, generally this will be a pad or floss not specifcally made for aquarium use)

I would check the causes above and be patient with speed adjustments, the 9012 DC will typically work best in my experience with the skimmer submerged so about 1/3rd of the intake is submerged and the pump is set to about 30% power, adjustments do not show an immediate result, it can take some hours to see a difference, so you need to make small adjustments and wait. The most helpful would be photos or a video showing the disassembled skimmer so we can be sure all parts are properly assembled.

 

[Idech]

I would check the causes above and be patient with speed adjustments, the 9012 DC will typically work best in my experience with the skimmer submerged so about 1/3rd of the intake is submerged and the pump is set to about 30% power, adjustments do not show an immediate result, it can take some hours to see a difference, so you need to make small adjustments and wait. The most helpful would be photos or a video showing the disassembled skimmer so we can be sure all parts are properly assembled.

Thank you for your time.

This morning I readjusted the skimmer height at the sweet spot level you suggested. I had it at about 30% submerged but then I forgot about the ATO being shut off for the night. So after the ATO did it’s job it was a little more submerged than that. I think there is a certain tolerance up and down, is there ?

In any case, for now it’s doing really well, with the dial adjusted at about 21%-22%. More than that and it overflows. Good news is there are no bubbles (except from the Comline 3168 filter. Would you help me with that if I open a separate thread?)

Let’s hope it stays that way and I don’t have to disassemble it.

Here are a few pictures, just before the ATO went off after being shut off from 0100 am to 0900 am :

 

[rvitko]

That looks correct, just keep in mind we do not want the bubbles you see in the photo going into the cup, it is a darker fluffier meringue like foam of protein and cellulose that will build on top of those bubbles which is the foam that needs to push into the cup, this does take time to form and is dependent on the waste load in the water. I can address the filter bubbles here as well. In general this is due to the media being too dense or clogged. The key things to check are that the filter pipe is extended, it slides up and down into the filter to adjust depth, the strainer slides up and down the pipe so you can adjust for more or less surface skimming and if all the way closed, it may starve the filter for water. You can adjust the pump speed, and often turning this down with the screwdriver as shown in the manual is all you need to do to reduce the bubbles, but any very fine or overly densely packed media or clogged media will result in bubbles.

 

[Idech]

That looks correct, just keep in mind we do not want the bubbles you see in the photo going into the cup, it is a darker fluffier meringue like foam of protein and cellulose that will build on top of those bubbles which is the foam that needs to push into the cup, this does take time to form and is dependent on the waste load in the water.

Well, that didn’t last long. It needed adjustement again. It either overflows with the white bubbles we don’t want or the foam is very low in the cup and you can barely see it, like now. No bubbles though.

I’m not sure I understand what to do to get the right kind of foam.

Is the skimmer too big for my tank (75 gallons) ?
Do I have too little fish (5) and inverts (8) ?
Is it soon to have the skimmer running (tank has been cycled for 5-6 weeks) ?

What am I doing wrong and what do you suggest I do ? Having to adjust the skimmer 5-10 times per day is not fun.

(I’ll talk more about the filter when we’re done covering the skimmer, thank you).

 

[rvitko]

There is likely very little to skim given the age and inhabitants of the tank, I would set it so it is not foaming oiver and wait. The skimming process is only active when there is sufficient cellulose and protein present in the water, fats and oils break the foam and disrupt skimming.

 

[Idech]

There is likely very little to skim given the age and inhabitants of the tank, I would set it so it is not foaming oiver and wait. The skimming process is only active when there is sufficient cellulose and protein present in the water, fats and oils break the foam and disrupt skimming.

Okay.

Can the skimmer get damaged if there is barely any foam on the bottom for a long period ? Even if I make sure there is foam when I adjust, a few hours later it might be barely foaming and it might take a while before I catch it.

If I can’t break anything I’ll just let it go and stop worrying about it.

 

[rvitko]

No, only the pump running dry or obstructed will cause harm. I would not keep adjusting it, in general, if you have a skimmer set to where it skims a tea colored skimmate, it is set and variations will be due to water chemistry, if the pump or air intake is getting clogged over several weeks, months, you may need to turn it up but this is a bandage until it can be cleaned.

 

[Idech]

@rvitko okay, so basically, I don’t adjust and let the white foam happen, but not spill out of the cup.

Then, in so many weeks, when the foam starts being brownish/green, I raise the dial so there is more air and the dirty stuff can overflow in the cup ?

Is this a good way to summarize what I should do ?

 

[rvitko]

The photos look about perfect, so I would leave it alone for a week and see what happens, if you collect really wet almost water, turn the pump down, if after a week you still have nothing try a very slight pump speed increase. I think most of the issue is there just is not much waste to skim.

 

[Idech]

The photos look about perfect, so I would leave it alone for a week and see what happens, if you collect really wet almost water, turn the pump down, if after a week you still have nothing try a very slight pump speed increase. I think most of the issue is there just is not much waste to skim.

@rvitko this is what I have after running the skimmer for a week without any adjustments, as you suggested. I have not emptied it during the week.

It’s running very low, around 20%. The foam sometimes almost reaches half the cup, but most of the time there’s little foam visible.

It’s not just water because it‘s not the nicest smell. And I guess it’s the color of tea.

Do I need to adjust anything or is this good ?

Thank you !

 

[rvitko]

That looks about perfect, keep in mind the sludge on the riser will impede more skimming, so clean that, they always skim more when the cup is clean.

 

[Idech]

That looks about perfect, keep in mind the sludge on the riser will impede more skimming, so clean that, they always skim more when the cup is clean.

I have cleaned it after taking this picture and as a result the foam gets higher in the cup but it’s not as dark at first. I’ve noticed that when it gets a little dirty, the foam backs down a bit and the skimmate gets darker.

This has been an adventure but now I feel more confident about my skimmer settings, thanks to you !

 

[rvitko]

Closing it a little, maybe 1/16-1/8 turn will get it darker, the downside is that the sludge builds up faster, personally, I would leave it like this.

 

[Idech]

@rvitko I still need your help.

I did a few test this morning to find out where the micro bubbles are coming from and they’re coming from the skimmer, not the filter anymore.

So it seems I solved the micro bubbles problem on the filter with your help, but now the skimmer is doing it too.

I can’t be sure if it was doing it before or if this just happened. I started putting 2 drops of Vita chem liquid vitamins in the frozen food. Would this be causing the problem and how to solve it ?

What else could it be ?

I am hoping I don’t have to disassemble it to show you because I suck at this and I know for sure I will have great difficulty putting it back together.

Thanks again for your time.

 

[rvitko]

I wouldn't be overly worried about, I feel there is a lot of unneeded worry about bubbles, they may be unsightly but if they were so detrimental, old skimmers would not be full of pineapple sponges and tube worms. It is likely a response to some organics, or a minor water level change or even still breaking in, but it is not worth bothering with, they will go away.

 

[Idech]

I wouldn't be overly worried about, I feel there is a lot of unneeded worry about bubbles, they may be unsightly but if they were so detrimental, old skimmers would not be full of pineapple sponges and tube worms. It is likely a response to some organics, or a minor water level change or even still breaking in, but it is not worth bothering with, they will go away.

Ok, I’ll be patient then.

I don’t really care about them other than for aesthetic reasons. They take away from what’s important in the tank.

 

[Lonestar77566]

I might double check that everything is in correctly, Any additional photos of the pump, internals, etc would help.

Rename this video "How to speak German"

 

[Idech]

Rename this video "How to speak German"

Yeah, I know. I’ve used it and it went well, just by looking at the images without knowing what they’re saying.

By the way the microbubbles went away after 3-4 months. I don’t know why it took so long but it’s fine now.