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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Tunze 9001 DC Skimmer


Bigbaddewulf

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Good evening all. I have recently setup a nano aquarium after several years out of the game and hoping to get some advice on my skimmer. My Tunze 9001 DC is very loud (IMO) and I’m trying to ascertain if a; the noise level is normal and b; is it likely to settle down once the tank has cycled and the skimmer has bedded in. I can hear a constant gurgling noise coming from the air intake and I’ve had to turn the pump down at the controller because the whirring noise it too loud. I’m hoping things will quieten down once it’s bedded in, but though I’d put a post in heat to see if anyone has any experience with this make / model of skimmer.


 

 

many thanks in advance 

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Hi, thanks for your reply.

 

it has the new type silencer on it and to be fair, the silencer is reasonably quiet. the noise seems to be coming from water gurgling in the air line and a rattling noise from the pump. (Like the impeller is rattling from time to time as it mixes the air)

 

I’ve stripped the skimmer down and reassembled it in the display tank to have a play with different levels etc, but the rattling  / gurgling noise won’t go away. The noise does disappear if I close the airline completely.
 

I replaced the AC pump with the DC version (ordered the AC skimmer by mistake) to see if it made a difference but no joy. To be fair, there isn’t that much difference in hum between the AC and DC version) Could it be that the air / water mix is having an affect due to zero / minimal bio load in the tank. I’m currently week2 into my cycle with only a small rotting prawn in the tank.

 

it’s such a shame that the skimmer is so noisy. Other than the skimmer the tank is pretty much silent. 
 

im hoping it will quieten down after a few weeks or when I start to put live stock in…

 

if not then I guess my quest for a quiet nano skimmer begins!

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11 hours ago, Bigbaddewulf said:

Hi, thanks for your reply.

 

it has the new type silencer on it and to be fair, the silencer is reasonably quiet. the noise seems to be coming from water gurgling in the air line and a rattling noise from the pump. (Like the impeller is rattling from time to time as it mixes the air)

 

I’ve stripped the skimmer down and reassembled it in the display tank to have a play with different levels etc, but the rattling  / gurgling noise won’t go away. The noise does disappear if I close the airline completely.
 

I replaced the AC pump with the DC version (ordered the AC skimmer by mistake) to see if it made a difference but no joy. To be fair, there isn’t that much difference in hum between the AC and DC version) Could it be that the air / water mix is having an affect due to zero / minimal bio load in the tank.

 

I can't remember if you said already whether you've had a skimmer before, but the skimmer will always be the most noisy part of the system – even under ideal conditions.  

 

I think it's simply the nature of water and air continuously crashing together. 

 

All that said, it should get a little quieter as it breaks in and all surfaces coat with bacteria, etc.

 

11 hours ago, Bigbaddewulf said:

I’m currently week2 into my cycle with only a small rotting prawn in the tank.

Ew.  Not the best way to start...but maybe the grossest way.   It would be interesting to know who cooked up this idea in the first place.  (🤢)

 

Since you're only a couple weeks in I'd honestly remove the shrimp (maybe do a big water change – yuk!) and just do the natural method for the rest of the time.  

 

The natural method doesn't require an ammonia spike at all.  (Check out "Natural Reef Aquariums" by Tullock, among others for more details.)

 

Going this way shouldn't change your waiting time (30-40 days total), it'll just be way less gross.  A total win!!!

 

It may also make for a healthier tank once the cycle has completed.  You'd think so anyway, right?

 

The idea is that you keep the bio-load so small that the amount of ammonia in the water is never detectable – no spike.  Even a tiny ammonia source will be enough to grow bacteria. 

 

Start with one or two small LIVING critters – clean up crew (eg  Blue leg hermit, Cerith snail, etc) is usually a good option.  

 

If it's a really small tank, start with just one, and make sure it's a small one.  Don't start out with a tennis ball sized Turbo snail. 😉 

 

After a week or so, add as many as a few more – and if you're comfortable with corals, you can start by adding one or two of them as well.

 

Continue to slowly grow your bio-load week by week with plenty of time in between additions – at least a week, more time is probably better.

 

Eventually you'll get to fish....make sure they are added slowly, smallest first, as well.

 

Just make sure the whole process takes 30-40 days (or more), so you don't outpace the tank's capability.

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Thanks for your response.

 

I have previously owned skimmers on much larger tanks. I suppose I’m comparing the 9001 against my Deltec 2060, which is why I’m surprised that the 9001 is louder. I guess it’s just seems amplified because the tank is so small and the skimmer isn’t in a cabinet. 
 

I’m following the shrimp cycle because I’ve read good reviews on it and it’s a fairly easy process. I.e chuck the shrimp in and test the water regularly. I take your point about having something rotting in the tank. 🤢 in the shrimps defence, it’s quite little and doesn’t smell (yet) I’m dosing microbacter7 which I believe contains multiple bacteria strains, which take several weeks to colonise. The whole process is supposed to be fairly slow and should take approx 2 months. I’m in no rush with the process and don’t plan on adding anything until Jan 23.
 

in terms of stocking the tank, I was going to start with a hardy fish and then wait a months before adding a new tank mate. Based on your previous response, you would recommend CUC first. I like this idea. Thanks. With this approach, do you need to add a food source for the CUC?

 

thanks?

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6 hours ago, Bigbaddewulf said:

and the skimmer isn’t in a cabinet. 

Mostly this.

 

6 hours ago, Bigbaddewulf said:

I’m following the shrimp cycle because I’ve read good reviews on it and it’s a fairly easy process.

Unfortunately for the promoters of this process, they leave out that this process will happen even without the rotting shrimp.  

 

It's like a gag trick or something.  I really don't get it.

 

It can't get any easier that basically doing nothing....and that's all it takes to get the ammonia cycle rolling.  Doing nothing and about 30-40 days....not two months. 😉  

 

(Folks have been through this millions of times....it used to be common knowledge when books were more popular.   I'd get Martin Moe's "Marine Aquarium Handbook" if I were you.   There are lots of used copies out that, as well as new, AND it's on ebook now too.)

 

The funny/sad part is that the tank is totally out of commission while this shrimp rots...and for a hideously long timeframe.  You don't have to be in a hurry in order to value your time more than this.

 

If you're going to go to any trouble at all, then it would be way better to use one of the instant bottled additives like BioSpira or Dr Tims (same thing) and avoid the whole bacteria grow-out time.  Not that you have to do this either!

 

Even if you literally did NOTHING you could still be stocking the tank slowly while you ACTUALLY ENJOY THE TANK.  

 

Keeping a dead critter in a fish tank NEVER makes any sense.  👍

 

6 hours ago, Bigbaddewulf said:

in terms of stocking the tank, I was going to start with a hardy fish and then wait a months before adding a new tank mate. Based on your previous response, you would recommend CUC first. I like this idea. Thanks. With this approach, do you need to add a food source for the CUC?

 

Yes, an incremental approach always seems to work best.  Smallest to biggest.  From the "base" up to the "top", if you will.  Pretty much what I outlined in my last post.  👍 If you do feed it should be a VERY minimal amount.  CUC will eat microorganisms growing on the rock, including algae propagules, even if there's no apparent algae growing.

 

Just to pile on....this is yet another reason why the shrimp (and all other similar methods) don't actually make a lot of sense.  

 

In the end, they seem to promote stocking the tank all at once because with all that bio-filter now you CAN.  Right?  (Otherwise I completely fail to see the point.)  

 

No....rapid stocking still typically leads to problems (algae blooms; disease outbreaks)....even after rotting a shrimp and wasting two months waiting around for bacteria to grow.  This is a little true of the Dr Tims/Bio Spira approach as well.

 

These methods are fine IMO for a plain old fish tank.  But they are out of place when it comes to reef tanks.

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