Tunze 9410DC Tuning help

[Odenac]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong with my skimmer, I've had a Tunze 9410DC skimmer for about 3 months now, and everytime I do a water change i also clean out the cup and scrub it down with the provided brush the skimmer came with. I do a 10 gallon water change every week on a 115 gallon aquarium (including sump). When I turn everything back on after the water change, my skimmer immediately gets full of water I've left it off for 2 days after a water change and it still gets full. So then I lower the controller to the lowest setting and it acts like a normal skimmer should. After about a day the skimmer no longer reaches anywhere near the collection cup so I then turn it back to it's original setting I had it at before the water change, and it's good until the next water change.

Is there something I'm doing wrong? Am I doomed to change the settings everytime I do a water change, should I leave the walls off the collection cup dirty and only clean what comes out of the cup when I run it under my kitchen sink?

I got this skimmer because everyone said it was a great and easy skimmer to tune, but that hasn't been the case for me. If I could please get some help with tuning this skimmer I would appreciate it, thank you

 

[Quietman]

The only thing I've noticed about my 9410DC is it took a several weeks to break in. Once it did, it was trouble free and basically maintenance free. As long as the depth was in band it ran perfectly. Small bio load, bigger bio load, new rock, new sand the thing just ran. Three months is bit long though for a break in. I assume you have it in the recommended depth of water (7-10" I believe - could be wrong). And you're running it continuously. What's your bio load? When you clean the cup are you cleaning the skimmer body too? Are you using any cleaning agents?

Lastly, have you ever just left it on the original setting after the wc for a few days and see if it sorts itself out. I'm trying to remember how mine acted after a water change and I seem to remember a bit of time before back to normal. Not sure if that was every time or not. I just know when I looked under the sump it was chugging away.

 

[Odenac]

I assume you have it in the recommended depth of water (7-10" I believe - could be wrong). And you're running it continuously. What's your bio load? When you clean the cup are you cleaning the skimmer body too? Are you using any cleaning agents?

Lastly, have you ever just left it on the original setting after the wc for a few days and see if it sorts itself out. I'm trying to remember how mine acted after a water change and I seem to remember a bit of time before back to normal. Not sure if that was every time or not. I just know when I looked under the sump it was chugging away.

I keep my water level at 8" high. I do use the 10 min feed timer button every day, and I shut it off for about 2 hours when I dose my trace elements two times a week. I don't use any cleaning agents just the brush that came with the skimmer, i don't clean the skimmer body. I only clean the cup and the neck part of the cup but as far as the actual skimmer, I do not clean in it

If I keep it on the original setting it just fills up my cup and splashes back down, lowering my water level just enough to have my ATO refill my tank a little bit every hour so.

 

[X-37B]

I run 4 Tunze dc skimmers. 2 are 9410dc's. Optimum water level is 5.5". Get the skimmer on a stand.
I never turn mine off even when feeding, WC, or cleaning the cup. Take the cup off clean and back on.
Water level in my sump is 7".

 

[Odenac]

I run 4 Tunze dc skimmers. 2 are 9410dc's. Optimum water level is 5.5". Get the skimmer on a stand.
I never turn mine off even when feeding, WC, or cleaning the cup

Thank you, I'm gonna try that hopefully that fixes my issue. I've heard such good things about this skimmer that I'm still hopeful to get it working right

 

[Quietman]

Tunze says it's 5.5 to 9.5 so it should work fine. Mine sat in 8" for a year with no issues, even when I mucked up water changes and ran over for a while. Really perplexed. There's a Tunze forum that the US rep monitors here. Sponsor forum - Tunze Repost this over there and see if Roger can help.

 

[X-37B]

Thank you, I'm gonna try that hopefully that fixes my issue. I've heard such good things about this skimmer that I'm still hopeful to get it working right

Yea I got the 5.5" depth from a European site for my 9430dc's.
They will work in deeper water but I have ran the 9410dc's for over 8 years at 5-6" depth and it works flawlessly, at least in my systems.
Nothing to do but clean the cup.

 

[Odenac]

Yea I got the 5.5" depth from a European site for my 9430dc's.
They will work in deeper water but I have ran the 9410dc's for over 8 years at 5-6" depth and it works flawlessly, at least in my systems.
Nothing to do but clean the cup.

Just bought a stand and it's sitting at exactly 5-1/2" I'll let it run for a bit and hope that fixes my issue

 

[Rshahnyc]

Try not cleaning the collection cup and just emptying it?

 

[Odenac]

Try not cleaning the collection cup and just emptying it?

I'll give that a shot as well, at this point it can't hurt

 

[Odenac]

Yea I got the 5.5" depth from a European site for my 9430dc's.
They will work in deeper water but I have ran the 9410dc's for over 8 years at 5-6" depth and it works flawlessly, at least in my systems.
Nothing to do but clean the cup.

I had it at 5.5 but on low it doesn't reach the cup and at a higher setting it kept trying to prime and wouldn't stay on. So I've got it running on the lowest setting so it can at least keep running

 

[X-37B]

I had it at 5.5 but on low it doesn't reach the cup and at a higher setting it kept trying to prime and wouldn't stay on. So I've got it running on the lowest setting so it can at least keep running

A pic would help. If you turn it up does the level, 5.5", go down in the area it's in? What you said should not happen.

 

[X-37B]

Note: Mine run very close to the minimal setting on the dial.

 

[Odenac]

A pic would help. If you turn it up does the level, 5.5", go down in the area it's in? What you said should not happen.

This is on the third setting

 

[Odenac]

Figured I'd give an update after running it with the stand and without it. TLDR not scrubbing the cup did the trick

Running the skimmer at 5.5 inches did not work for me, I was never able to get the collection cup to fill up.

Running normally without the stand having my water level at 8.5 inches did the trick as long as I didn't clean the neck part of the collection cup, also I need to shut off the skimmer for a little bit every time I dose my trace elements because that also would cause my cup to fill up instantly if I didn't, but other than that my protein skimmer fills up about 1/3 in 5 days

 

[Quietman]

I used to only wipe down my skimmer neck with a paper towel when I couldn't see through it anymore. Never used water or a brush or detergent. Remember reading something about skimmer necks being too clean. Jogged the old memory. Glad it's working. I love that skimmer.