Not happy with my Protein skimmer

[Jubal_Harshaw]

My setup:
Waterbox AIO 50.3
Tunze DOC 9004 Protein skimmer (9004.001)

I believe the skimmer is not performing well or could perform better. It is set up correctly, but I am not getting enough "dirty" foam. So, I wondered what I could do to add an external protein skimmer. However, I'm not too fond of a HOB skimmer. I would rather have it in my cabinet underneath the aquarium. Did anyone else have the same issue? How did you address it?

 

[tmccaff]

what size tank? Are you getting bubbles?

 

[Jubal_Harshaw]

what size tank? Are you getting bubbles?

It is a 50 Gallon AIO. Do you mean in the skimmer? Yes, I get bubbles, white, in the skimmer, but they do not reach the top. The other problem is that I have to push the skimmer very low into the AIO sump because the water level is not too high, and when I do that, the silicon hose gets squeezed on the edge of the AIO.

 

[tmccaff]

Yea well if hose is getting squeezed you will not have air going in skimmer to create bubbles. I have the same skimmer and mine produces a lot of foam. You can adjust the air flow as well.

 

[tmccaff]

Best skimmer I ever had was the Deltec 1351 skimmer but wont fit in my new aquarium. Tunze skimmer is good but a bit of a pain to adjust. Once adjusted though you should produce a lot of foam. Is this the DC one or AC one? DC you can adjust air not sure with the AC though.

 

[Jubal_Harshaw]

Yea well if hose is getting squeezed you will not have air going in skimmer to create bubbles. I have the same skimmer and mine produces a lot of foam. You can adjust the air flow as well.

Best skimmer I ever had was the Deltec 1351 skimmer but wont fit in my new aquarium. Tunze skimmer is good but a bit of a pain to adjust. Once adjusted though you should produce a lot of foam. Is this the DC one or AC one? DC you can adjust air not sure with the AC though.

It is a DC, and I can adjust the air intake. I am not saying it is a lousy skimmer. The challenge is that the silicon hose to the silencer is not long enough to allow me to push the skimmer deeper into the sump. I asked Tunze for their recommendations. However, I am looking for alternatives as well.

 

[tmccaff]

You can probably make the hose longer. I am going to actually try that soon since I am adding a CO2 scrubber to it

 

[Idech]

I have a Tunze 9012 DC and it does an amazing job. Mine is inside the tank. Maybe test it in the tank, just to see if it performs better, than you can compare and see what needs to be changed.

 

[748S911]

Maybe a cheap Amazon drop in solution?

Amazon product