Cleaning my Tunze 220/3 Skimmer

[StephenA]

What's the best way to clean my Tunze 220/3 Skimmer? And how often should I do it. I've had it 8 Months and soaked it in 5 Gal of water with 1 cup of Muratic Acid. I've also been with Dinoflagellates so I want to make sure it's running at it's best.

Also; I have it on a timer with the lights to only run the skimmer during the day. Is this the best way to do this?

[rvitko]

Be very careful with muriatic acid. Strong acids have an effect on the plastic. They cause it to form hydrogen bonds and swell by up to 5%. This can cause tolerance issues. These can be remedied with a special tool that rehones the bore and it sounds like your mix is fairly dilute but Tunze does not recommend cleaning in a solution with a pH below 4. I use 1 part white vinegar to one part warm water. I use a brush set and a toothbrush. It should only need a full break down cleaning every year. Otherwise every 3 months I like to clean the pump and venturi and clean the cup every week.

[rvitko]

BTW- do you own that coral with the hermit crab in your avatar? Is that a porites or astreopora? Pretty cool!

[StephenA]

Thanks for the advise on the skimmer.

Porites Lobata (Christmas Tree Rock). It has 2 of those crabs in it. He's one of my favorite kritters in the tank!

[longhornreefer]

Originally posted by StephenA
Also; I have it on a timer with the lights to only run the skimmer during the day. Is this the best way to do this?
Why turn off the skimmer at night? I would think that having the skimmer on at night would help blow off some of the CO2 that tends to accumulate at night when the corals are not photosynthesizing. Also, tunze skimmers are very friendly with phytoplankton, and generally don't need to be turned off before dosing.
Try some cerith snails for diatom control...

[rvitko]

I would agree. Tunze skimmers work on a passive diffusion system and should not remove live plankton and running at night would help keep the pH up. BTW- have you considered using a kalk system of some sort to kill the dinoflagelletes? Even a simple homemade drip system if used consistently for a week or more would help. If you still can't beat it try Ozone- I think Bruce has one in the back room at AquaTek he doesn't use and you can probably borrow it. As you can see above Brian finally found my forum and is now going to make trouble for us.

[StephenA]

I drip kalk most of the time. I've been doing it steady for the past week. I've also cut back on the feedings. If it doesn't go away I'll check with Bruce.

Thanks Roger!


longhornreefer

The Blue Throat Fell through. Bruce is looking for a small one for me now.