In February I swapped the noisy and unreliable Coralife 65 skimmer I had been running for a Tunze Nano skimmer. As noted in the post, initial impressions were positive. The skimmer is virtually silent, began skimming with no break in period, and was a massive aesthetic upgrade for the tank. But like anything in an aquarium, the real test is time. Maintenance, reliability, and skimming performance are things you discover after months of operation.
Performance
The skimmate shown above was produced after 20 hours of operation. I'm running the skimmer wetter than normal because of my recent nitrate issues, but this is roughly approximate to the performance I've seen since installing the skimmer. Generally I get a tea colored, organic smelling liquid as well as a solid cake of buildup around the neck. No doubt that the skimmer is doing it's job.
Maintenance
The Coralife 65 had a screw off collection cup. Before removing this, you needed to turn the skimmer off (by unplugging) or it would overflow. With the Tunze Nano, you just lift the cup and neck out while leaving the skimmer running. This sort of convenience makes it much easier to perform daily or every other day cleaning on the skimmer. And with the included cleaning brush, you can get the neck and cup spotless in less than a minute.
Reliability
Like any skimmer, the Tunze Nano is sensitive to the water level. It includes a marker on the side of the skimmer body indicating what the proper level should be, which is very convenient for knowing where your top off water should come to. The downside to water level sensitivity is that nano tanks fluctuate in volume much faster than larger tanks: evaporation and a cooling fan can take an inch of water out of my 29 gallon tank in one day.
As the water level drops in the tank, it also drops in the skimmer, meaning that the foam will stop reaching the collection cup. This necessitates maintaining a consistent water level in order to have proper skimming. The lazy aquarist within me resents this, but I know that maintaining a consistent water level has other benefits, such as keeping salinity and other parameters stable.
Conversely, if the water level is too high or an additive causes the skimmer to run wetter than normal, you can run into a situation where the skimmer pumps water straight into the cup, filling it quickly. With the Coralife 65 hanging outside of the tank, this could result in a minor flood. With the Tunze Nano this has happened only once (my fault for fiddling with the adjustments). Because it sits within the tank, and because the lid of the collection cup has openings, the Tunze will not overflow. Peace of mind you can't appreciate enough.
Overall
Great skimmer, wish I'd known about it when I originally setup my tank. I'd recommend it to anyone with 30 gallons or less. For those with tanks in their livingroom, you absolutely can't beat the virtue of silence when it comes to a skimmer.
Performance
The skimmate shown above was produced after 20 hours of operation. I'm running the skimmer wetter than normal because of my recent nitrate issues, but this is roughly approximate to the performance I've seen since installing the skimmer. Generally I get a tea colored, organic smelling liquid as well as a solid cake of buildup around the neck. No doubt that the skimmer is doing it's job.
Maintenance
The Coralife 65 had a screw off collection cup. Before removing this, you needed to turn the skimmer off (by unplugging) or it would overflow. With the Tunze Nano, you just lift the cup and neck out while leaving the skimmer running. This sort of convenience makes it much easier to perform daily or every other day cleaning on the skimmer. And with the included cleaning brush, you can get the neck and cup spotless in less than a minute.
Reliability
Like any skimmer, the Tunze Nano is sensitive to the water level. It includes a marker on the side of the skimmer body indicating what the proper level should be, which is very convenient for knowing where your top off water should come to. The downside to water level sensitivity is that nano tanks fluctuate in volume much faster than larger tanks: evaporation and a cooling fan can take an inch of water out of my 29 gallon tank in one day.
As the water level drops in the tank, it also drops in the skimmer, meaning that the foam will stop reaching the collection cup. This necessitates maintaining a consistent water level in order to have proper skimming. The lazy aquarist within me resents this, but I know that maintaining a consistent water level has other benefits, such as keeping salinity and other parameters stable.
Conversely, if the water level is too high or an additive causes the skimmer to run wetter than normal, you can run into a situation where the skimmer pumps water straight into the cup, filling it quickly. With the Coralife 65 hanging outside of the tank, this could result in a minor flood. With the Tunze Nano this has happened only once (my fault for fiddling with the adjustments). Because it sits within the tank, and because the lid of the collection cup has openings, the Tunze will not overflow. Peace of mind you can't appreciate enough.
Overall
Great skimmer, wish I'd known about it when I originally setup my tank. I'd recommend it to anyone with 30 gallons or less. For those with tanks in their livingroom, you absolutely can't beat the virtue of silence when it comes to a skimmer.
