No pump strainer on 9430-DC

[ReefHog]

I received my new 9430-DC skimmer from Marine Depot two days ago. I didn't realize till now that there was no pump strainer included in the package. Last thing I want is a snail or something to make it in there and mess up the pump. Is this not included with the 9430? It was included with my 9410 when I bought that skimmer. I actually put that strainer on the new one for now as there's more flow through that sump and I'm sure that motor would be more expensive to replace.

 

[Jake55forlife]

I received my new 9430-DC skimmer from Marine Depot two days ago. I didn't realize till now that there was no pump strainer included in the package. Last thing I want is a snail or something to make it in there and mess up the pump. Is this not included with the 9430? It was included with my 9410 when I bought that skimmer. I actually put that strainer on the new one for now as there's more flow through that sump and I'm sure that motor would be more expensive to replace.

how much?

 

[Jake55forlife]

could you plz respond my tank is need of a surface skimmer as well as a protein skimmer

 

[rvitko]

The strainer is not included with the 9415 and 9430 skimmers because it will not fit. When the pump is sold stand alone to retrofit other skimmers we do include it. The clearance to the ground on the 9415, 9430 and 9430DC does not give room to install the strainer. I can send one if you wish, but it is less than ideal and the best is to just keep it in a clean area of the sump where there is not large debris that can damage it, we don't see many claims of damage despite not having a strainer.

 

[Jake55forlife]

how much would that be

 

[rvitko]

I am happy to just mail it to you for free but there is a reason it didn't come with it, they just don't fit without angling the pump.

 

[ReefHog]

I purchased it from marine depot on sale for like $560. Great deal. Not sure if sale is still going on.

 

[ReefHog]

how much would that be

I paid like $560 on sale at marine depot. Great price for an awesome skimmer. Not sure if the sale is still going on.

 

[VJV]

I paid like $560 on sale at marine depot. Great price for an awesome skimmer. Not sure if the sale is still going on.

Hey ReefHog, how are you liking the skimmer so far? I am on the fence on one of these as well for my 180g tank. What size tank do you have?

Cheers

 

[ReefHog]

Just got it installed in the sump two days ago. It's on a 220 gallon tank with 60 gallon sump (probably 40 gallons of sump water). I'm doing some major work cleaning the sump, doing some re piping & and removing all the oolite sand and replacing it with the larger grain Special grade reef sand over about two weeks. With my arms and tools in the tank every day, it's not the best situation for a good review just yet. Once the tank is stable again I will post a more detailed review. I have the 9410DC and 9001 on two other tanks and absolutely love them so i'm sure this one will be no different. I can say that it is way quieter than the SRO3000 it replaced. The water splashing into the post filter (filter sock) was annoying but I cut out the plastic cross section for grabbing it and the water does not splash now. You could also completely remove the post filter and it is dead quiet and shrinks the overall size also. Really the only noise it makes is a slight whistling from sucking in the air. Removing the collection cup is the easiest of ANY skimmer out there, which is great for sumps under the tank in the stand. Press the pause button on the controller and simply lift off.

 

[VJV]

Thanks for the reply! Would you know what is the total height of the cup including the reaction tube that it is attached to the cup?

I only have 25cm (about 10”) of clearance to get the cup in and out of the stand so am a bit concerned about the total length.

Thanks!

 

[ReefHog]

it's exactly 8.5"Good thing is you just lift 8.5 inches and slide out. No tipping or twisting. You will want to check your water level though. The sweet spot for this skimmer is looking to be about 6". So if your sump level is higher, you might need to raise the skimmer which will shorten the room on top.

 

[VJV]

Many thanks for the quick and detailed answer [emoji2][emoji106].

Duly noted. I am a bit nervous since there are not a lot of user experiences out there on this skimmer. A lot more people using Nyos, Deltec and others so really useful to hear real user experiences !

Will you be making a review?

Kind regards

 

[ReefHog]

I think should be more detailed regarding the height of this skimmer. The the total height of the cup is 8.5 inches, but 2.5 inches sits inside the skimmer body. So it only needs to be lifted 2.5 inches to remove. Since the entire skimmer is 19.5 inches tall, you would need at least 22 inches from the bottom of the skimmer to remove the collection cup. Most skimmers in this class including Nyos and Deltec are 23 inches or taller. So they're all comparable in that respect.

 

[Tennsquire]

I run a 9430 and upgraded the pump last year to the DC version. I think it does an awesome job on my system.

 

[VJV]

I run a 9430 and upgraded the pump last year to the DC version. I think it does an awesome job on my system.

What water depth are you running your Tunze at?

 

[Tennsquire]

What water depth are you running your Tunze at?

My sump is at about 5.5 inches deep and it's controlled by an ATO. I do have issues if I don't replace/clean the filter sock on the skimmer output. It raises the water level in the skimmer and overwhelms the compensation outlet (the round hole in the skimmer body above the disc). I did put a strainer on the pump and angled it to do so. I don't think this affects the performance of the pump at all.

 

[VJV]

Thanks! That is really low and it means that I will need to raise the skimmer as my minimum water level in the skimmer section is 8”.

Not a major issue, but I just hope that placing it skimmer in a stand won’t introduce noise.

 

[rvitko]

They definitely work best in a lower water level, they get very unstable after about 6.5" depth, the reason is basically the pump has to work to fill the skimmer, if the depth is higher, the static level is higher and the pump doesn't have to work so hard so the extra power goes to making air flow and overwhelms the skimmer, they then get very hard to tune consistently and tend to skim very wet.

 

[ReefHog]

They definitely work best in a lower water level, they get very unstable after about 6.5" depth, the reason is basically the pump has to work to fill the skimmer, if the depth is higher, the static level is higher and the pump doesn't have to work so hard so the extra power goes to making air flow and overwhelms the skimmer, they then get very hard to tune consistently and tend to skim very wet.

Great information. Mine is in exactly 6.5" of water. It's producing skimate but is very wet and I can only run pump at 50%. I figured that it was because I have been working in the tank doing a major overhaul with sand and plumbing. Can't wait to see how this thing works in proper water level at 100%