230/2 Questions

[Bryan]

Hello Roger:

I have a chance to get ahold of a used 230/2 Tunze skimmer. I am currently using a DIY beckett skimmer on this 125 gallon SPS tank. My skimmer seems to be ok, but I want something more maintenance friendly. I get tired of dissasembling the thing for cleaning as well as the noise and the power hungry pump it requires.

Would you recommend the Tunze 230/2 skimmer for a SPS tank.

Why is it the water level in the sump must be a minimum of 11". Is this because of the mounting hardware etc.

Thanks for any help Roger.

 

[rvitko]

For the 230/2 the water level is 3.5". It must be constant for optimum performance and to prevent the pump running dry. I think this skimmer would work fine for an SPS tank of 125gals. If possible check the date of production before you buy. This will be three numbers embossed on the top of the pump decoded as series, quarter, year. If you buy something older than late 2002 it should have a new drive unit installed soon after purchase.

 

[Bryan]

Thanks Roger:

Is there a reason why the drive unit would need to be repaired if the skimmer is only a couple of years old. I thought the Tunze pumps were extremely long lasting.

Approx how much is a new drive unit?

BTW What is the difference between the 230/2 and the 230/3.

 

[rvitko]

Oh, my bad. Sorry it has been a long week. If it is a 230/2 you should get a pretty good deal on it, that was replaced in July of 2000 with the 230/3. This has the old design motor, you can still get parts for it but is definitely old, whatever the year number is would be 199-. The 230/3 has the new motor and we changed the design fall of 2002 to improve resistance to Calcium accumulation. Frankly the first year fall 2000/ spring 2001 of the change in pump design had a lot of problems and an expert with the proper tools should service such a pump ASAP- I would avoid such a motor especially seeing as in Canada no one has the tools. The late 2001/early 2002 models were much better but still tended to build up calcium very quickly a drive unit change would cover any problem with this, then in 2002/2003 we changed to a newer design drive unit that was improved, we finally have a good solution to this problem as of late 2003 and it hardly happens anymore. A $25 drive unit on these models could prevent a stopped motor from Calcium accumulation. The older models 230/2 had a totally different motor, these motors weren't so user friendly and you had to have some Tunze knowledge to understand the very unique motor design, dissassembly instructions are available on the www.tunze.com site. If it is older than 95 I would not buy it, it is pushing the 10 year life expectancy and while I have seen working 20year old motors, they were very well taken care of and I can't vouche for the condition of something I haven't seen or know the history of. How long these motors last largely depends on have they ever run dry, have they ever run seized, are they cleaned as needed. A new pump for a 230/3 is about $180 US so it is costly if the motor is no good. I would value a 230/2 at roughly $150 US if it is quite new (1998-2000) $100 if older than that. Many other small parts have changed that have cumulatively increased skimming power 20%+ from the 230/2. The older 230/2 motor tended to have an issue with the plastic shearing off the magnet- current repair kits fix this problem with a new graphite reinforced plastic so plan on getting one of these at about $28 US. On average Tunze makes a product change every 6 months as plastic technology improves and new ideas are tested so even 2 years makes a big difference.