9002 or 9004?

[brian cummings]

Hi, I am considering getting either a 9002 or 9004 model skimmer. My tank is a 26 gallon rimless cube, with a small custom acrylic sump. I have had the set up for 15 or so months now, and I have been using a hydor nano slim skimmer in the sump.

I hear a lot about people modding the 9002- airline mod (which as I understand keeps clogging down, but sounds like it would lower performance do to restriction) and cup mods (which seems to be for clearance issues?). Modding is not something I want to get into. I just want to get something. I had to mod the hydor, the magnets that held it from behind wouldn't allow the cabinet door to close (the sump nearly fills the tiny cabinet) so I had to cut them off and glue them to the side, so I could mount the dang thing, and have the required clearance for the front intake grill...

The part of the sump that I'd like to use, that I have used for the hydor skimmer, is 5" wide by 9.5" with a constant water deep of 11". Where is the water intake on the 9002? I can't tell from pictures...

aquarium specs- 26 gallon, sump is 7-8 gallons, substrate soon to be removed to go bare-bottom, live stock includes to H. Erectus seahorses, one blue tux urchin, two peppermint shrimp, a few snails, a few hermits, and some clove/snowflake polyps.

any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Craig Borowski]

Hi Brian,

Either the 9002 or the 9004 would work well for your system. Since space is not a concern (both skimmers would fit) and you have what might be considered a high bioload (seahorses need to be fed often), I would go for the 9004.

If you look at the picture below, you can see the 9004's intake pointed out by the green arrow. The picture below that shows it more clearly with the skimmer fully assembled. One of the nicer features of the 9004 is that the intake is part of the collection cup. This makes it easy to clean the intake when you empty and clean out the cup. All in all, it's a great skimmer. I've been using one for many months now and I think you'll be very happy with it.

 

[brian cummings]

OK.

Thanks for the input. I saw how the intake for the 9004 works, by question was about the 9002.

Since the 9004 is similar in configuration to the hydor slim skim that I've been using, I was wondering if I would have the same problems in the mounting. I've attached a quick n' dirty diagram of my sump to illustrate.

So, when I originally got the slim skim (I am just comparing configurations, I know they're not the same) I had to install it "sideways" in the sump- the intake was not facing the flow of the water, and it only have maybe an inch of clearance in front of it. after several weeks of it not working, I contacted Hydor, and they said I would need to turn the skimmer for the front intake had more clearance. So I had to cut off the magnet mounts and glue them to the side, so that I could rotate the skimmer 90 degrees. I am wondering if I would have the same problem/issue with the 9004?

 

[brian cummings]

I have gone ahead and ordered a 9002...