I have been thinking about posting a review of this skimmer for a long time, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. I have been using a 9410 for ~1 year. I am very pleased. For reference my past skimmers included high end German and Austrian machines. I liked those too but they cost a lot more.
Here is a quick pros/cons list. I know everyone likes pictures; I’ll try to come back and post some tonight.
Pros:
•quiet
•very low power consumption
•reliable - it has run without issue since day 1.
•great production, on par with my past high end skimmers
•great customer service, though I haven’t needed it in a long time
•price<$400
• unit requires minimal maintenance - I bought the optional foam extractor so I have the skimmer dump into a bucket. It shuts down automatically when the bucket is full. I need things to be idiot proof.
•The pump is capable of pulling plenty of excess air. I run the air line 1/2-3/4 open. At first this bothered me because in the past I was always trying to get more air draw from my skimmer pumps. I had never had a skimmer pump with excess performance capacity. This allows me to tweak the air draw for optimum bubble size and performance.
•The skimmer excels at skimming a little on the wet side, which is how I like it.
•I like the filter bag on the outlet, I put carbon in there.
•The small footprint is convenient.
Cons (for some people):
•The skimmer is not designed for much adjustment. At first this bothered me because all my past skimmers could be tweaked quite a lot; however, once I got the 9410 dialed in there I find no need for adjustments. To me this has become a positive feature, I just needed to get used to it.
•It is not built like a tank like some of my past skimmers. Some people like 1/4" acrylic. The 9410 skimmer body is solidly built. The stock cup is the thinner injection molded tunze cup. The optional foam extractor I use is a heavy wall acrylic. I am happy with the quality.
The 9410 meets all my requirements. I dont think I'll be tempted to buy another skimmer for a long time.
cheers
Here is a quick pros/cons list. I know everyone likes pictures; I’ll try to come back and post some tonight.
Pros:
•quiet
•very low power consumption
•reliable - it has run without issue since day 1.
•great production, on par with my past high end skimmers
•great customer service, though I haven’t needed it in a long time
•price<$400
• unit requires minimal maintenance - I bought the optional foam extractor so I have the skimmer dump into a bucket. It shuts down automatically when the bucket is full. I need things to be idiot proof.
•The pump is capable of pulling plenty of excess air. I run the air line 1/2-3/4 open. At first this bothered me because in the past I was always trying to get more air draw from my skimmer pumps. I had never had a skimmer pump with excess performance capacity. This allows me to tweak the air draw for optimum bubble size and performance.
•The skimmer excels at skimming a little on the wet side, which is how I like it.
•I like the filter bag on the outlet, I put carbon in there.
•The small footprint is convenient.
Cons (for some people):
•The skimmer is not designed for much adjustment. At first this bothered me because all my past skimmers could be tweaked quite a lot; however, once I got the 9410 dialed in there I find no need for adjustments. To me this has become a positive feature, I just needed to get used to it.
•It is not built like a tank like some of my past skimmers. Some people like 1/4" acrylic. The 9410 skimmer body is solidly built. The stock cup is the thinner injection molded tunze cup. The optional foam extractor I use is a heavy wall acrylic. I am happy with the quality.
The 9410 meets all my requirements. I dont think I'll be tempted to buy another skimmer for a long time.
cheers
