I just bought the Tunze Reefpack 200 for the 30 I'm setting up.
I ALWAYS have a surface film on my 15 even with a skimmer with a surface basket and lots of flow directed at the surface.
I fired it up overnight in a bucket of vinegar water, seems to work just fine.
Simple design: Surface strainer intake, perforated grate towards the bottom with a pump sitting under it directing the flow out the side of the unit.
I spent a few hours going over almost every edge of the Reefpack with a small Xacto chisel blade. There were a lot of mold overflow lines that needed to be trimmed down and a little work to get the bottom plates to seat perfectly. It will come apart very easily and should allow for complete cleaning.
The pump seems to be well made and feels very solid. It ran well during the test. I was impressed with the impeller housing. The shoulders on the output are very smooth and nicely formed. I was not impressed by the molding info imprinted on the the housing directly under the impeller. The impeller blades grazed the mark creating noise and vibration.
What a stupid place to locate it!!!
I shaved it down so the impeller can spin freely. I was not amused by the cheap power cords. One of them at least had some nickel plating on the plug contacts. The other was bare brass, already oxidizing a bit. Cheap!!!
First impression: I like the unique and clever design and think it should perform very well.
Second impression: I expect perfection in anything stamped "Made in West Germany". Bit disappointed there, but my standards and expectations are always a bit too high. Ja! I'm German.
I am very impressed with the 9002 DOC skimmer. It's a venturi based skimmer with the water pulled in from the back and bottom and the venturi pointing straight up at a curved indentation that redirects the air-water mixture back down into the reaction chamber under the neck.
It was foaming nicely in just RO water. Ingenious design, but it needed similar work with the chisel and a bit of rerouting of the power cord and airline. The airline was a bit crimped and too long. I cut about an inch off of it and refit everything.
If you'd also like to add a skimmer, I'd recommend the Reefpack 200. It would only add a bit over 2 inches in width over the filter alone. The magnet mount is nice, and I thought it a must with the huge Oceanic Frame on the 30.
And it comes with the BMW of buckets.
I plan to put about two layers of Enkamat above the grate in the filter with some liverock rubble over it and a filter bag of carbon and GFO on top of that. Polyfilter and floss will go on top when I blow off the rocks with a turkey baster to trap the chunky bits.
I might try fitting a piece of Enkamat around the inside perimeter of the foamer tube of the skimmer. It may or may not mix the air with the water better.
My Reef Creations should have another RP200 in stock if you'd like to pick it up locally.
