Hi Chris,
Welcome to the exclusive club of "down-under" C9.25 owners! I have had mine for about 4months and am rapped by it. I imported mine from Skies Unlimited who were also excellent to deal with.
That's a great first light image Chris!
The C9.25 I have, beats the C8 hands down. I was tossing up between a C11 and the C9.25 to mount on my G-11. Went C9.25 in the end for similar reasons to you. No regrets at all. Sometimes aperture is not all that matters
So of the shots I have managed to take with the C9.25, 300D & of course DSLR focus.
http://www.star-mate.com/temp/M20.jpg
http://www.star-mate.com/temp/NGC253.jpg
http://www.star-mate.com/DSO/M8_PRO2.jpg
http://www.star-mate.com/DSO/Taran_Pro2_web.jpg
http://www.star-mate.com/DSO/M65_M66_Pro2.jpg
Ths only problem I have had with mine is that with my portable setup, the collimation seems to drift quite a bit more than the C8 ever did. It's not a major, as I getting pretty good at tweaking it back in. Actaully you've reminded me to order some bob's knobs for it.
Keep us updated on how you go with the new tube. I'm sure you'll like it. Also be keen to see some more images from that ST2000 CCD. Your all set now!
Cheers