Hello- I posted the first part of my skimmer commentary building a bit of history at the link below:
I was or typing the title with my broken iPad and it posted as seen here....bumme. I have several broken/dead spots that cause problems and typos-notably the f key....
Title should have been skimmers pt2: First Choice Aquatics, Aquamaxx, bubble magus, Nyos
http://www.socalireefs.com/forums/s...rsonal-opinion-on-several&p=920137#post920137
Now I will get to the larger skimmers (from pt1) that I really spent time with in getting them so I was happy....still working to a degree!
I had started with the Aquamaxx ES300. This was a big 8" barrel, straight sides, Lat bubble plate. A very large skimmer physically or my 100 gallon tank with 70 gal sump. No bottle shape here- straight sides as I mentioned, appears pretty old fashioned. .....but.....this skimmer worked! I had no complaints with it until the pump died. At 175 or a new pump......I had spent some time at the aquamaxx booth at reefapalooza and decided to give the Cone S Q3 a try.
Looks very nice- bottle shaped body, the mini bottles on the top of the bubble plate, (you can decide If this is gimmic or good design) a Syncra 3.0 pump, it was however quite a bit smaller than the es300 which it replaced.
The q3 took a while to start skimming, worked good, looked great. The collection cup was easy on and off the level control was nice in the aquamaxx style, but it never skimmed as good as the es300 which it replace (or First choice aquatics dc22/nyos220)
Then I had the constant problem with the q3 where the bubble plate which was a fiction fit with a rubber gasket kept blowing off the pump. No matter how I put this in place in one to 5 days it would blow off inside the body.
By now I had the second 100 gallon setup, the Nyos was new to market and the few user reviews I had seen were positive The problem was it was not inexpensive and I was pretty tired of skimmer musical chairs. Also they made only three sizes and I am in the mindset of not much stuff in system but an oversized skimmer for my tank- so If I was going Nyos it had to be their biggest model the 220. Got it and it is still in the tank.
On the Nyos- ok, the commentary:
I have seen All the reviews talk about the adjustments. Thee are the three ways to adjust the water/bubble level, twisting the main arm, adjusting the air screw on the silencer, and the top of the arm is a knob which moves a tube over the opening below or fine tuning. These are not all necessary in my opinion, but also not a detriment. The Nyos is of course bottle shaped body and it is very tall. It skims good, and is still in my system as is the previous commentaries bubble magus G7. The things I do not like on the Nyos are the collection cup. First the shape with its smaller bottom belling to the wider top rim just takes volume away, but the worst is the way the cup attaches to the body- it is so awfully diicult to get on and off. You must force down compressing the seal, the while holding the cup edge with one hand and the body with the other twist it while heavily pushing down on the cup while stabilizing and holding the body from twisting. I expect sooner or later the cup will break. Also I you just twist it onto the body lightly then it leaks between the cup and body. It is very hard to get this on and sealed. The consequence of this is I do not clean the cup as often as I should because it's such a pain in the......
Next is at the last years reefapalooza Seaside Aqutics had a huge display of several brands of skimmers. I had never heard of First Choice Aquatics, and spoke at length about which of their several brands was best value - cost vs performance. They were sort of suggesting the FCA but not strongly which I suspect was due tot he dilemma of how do you favor one brand over another when you represent them all, but they also want business so they (all sales people) tend to support the buyers conclusion. At the end of the day the statement that this DC22 skimmer with a dc pump which I had avoided in my system would equal or outperform the others, and I could get at a pretty decent price compared to the others- so I gave it a try as I needed to replace the Q3.
First observation was the pump is huge! No wonder they were confident it would perform well, a massive pump compared to any of these skimmers. The body is what I will call a hybrid with a straight bottom until the bubble plate then a cone/bottle shape from there to the collection cup. Size wise it is smaller than the Nyos maybe about the size of the q3 but with a much larger collection cup. It skims-period. It didn't take long and it skims very well. The Unit has basically the same bubble plate as that on the es300, petty old school flat with taped holes, no Fancy ribs or swirls like the Nyos or the "bottles" on top o the plate like the q3, but like the es300 it works well. The pump puts out - apparent volume and tiny bright white bubbles. The adjuster is an acrylic/plexi arm with a knob on top (grip) that threads into the bottom, when you tighten/lower the arm it pushes a cover down from the base allowing more water into the body for your adjustment. As mentioned the collection cup is huge, the motor is quiet and it skims very good. If I was to nitpick this skimmer (and I will) my complaints are the arm for adjusting is too short. The knob is barely above the water level of my sump and it old and should be 4" taller. Fortunately it is solid material So even If it was submerged (it is not) it does not affect it other than slightly annoying. I also believe with the size of the pump and collection cup the body could easily be taller providing additional dwell time. This skimmer though has been very easy, does not fluctuate in level, is easy to get in and out to clean and works - hence it is still in the systems along with the Nyos and bubble magus g7.
Here I will note that I believe these are all good skimmers, and clearly this is hobby- hobby for me therefore while I could fix or live with most any of these skimmers - I chose to keep trying another and if I felt one was an improvement I sold the previous (except the sca)
In conclusion I'd say the Nyos and first choice aquatics performed the best, as they are the largest, but for the Nyos money I could have got a vertex, which I was intending to get or the second 100 before I acquired the fist choice aquatics dc22. Now when you consider the cost the dc22 is not even close to as sexy in appearance and branding as the Nyos but for a ew hundred less expensive it performs equal or better without the headaches with the cup and cleaning. I didn't expect to want the dc pump but it works and is of course reputed to be less expensive. I will never know as I'm running three chillers, t5s etc and won't notice the cost - also with the heat this summer and AC all the time......
There is my summary experience...feel free to question or comment. If I'm on a budget I'd get the first choice aquatics, or the bubble magus. I I wanted aquamaxx I think the old ugly Es 300 was better than the q3, I speculate maybe due to the height/dwell time and volume. If money is no issue then whatever catches your fancy!
Thanks!
I was or typing the title with my broken iPad and it posted as seen here....bumme. I have several broken/dead spots that cause problems and typos-notably the f key....
Title should have been skimmers pt2: First Choice Aquatics, Aquamaxx, bubble magus, Nyos
http://www.socalireefs.com/forums/s...rsonal-opinion-on-several&p=920137#post920137
Now I will get to the larger skimmers (from pt1) that I really spent time with in getting them so I was happy....still working to a degree!
I had started with the Aquamaxx ES300. This was a big 8" barrel, straight sides, Lat bubble plate. A very large skimmer physically or my 100 gallon tank with 70 gal sump. No bottle shape here- straight sides as I mentioned, appears pretty old fashioned. .....but.....this skimmer worked! I had no complaints with it until the pump died. At 175 or a new pump......I had spent some time at the aquamaxx booth at reefapalooza and decided to give the Cone S Q3 a try.
Looks very nice- bottle shaped body, the mini bottles on the top of the bubble plate, (you can decide If this is gimmic or good design) a Syncra 3.0 pump, it was however quite a bit smaller than the es300 which it replaced.
The q3 took a while to start skimming, worked good, looked great. The collection cup was easy on and off the level control was nice in the aquamaxx style, but it never skimmed as good as the es300 which it replace (or First choice aquatics dc22/nyos220)
Then I had the constant problem with the q3 where the bubble plate which was a fiction fit with a rubber gasket kept blowing off the pump. No matter how I put this in place in one to 5 days it would blow off inside the body.
By now I had the second 100 gallon setup, the Nyos was new to market and the few user reviews I had seen were positive The problem was it was not inexpensive and I was pretty tired of skimmer musical chairs. Also they made only three sizes and I am in the mindset of not much stuff in system but an oversized skimmer for my tank- so If I was going Nyos it had to be their biggest model the 220. Got it and it is still in the tank.
On the Nyos- ok, the commentary:
I have seen All the reviews talk about the adjustments. Thee are the three ways to adjust the water/bubble level, twisting the main arm, adjusting the air screw on the silencer, and the top of the arm is a knob which moves a tube over the opening below or fine tuning. These are not all necessary in my opinion, but also not a detriment. The Nyos is of course bottle shaped body and it is very tall. It skims good, and is still in my system as is the previous commentaries bubble magus G7. The things I do not like on the Nyos are the collection cup. First the shape with its smaller bottom belling to the wider top rim just takes volume away, but the worst is the way the cup attaches to the body- it is so awfully diicult to get on and off. You must force down compressing the seal, the while holding the cup edge with one hand and the body with the other twist it while heavily pushing down on the cup while stabilizing and holding the body from twisting. I expect sooner or later the cup will break. Also I you just twist it onto the body lightly then it leaks between the cup and body. It is very hard to get this on and sealed. The consequence of this is I do not clean the cup as often as I should because it's such a pain in the......
Next is at the last years reefapalooza Seaside Aqutics had a huge display of several brands of skimmers. I had never heard of First Choice Aquatics, and spoke at length about which of their several brands was best value - cost vs performance. They were sort of suggesting the FCA but not strongly which I suspect was due tot he dilemma of how do you favor one brand over another when you represent them all, but they also want business so they (all sales people) tend to support the buyers conclusion. At the end of the day the statement that this DC22 skimmer with a dc pump which I had avoided in my system would equal or outperform the others, and I could get at a pretty decent price compared to the others- so I gave it a try as I needed to replace the Q3.
First observation was the pump is huge! No wonder they were confident it would perform well, a massive pump compared to any of these skimmers. The body is what I will call a hybrid with a straight bottom until the bubble plate then a cone/bottle shape from there to the collection cup. Size wise it is smaller than the Nyos maybe about the size of the q3 but with a much larger collection cup. It skims-period. It didn't take long and it skims very well. The Unit has basically the same bubble plate as that on the es300, petty old school flat with taped holes, no Fancy ribs or swirls like the Nyos or the "bottles" on top o the plate like the q3, but like the es300 it works well. The pump puts out - apparent volume and tiny bright white bubbles. The adjuster is an acrylic/plexi arm with a knob on top (grip) that threads into the bottom, when you tighten/lower the arm it pushes a cover down from the base allowing more water into the body for your adjustment. As mentioned the collection cup is huge, the motor is quiet and it skims very good. If I was to nitpick this skimmer (and I will) my complaints are the arm for adjusting is too short. The knob is barely above the water level of my sump and it old and should be 4" taller. Fortunately it is solid material So even If it was submerged (it is not) it does not affect it other than slightly annoying. I also believe with the size of the pump and collection cup the body could easily be taller providing additional dwell time. This skimmer though has been very easy, does not fluctuate in level, is easy to get in and out to clean and works - hence it is still in the systems along with the Nyos and bubble magus g7.
Here I will note that I believe these are all good skimmers, and clearly this is hobby- hobby for me therefore while I could fix or live with most any of these skimmers - I chose to keep trying another and if I felt one was an improvement I sold the previous (except the sca)
In conclusion I'd say the Nyos and first choice aquatics performed the best, as they are the largest, but for the Nyos money I could have got a vertex, which I was intending to get or the second 100 before I acquired the fist choice aquatics dc22. Now when you consider the cost the dc22 is not even close to as sexy in appearance and branding as the Nyos but for a ew hundred less expensive it performs equal or better without the headaches with the cup and cleaning. I didn't expect to want the dc pump but it works and is of course reputed to be less expensive. I will never know as I'm running three chillers, t5s etc and won't notice the cost - also with the heat this summer and AC all the time......
There is my summary experience...feel free to question or comment. If I'm on a budget I'd get the first choice aquatics, or the bubble magus. I I wanted aquamaxx I think the old ugly Es 300 was better than the q3, I speculate maybe due to the height/dwell time and volume. If money is no issue then whatever catches your fancy!
Thanks!
