I found the perfect skimmer (for me)…

[mandarin417]

The last time I was running a reef tank was over 15 years ago. I had a 55 gallon and a 120 gallon plumbed together sharing a 100 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough in the closet behind the wall and under the staircase. In that sump I ran an AquaC EV-180. It was the best skimmer I ever had – reliable, didn’t overflow and it was easy to clean. Really easy to clean in an open sump that is. It was noisy though and needed a big Magdrive pump.

Skimmer 1: About 8 months ago I reentered reef keeping. I started out with an AquaMaxx ConeS CO-2. It produced great foam but was hard for me to get it tuned with the limited one option Quick-Precise adjustment valve. Plus it would suddenly flood for no apparent reason. It had a great twist off cup though. I sold it.

Skimmer 2: I couldn’t remember that the brand I had 15 years ago was an AquaC – I thought maybe it was a LifeReef. Jeff, the owner of LifeReef, is a terrific guy to consult and there are many very reputable fans of his skimmers on the boards. I purchased an in sump SVS3-24 with an extra-large cup and later added an extension to make it an SVS3-30 since I wanted to extend my water bubble contact time. I ran it with a Sicce 5 pump. It produced some good foam but I found it really needed to be cleaned every day or so for optimum performance. It would flood on me sometimes too for no reason that I could figure out. My sump is under the display tank and it was difficult for me to remove the cup. I had to disconnect the venturi airline and pull the cup upward. I wasn’t fond of the rubber gasket that helps hold the cup in place. It was a big skimmer with a large footprint that wasn’t performing the way I thought it should. With a single gate valve for adjusting the water height, it would bounce up and down over time. I sold it.

I looked at other skimmers from cheap knockoffs with Chinese pumps to high end ATB and Bubble Kings. I didn’t want to spend $1,000 on a skimmer.

Skimmer 3: I researched the Nyos Quantum 160. Not much out there as far as reviews but Ecotech endorses the skimmers and provides support. Ecotech has a good reputation for customer service that I have experienced firsthand. So I picked up the 160, installed it in the sump and it was producing a nice foam within minutes. This was too good to be true – I was waiting for the flooding. It didn’t flood.

It’s been in place for over two months and I think it is the perfect skimmer for me. Here is what I like about it. The cup twists off easily. I dump it out and clean it every other day. I do it before my wife gets up so she doesn’t know I am cleaning it in the kitchen sink. I feed heavily and it’s producing a nice thick foam. I keep the water height right at the top of the neck below the cup. You can make gross water level adjustments with the standpipe and fine adjustments with a micro adjustment valve at the top of the standpipe. Air volume is adjustable too with another valve. After turning off the integrated pump and cleaning the cup I sometimes have to make a small water height adjustment which takes me about about 15 seconds and it starts making foam right away.

Initially the cup didn’t twist on and off easily but after a few days of use, it loosens up nicely. I also didn’t like the short tubing to connect from the air valve at the top of the skimmer to the air intake on the pump. It kept falling off because it was too short. They provide a second piece of tubing and a small glass tube to use for ozone. I ended up taking the second tube and connecting it with the small glass tube to the other tube so there was plenty of tubing now between the pump and the intake. The inside of my skimmer gets some crud in it over time. I picked up an OXO SoftWorks Bottle Brush from Target which makes it easy for me to swish out the inside of the skimmer body when it’s needed and when I am emptying the cup. The bottle brushes at Walmart were too stiff and I was concerned about scratching the acrylic.

I don’t see a lot folks talking about the Nyos skimmers so I was bit worried about long term support if they didn’t take off. Because of that I picked up a second pump from Ecotech. Plus that makes it easier for me to soak one pump and replace it with the spare without keeping the skimmer off line too long.

From my perspective, this is the perfect skimmer for me. I highly recommend it.

 

[reefwiser]

Thats are great review. Nyos look like great skimmers.

 

[mcarroll]

From browsing, that looks like a $500 skimmer to begin with...with a lot of that going to aesthetic. How much was the NYOS + insurance pump?

The "insurance pump" is a move I'd do for a discount pump....I'd have to have tons more confidence than that to plunk down so much cash for a skimmer.

FWIW, the Tunze 9410 is very comparable, super easy to own, has better "extra features" which actually apply to your use-case, and only costs $350.

Tunze and AquaC are two of my favorite skimmers.

As for your issues with overflows...I would have told you to:

• Make smaller changes and only one change per day when tuning your skimmer.
• Every change you make should be only based on the skimmate produced in the previous period.
• Changes should not be based on the current performance of the skimmer.

It can take some time to dial a skimmer in this way, but it's pretty bullet proof...

 

[jetmaker]

You just needed to dial that aqua Max back a little more it is a great skimmer mine never floods and produces thick skimate.

 

[mandarin417]

Thanks mcarroll and jetmaker - great advice.

I gave the AquaMaxx two months and the LifeReef three months. Each dialed in for a week or so and they would both flood for no apparent reason related to additives or other tanks changes.

I never saw the Tunze 9410 in person. I didn’t want another filter sock to manage was concerned that the bubbles dumping in the filter would create a mist for salt creep under the tank.

The Nyos 160 dialed in for me on day 1 and has held steady for over 2 months. I feed heavy and also am carbon dosing. Here are some pics from this morning before I and emptied the cup. This is what I accumulate 2 days after cleaning.

15 years ago our skimmer choices were limited to a handful of suppliers as compared to now. This is a terrific skimmer for me.

 

[mcarroll]

Glad you are enjoying your skimmer and had good luck setting it up!!

That is most people's experience with most skimmers, in my experience. The instances where there are problems like overflow issues, or microbubbles, etc...are the exceptions. And there are always fixes, in my experience. Even so, nothing wrong with switching - it all goes to experience!

But While We're At It
Higher flow skimmers - due to the higher flowrate - are harder to tune than others, because they will reflect changes in the tank much more quickly. Maybe it's better to say they require a more refined approach than most skimmers.....like the tuning process I described. It's not difficult, though.

Needlwheel skimmers are fairly forgiving if they are well-designed....which most are these days since everyone is copying everyone else's designs. It's down to niceties and aesthetics for the clone designs....how quick can the skimmer be cleaned? how quickly does the air intake foul up? how prone to overflow is it? what weird shapes can I get away with? what colors plastic dopeople prefer? Etc.

You note there are a lot of choices these days...which is true....but 80% of the selection is clones. Of the rest, variety is actually dwindling. By now, you've tried all three, in fact.

On another topic...look for a PM here shortly.