OP
OP
kinetic
Valuable Member
It feels like ages, but it's only been two weeks since I've setup my NYOS Quantum 120 skimmer. This thing stinks (in a good way?). So much gross skimmate! This is probably the best performance out of a skimmer I've ever had. I've had a LOT of skimmers. Tunze, ELOS, Bubble King, Simplicity, and now the NYOS Quantum. This one has been the easiest to dial in, probably the quietest (other than the skimmer lid rattle), and is currently pulling out amazing skimmate. This is 2 days:
Noise
Decibels on my iPhone app read about 60 dB when running, with an ambient sound around 48 dB. Not the quietest, but the sound is a very low deep hum and pretty quiet. To me, it's quieter than my Simplicity 120 DC, which had a higher pitch that was a lot more distracting.
Quality
The skimmer build looks nice, seams are beautifully done, the wedge pipe adjustment is a dream, and the details down to the titanium screws are really incredible. I'm not sure why they are using titanium screws over plastic ones, or why there's little tabs holding the skimmer down rather than it being screwed right in (maybe for the sake of not needing to replace the skimmer body if you damage the screw hole?), but it's nice. It feels like it's built to last a lifetime, rather than something that works for a few years and needs replacement. Despite a lot of the skimmer feeling nice and polished, there's a few surprising things that aren't that nice. The plastic feels a bit more plastic than acrylic, and feels slightly cheap. The skimmer cup walls are pretty thin, and I feel like I could easily crack it with my hand while twisting on and off the body. The light gray bits around the skimmer look kind of cheap up close, for some reason reminds me of the plastic of caps on plastic soda bottles. The tip of the air screw has imperfections in the plastic, so it has a strand of plastic sticking out sideways. It doesn't hurt the performance, but is oddly out of place on an otherwise beautiful skimmer.
Design
The design of this skimmer is beautiful and functional. I think the skimmer cup is nicely done so it's easy to be cleaned out. Everything has slight natural curves, with few hard angles. So far, it's performing well so I can't say much else about how it's shaped. By far the best part is the wedge pipe adjustment. It's screw based, and has the perfect amount of give. It's easy to do small adjustments, which is key. The only strange thing is the cutout for the pump cord on the bottom of the skimmer doesn't give it much room, and the skimmer actually sits on the cord since it sticks out downwards and has to bend up. Good thing it's soft so it dampens any sound. It's also right where the wedge pipe outlet is. Kind of strange. The one big flaw about this skimmer is probably the skimmer cup lid. It rattles so much and is incredibly loud. I have to constantly go into my sump to slightly move the lid so it will stop rattling, but it will eventually start rattling again. I'm not sure what to do about it, other than get some large rubberbands to tie it down.
Performance
Two week performance is great. It started skimming only a few days after setting up. It was skimming pretty wet, but I didn't adjust it to get darker since I wanted to let it break in for awhile. This is after giving it a 1 hour vinegar bath. I did add a ton of reef epoxy into the tank a week later, so it went a little nuts for days. I decided to open the wedge pipe quite a bit, and it was actually able to skim despite all the reef epoxy being in the water. I could tell it was skimming the epoxy remnants out, because the cup smelled so much like the reef epoxy for a few days. Then things calmed down, and I had to close up the wedge pipe again to get the water level correct. As of 2 weeks, it's now skimming incredibly well. It's definitely helping keep my parameters at a minimum.
2 week Conclusion
Overall, I'd highly recommend the skimmer. It skims really well, easy to adjust, and isn't too noisy. I wouldn't say dead silent, but that's just subjective. I'm interested in trying the rumored Bubble King Micro skimmers that have the DC Aquabee pumps. Hopefully that is actually dead silent. Noise is such a big factor for me. The NYOS is tolerable when the lid isn't rattling, especially with how well it's working, but there must be a quieter way.
Noise
Decibels on my iPhone app read about 60 dB when running, with an ambient sound around 48 dB. Not the quietest, but the sound is a very low deep hum and pretty quiet. To me, it's quieter than my Simplicity 120 DC, which had a higher pitch that was a lot more distracting.
Quality
The skimmer build looks nice, seams are beautifully done, the wedge pipe adjustment is a dream, and the details down to the titanium screws are really incredible. I'm not sure why they are using titanium screws over plastic ones, or why there's little tabs holding the skimmer down rather than it being screwed right in (maybe for the sake of not needing to replace the skimmer body if you damage the screw hole?), but it's nice. It feels like it's built to last a lifetime, rather than something that works for a few years and needs replacement. Despite a lot of the skimmer feeling nice and polished, there's a few surprising things that aren't that nice. The plastic feels a bit more plastic than acrylic, and feels slightly cheap. The skimmer cup walls are pretty thin, and I feel like I could easily crack it with my hand while twisting on and off the body. The light gray bits around the skimmer look kind of cheap up close, for some reason reminds me of the plastic of caps on plastic soda bottles. The tip of the air screw has imperfections in the plastic, so it has a strand of plastic sticking out sideways. It doesn't hurt the performance, but is oddly out of place on an otherwise beautiful skimmer.
Design
The design of this skimmer is beautiful and functional. I think the skimmer cup is nicely done so it's easy to be cleaned out. Everything has slight natural curves, with few hard angles. So far, it's performing well so I can't say much else about how it's shaped. By far the best part is the wedge pipe adjustment. It's screw based, and has the perfect amount of give. It's easy to do small adjustments, which is key. The only strange thing is the cutout for the pump cord on the bottom of the skimmer doesn't give it much room, and the skimmer actually sits on the cord since it sticks out downwards and has to bend up. Good thing it's soft so it dampens any sound. It's also right where the wedge pipe outlet is. Kind of strange. The one big flaw about this skimmer is probably the skimmer cup lid. It rattles so much and is incredibly loud. I have to constantly go into my sump to slightly move the lid so it will stop rattling, but it will eventually start rattling again. I'm not sure what to do about it, other than get some large rubberbands to tie it down.
Performance
Two week performance is great. It started skimming only a few days after setting up. It was skimming pretty wet, but I didn't adjust it to get darker since I wanted to let it break in for awhile. This is after giving it a 1 hour vinegar bath. I did add a ton of reef epoxy into the tank a week later, so it went a little nuts for days. I decided to open the wedge pipe quite a bit, and it was actually able to skim despite all the reef epoxy being in the water. I could tell it was skimming the epoxy remnants out, because the cup smelled so much like the reef epoxy for a few days. Then things calmed down, and I had to close up the wedge pipe again to get the water level correct. As of 2 weeks, it's now skimming incredibly well. It's definitely helping keep my parameters at a minimum.
2 week Conclusion
Overall, I'd highly recommend the skimmer. It skims really well, easy to adjust, and isn't too noisy. I wouldn't say dead silent, but that's just subjective. I'm interested in trying the rumored Bubble King Micro skimmers that have the DC Aquabee pumps. Hopefully that is actually dead silent. Noise is such a big factor for me. The NYOS is tolerable when the lid isn't rattling, especially with how well it's working, but there must be a quieter way.
