aquamaxx ConeS CO 1 skimmer review

[reeftivo]

a note about the standpipe that I'm not liking;

when I turn the standpipe to adjust the level it gets snug for a couple rotations, then it's a little looser for a couple more. It doesn't fall out of adjustment but could be an issue for others if they receive units that are looser. I think if an o-ring was used or they cut the hole diameter a little smaller it would obviously be tighter and a non issue. The standpipe doesn't completely unscrew. It will unscrew until it hits the lip at the end. If mine gets looser I will unscrew it as much as I can and wrap some teflon tape around the outside of the standpipe, then screw it back down to snug it up. If I could completely unscrew the standpipe I would put teflon tape around the threads on the insert. Right now it hasn't been an issue but I thought I'd throw it out there.

heres a pick showing where the issue could be

 

[reeftivo]

forgot I caught a picture of the belch last night around 20-30 minutes after feeding mysis/reefroids.

another think I really like about this skimmer is that it doesnt have walls like other under pump skimmers (i.e. diablo 160, skimz, warner marine etc.) which can impeed flow around the bottom in the chamber. The miniscule feet are a nice feature and circulation in the sump chamber is better than ever

 

[colortrilogy]

reeftivo - my DT is 75 gallon, sump is 55, total water volume is 105g. Under budget constraints (considering a sca) but would spend a little more. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[reeftivo]

my thoughts are that ConeS CO-1 skimmer would easily handle that size system.

I believe the SCA (302?) comes with an atman 2500 pump which I would steer clear of. The skimmers seem to skim well but the atman reliability is poor. They are cheap pumps to replace but you have to take the rep and potantial hassle into consideration.

If you're not comfortable yet with such a new skimmer (ConeS CO 1) then some other proven skimmers you may want to take a look at are.

JNS/Aquamaxx cone 2
Seaside aquatics CS 1
Reefdynamics INS 100
RLSS 6 cone (fairly new but performs well)

There are several more (more expensive & less expensive) but the above have pretty stellar reviews.

Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

the seaside aquatics would be the cheapest on the list and is powered by a sicce syncra psk600

 

[reeftivo]

Update for today. Skimmer is still chugging along. The skimmate is much darker at this point than any other skimmer I've owned. I have it running at a hair under 9.5 inches with the output pipe closed down to about a 1/4 inch. I can get it to produce more skimmate by running it deeper and closing the standpipe more but haven't decided yet. I like a more concentrated skim. To me, wet skimming removes too much good stuff with the bad. What the skimmer has pulled so far has been right on with what I expected for the light bioload I have at this point.

 

[reeftivo]

 

[reeftivo]

Oops forgot to rotate-lol

 

[wildman926]

wet skimming removes too much good stuff with the bad.

What is removed is replaced with water changes. Wet skimming ensures you get every last bit out.

 

[reeftivo]

Understood

 

[gldnegle76]

Going to follow this thread closely, thanks for the review Tivo! My system is similar in size to yours and I am currently running the WM121 which is doing well with the 3rd generation impeller although every now and then it will still have restart issues. I've got a 46/20 setup with about 50-55 gal. of water volume.
Very interested in how this performs vs the Warner Marine, which I know you had been using. Keep us informed, thanks! Also, I wonder how it would perform in 8" of water.

 

[reeftivo]

Going to follow this thread closely, thanks for the review Tivo! My system is similar in size to yours and I am currently running the WM121 which is doing well with the 3rd generation impeller although every now and then it will still have restart issues. I've got a 46/20 setup with about 50-55 gal. of water volume.
Very interested in how this performs vs the Warner Marine, which I know you had been using. Keep us informed, thanks! Also, I wonder how it would perform in 8" of water.

My skimz pump on my WM MF121 cr@pped out a while back. I was about to pull the trigger on a new sicce for the WM but I saw this skimmer on a thread here and it caught my attention so I held off on the sicce and picked up a PLS100 which held things together until the CO 1 came out. IMO it performs better than the WM. The foam head is more dense and like a cushion, which is similar to the foam head I got from the BK 160 mini. I got the mini with plans to buy the CAD100 starfire but that fell through so I sold it. I think it would work great on your water volume. The skimmer is truely the most quiet I've owned.

Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

Going to follow this thread closely, thanks for the review Tivo! My system is similar in size to yours and I am currently running the WM121 which is doing well with the 3rd generation impeller although every now and then it will still have restart issues. I've got a 46/20 setup with about 50-55 gal. of water volume.
Very interested in how this performs vs the Warner Marine, which I know you had been using. Keep us informed, thanks! Also, I wonder how it would perform in 8" of water.

Also, I wonder how it would perform in 8" of water.[/QUOTE]

I've only had mine down to 9 and I didn't like it. My air numbers were lower at 9.

 

[reeftivo]

okay!
I'm at day 5 and things are looking good. No issues whatsoever. Still quiet, and chugging along. The amount of skimmate is on par with my bioload and daily feedings.

The skimmate is extremely concentrated so I wanted to loosen things up a bit and installed the o-ring at the silencer and wrapped about 3" of teflon tape around the end of the set screw. I added another 1/4 inch volume to the level of the sump and will report later tonight on how things progress.

Here's a pic of the silencer. You can see the black o-ring and teflon tape.
The o-ring was a little undersized and I don't have the diameter but I do know it's 1/8" thickness and the set screw went in fine.

To reiterate!The reason I put the o-ring and tape on is because if I tried to run the skimmer deeper than the flange, the silencer would start collecting water. The water was coming through the screw hole, around the lip of the flange and was filling the silencer. The mods work perfectly and now I can play with deeper water levels.

 

[wildman926]

Too bad that they did not put the support bracket higher like on my EM series skimmer so you would not have to mod it to skim deeper. I know why they put it there, as it is to secure the two bodies, the main, and the transition. They should keep the "ring" there to accomplish that, but move the bracket up to the neck collar.

You can see here on mine, it is a separate bracket piece for the silencer and output tube, and secured to the transition ring.

 

[reeftivo]

Hi wildman!

Yes it would have been better to mount the silencer at the collar where the cup locks in. The silencer is tall though (3"), so if they would have included a .10 cent o-ring and a tiny bit of teflon tape it would have been a non issue. It's a keeper at this point and I'll report back as things progress. I should get a little less head pressure and more air on the pump with the deeper levels I will be trying but we'll have to wait and see. Thank goodness I have a 15 inch deep sump.


Wildman, is that the EM300 or the 100?

 

[wildman926]

Hello my friend,

It is my EM300. It is very compact for an 8" diameter body. I love it. It removes the waste very efficiently, and sits idle most of the time. I could have gone with the EM200 and it would have done the job just as well.

How do I know? I have an EM200 on my 90g, and it acts the same way.

Both tanks have 30g sumps. Once the initial cleansing of the tanks occurred, they both settled into a pattern as I described above. They both removed what the SRO 2000 could not.

 

[reeftivo]

very awsome! looking good.

does the EM300 have a 4" neck or a 3.5?

 

[wildman926]

It has a 4" neck. I run it high, to skim wet, about 1/2" from the top of the neck. When I feed, it drops down a tad, and then removes it quickly.

 

[reeftivo]

Update day 6
All is good and the skimmer is doing is job well. Tank looks better than ever and the skimmer produces the most putrid smelling skimmate since the old deltec I used to have. I've cleaned the cup for the first time since installing it 6 days ago and this is what I got. Break in looks to have finished but it needs a little more time to be sure. I'm running it at 9 3/4" right now but will bump it to 10"after my water change tomorrow.

Not bad!