aquamaxx ConeS CO 1 skimmer review

[Martini5788]

I am looking for a new skimmer and this is one of my options. I will have a total system volume of 100-120 gallons. My main display tank will have 10 fish when fully stocked, and the other tank is a mantis shrimp tank with a damsel in it. Would the aqua maxx cone 1 be sufficient?? I am considering adding softies and lps in the future. Tia

 

[reeftivo]

It will work since soft corals and many LPS don't need pristine water, but I would recommend the aquamaxx ConeS CO2 or JNS ConeS CO2.

 

[Martini5788]

I ended up getting the jns u-2 or aquamaxx em-200. It seemed like the right size and has a small footprint

 

[reeftivo]

that'll work (-;

 

[johnc99]

Reeftivo, I hope that Aquamaxx/JNS appreciate what you are doing for them in this thread. It was primarily this thread that convinced me to get the Aquamaxx.

 

[dropabomb]

Just upgraded from a Aquamaxx CO-2 to the Aquamaxx CO-3. WOw, what a beast. The c0-2 was great for my heavily stocked 90 but i upgraded to a 180 and wanted to move up so.... the CO-3 is it. And great pricing!

 

[cvcoda]

Just upgraded from a Aquamaxx CO-2 to the Aquamaxx CO-3. WOw, what a beast. The c0-2 was great for my heavily stocked 90 but i upgraded to a 180 and wanted to move up so.... the CO-3 is it. And great pricing!

I'm running the CO-3 on my 180 as well. Very happy with it so far. Easy to dial in and pulls a ton of crap out of the water.

 

[reeftivo]

Reeftivo, I hope that Aquamaxx/JNS appreciate what you are doing for them in this thread. It was primarily this thread that convinced me to get the Aquamaxx.

thanks!
I'm not a prone to go from thread to thread pushing the AM/JNS skimmers. I think I did that once and the person bought an omega 130. They then followed suit by posting on the Q&A thread about how many problems they were having dialing it in.

I figure if people do their research then they can make an educated guess at what will work best for them. BAsed on a majority of the reviews, IMHO the AM/JNS skimmers are the best performing pound per price skimmers around right now. There are other higher dollar, well designed, reputable skimmers like ATB, Reef Dynamics, Life Reef etc., but if you want to have a skimmer that just skims and save some money for other tank goodies, then by all means take a serious look at Aquamaxx/JNS skimmers.

It's an expensive hobby and I've blown a lot of money on useless skimmers over the years.

 

[fishless]

Hey guys. Great thread. I could use a little help with my new CO1 that I've just gotten up and running on my 1 month old 90g. It's in 9" of water. The system has five fish and I feed 1 to 2 times a day.

The problem I'm having is when I tune the skimmer anywhere near where it should be, there are a ton of microbubbles spilling into the sump and they are very noisy! If i dial it the other way, the microbubbles decrease and quiet down, but the cup overflows like crazy.

Are the bubbles in the sump normal break in for this skimmer, or do you think something is wrong/broken? I really like the skimmer, but I need to do something about these noisy bubbles.

 

[Steveg229]

Hey guys. Great thread. I could use a little help with my new CO1 that I've just gotten up and running on my 1 month old 90g. It's in 9" of water. The system has five fish and I feed 1 to 2 times a day.

The problem I'm having is when I tune the skimmer anywhere near where it should be, there are a ton of microbubbles spilling into the sump and they are very noisy! If i dial it the other way, the microbubbles decrease and quiet down, but the cup overflows like crazy.

Are the bubbles in the sump normal break in for this skimmer, or do you think something is wrong/broken? I really like the skimmer, but I need to do something about these noisy bubbles.

How long have u had it up and running? The micro bubbles are normal for the first few days during break in and it should quiet down after a few days as well. During break in u should have it adjusted all the way open so the air/water line is super low. After a few days u should be able to slowly raise it and you will start to see the air/water line develop. I have this on a 2 1/2 year old, well stocked, 90 gallon as well and this thing rocks.

 

[troynel]

Had my skimmer dialed in for the first 3 months of my new tank but for the past two weeks of tinkering with water levels, water changes and such the skimmer just doesn't seem to be skimming like it was before. I only have two fish and some corals but it's been that way for awhile. Could this skimmer have just skimmed everything out or is the skimmer just not dialed in anymore. I've tried raising and lowering the standpipe and waiting 24 hours for the past week but it just doesn't seem to be producing as much foam and dark skimmate like it was prior. Any ideas or how can I "reset"? I also just cleaned it 4 days ago.

 

[Martini5788]

I decided to go with an em200. Well actually a jns u-2, but same thing. Trying
To finish the stand that it is going to go under but it is breaking in on my qt tank right now. And it's actually pulling something that is a medium- dark blue, which is weird. I have no idea what it could be. Any ideas?

 

[LauraBay]

Mine seems to be working nicely after about one week. I'm not exactly clear on how to find tune the quality of the skimmate. If I would like the skimmate to be thicker do I want to close down or open up the exit hole on the standpipe?

 

[Steveg229]

Mine seems to be working nicely after about one week. I'm not exactly clear on how to find tune the quality of the skimmate. If I would like the skimmate to be thicker do I want to close down or open up the exit hole on the standpipe?

You want to open the standpipe. Move 1/8 - 1/4 turn, counter clockwise, and wait a few days before adjusting again.

 

[neuro]

Mine seems to be working nicely after about one week. I'm not exactly clear on how to find tune the quality of the skimmate. If I would like the skimmate to be thicker do I want to close down or open up the exit hole on the standpipe?

jeez are you feeding heavily? or heavily stocked?

i can't get nearly that dark of a skimmate at the end of a week, same amount in the cup though.

 

[micielo719]

Good evening, I am looking at purchasing the JNS co-2 skimmer and wanted to double check here first to make sure it was the right size. I have a 120g w/40b sump and I will end up making it a Lps/sps tank with some fish. I have done a lot of reading and some people say go with the co-3? Some also say go with the largest skimmer you can fit?? I am new to the hobby and just want to make sure I purchase the right skimmer only once. I just finished reading about 200 pages of skimmer info!!! my head is going in circles! LOL.. It may become a fully stocked tank one day but just want to make sure I make the right decision. Thanks very much for all your help.

 

[LauraBay]

jeez are you feeding heavily? or heavily stocked?

i can't get nearly that dark of a skimmate at the end of a week, same amount in the cup though.

Not at all. The tank only has one Ruby Red and one Mandarin. The tank is full of pods so I only feed frozen once or twice a week, mainly so the pods have food to reproduce. I have about 10 to 12 small coral frags that have been added in the past couple months but that's all. I actually emptied that cup once after about three days and the photo shows what built up in the next 3 to 4 days after that.

 

[las]

Following

 

[micielo719]

Good evening, I am looking at purchasing the JNS co-2 skimmer and wanted to double check here first to make sure it was the right size. I have a 120g w/40b sump and I will end up making it a Lps/sps tank with some fish. I have done a lot of reading and some people say go with the co-3? Some also say go with the largest skimmer you can fit?? I am new to the hobby and just want to make sure I purchase the right skimmer only once. I just finished reading about 200 pages of skimmer info!!! my head is going in circles! LOL.. It may become a fully stocked tank one day but just want to make sure I make the right decision. Thanks very much for all your help.

 

[micielo719]

So do you guys think it would be worth getting the JNS version considering they do not offer a warranty in the US? I'm all for saving $$ just want to make sure it doesn't come back and bite me. Thanks