aquamaxx ConeS CO 1 skimmer review

[reeftivo]

Thanks for the review, very helpful. So much so, that mine just arrived. Just a quick note. I noticed that the venturi fitting that the yellow hose fits on to is not glued onto the rest of the pump head (i.e., the part that has the ceramic bearing and notches is separate piece). The venturi can be removed, as well as slightly rotated so that it does not point straight up and cause the possible kinking of the hose as shown in your fig.

little update!

thermoJoe is correct in saying that the venturi can be removed without unscrewing the volute cover. I finally decided to take another shot at twisting mine off since my first attempt was futile. I took the skimmer out to give it a good cleaning (skimmer is so easy to clean and get to all surfaces). I took the pump off and tried twisting the venturi off again with my hands and NOTHING! Arrg! I then worked it back and forth without twisting and it started to move. I all my infinite wisdom (ya right!), I decide to take my channel locks and get a better grip (mistake!). When I grabbed the venturi with the tool I was not careful and when I tried turning it the pliers slipped and snapped off the nipple to the airline. I was even thinking that may happen when I was twisting-***. Fortunately it was an easy fix with super glue but I had to seriously work the inside of the tube after it was glued to remove any excess glue or I would be clogging constantly. Wheeew!

Long story short;
The venturi was Super snug on mine and with a little care to avoid snapping off the air line nipple, it can be turned to relieve the bend in the airline.

Skimmer is back up and running and working flawlessly

Tivo

 

[2JZGTE]

I've had my CO-2 up and running for about a week now and it churns out some nice dark gunk just like the pictures Tivo posted. Currently I'm running into a little issue with my auto top-off system, the sensor gets stuck in the down position and my sump fills with too much water, making the CO-2 skim way too wet and overflowing the collection cup. Once I get that issue taken care of I can dial in the protein skimmer a little better. In any event, I like this skimmer, lots of small tiny air bubbles and it is super quiet.

 

[reeftivo]

I've had my CO-2 up and running for about a week now and it churns out some nice dark gunk just like the pictures Tivo posted. Currently I'm running into a little issue with my auto top-off system, the sensor gets stuck in the down position and my sump fills with too much water, making the CO-2 skim way too wet and overflowing the collection cup. Once I get that issue taken care of I can dial in the protein skimmer a little better. In any event, I like this skimmer, lots of small tiny air bubbles and it is super quiet.

great to hear the CO-2 is rockin' for you! If they (aquamaxx) ever get their import issues staightened out they will easily replace RO as the go to mid$range skimmers in the hobby. Awsome skimmers, awsome price, no modding and awsome performance right out of the box!

Now if they can ship more than only a few dozen at a time, then it would take them over the top.

Hopefully you get that ATO issue worked out. I'm still using my old Tunze osmollator and sensor has never failed in 6 years-luckily!

 

[SEEMAC]

Reeftivo...

I have been reading your review and have a few questions..
I have a 75 with a 20 sump total water should be about 80 gallons...my question is would you go with the Aquamaxx CO-1 that you have or the EM200. I'm thinking the EM200 would be to big but them again the CO-1 may be just a little small as I do have a medium to heavy bioload fish and corals..

 

[reeftivo]

Reeftivo...

I have been reading your review and have a few questions..
I have a 75 with a 20 sump total water should be about 80 gallons...my question is would you go with the Aquamaxx CO-1 that you have or the EM200. I'm thinking the EM200 would be to big but them again the CO-1 may be just a little small as I do have a medium to heavy bioload fish and corals..

Hi SEEMAC,

Either should work fine. The 200 probably would idle more but it has a 6" body and 700+ lph air which would still work. If you got a CO 1 then you may need to run a skim locker or other secodary container because the cup capacity is a bit lean.

 

[SEEMAC]

Thanks reeftive... I'm thinking that I might try the EM200 and see how that goes..

 

[SEEMAC]

Quick question...do you know the gallons per hour on the co-1... I'm not able to find that information.

 

[reeftivo]

There have been no listings as to the gph on the shark 1.5 as far as I've seen. As you know it's rated at 360 lph and the shark is the rebranded sicce syncra 2.0. The 2.0 pushes 568 gph as a circ/return pump so with the NW it may be safe to cut that number by a third to estimate the gph. I have sent a message to aquamaxx asking them and should hear back soon.

Happy reefing

Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

Ran a little test!

For the heck of it I decided to see what an SK400 pump pulling 450lph would do on the CO 1 (just for giggles). The pump has the SSA venturi and NW so I thought it would be interesting to see if it actually performed well. I installed it and fired it up and walla! Sooo much louder than the syncra pump. Air numbers were at 420 but the fine bubble size was noticeably larger than the syncra with the aquamaxx NW. I ran it for only 24 hours and it still needed to bed in but I pulled it early because I felt the bubble density just wasnt there compared the the syncra pump. That and the fact it was louder makes sense why aquamaxx chose the syncra and their NW for this design.

Just thought you guys may find that interesting!

Happy Reefing

tivo

 

[SEEMAC]

Reeftivo... thank you I do appreciate that and would love to know.

The more I read about the CO-1 the more I think it may be a better fit for my 75 reef...especially after reading Wildman926's posts about his experience with the EM100 EM200 and EM300. It seams that the old school of thought buy big still apply to some skimmers but not all and sounds like the Aquamaxx line is more accurate on their ratings.

 

[reeftivo]

No problem Seemac,

I've already got a reply back from aquamaxx and they are consulting with their technical/development guys to get an accurate gph rating. I also asked them for numbers on the CO 2 and 3.

 

[reeftivo]

Heard back from aquamaxx regarding the gph. Larry only gave me one number and I believe is for the CO 1. He said their tech guys rate the skimmer at 1800lph (475.5gph). I've asked to confirm if that's the CO 1 and also if he can proved #s for the others.


My CO 1 is still performing flawlessly
(10 days worth on my small system)

 

[Drae]

Heard back from aquamaxx regarding the gph. Larry only gave me one number and I believe is for the CO 1. He said their tech guys rate the skimmer at 1800lph (475.5gph). I've asked to confirm if that's the CO 1 and also if he can proved #s for the others.


My CO 1 is still performing flawlessly
(10 days worth on my small system)
View attachment 242810

On a system as small as yours that's great skimmate! could you imagine the gunk it would pull out of a 60 or 70 gallon? I know that skimmer could skim a 90. The shark pumps are just beastly little fine bubble makers. Bubble size and skimmer balance ( air to water to body diameter) make the skimmer and aquamaxx nails it on all fronts. Excellent review Tivo.

 

[reeftivo]

On a system as small as yours that's great skimmate! could you imagine the gunk it would pull out of a 60 or 70 gallon? I know that skimmer could skim a 90. The shark pumps are just beastly little fine bubble makers. Bubble size and skimmer balance ( air to water to body diameter) make the skimmer and aquamaxx nails it on all fronts. Excellent review Tivo.

Thanks Drae!

I totally agree! I was skeptical of the design at first. I thought the bubble plate cones were an awesome idea, but thought the height where they were in the chamber would sacrifice some contact time. Most skimmers I've used had significantly more space from the bubble plate to the neck. The design they came up with suits the air volume perfectly. The NW is fairly small but has a dense (tight) array of needles compared to most of my other skimmers. I'm sure thats why the SSA SK didnt perform similarly. The bubbles were just not as small as the bubbles generated by the aquamaxx NW. I couldn't be happier with CO 1 and its consistency.

Happy reefing

Tivo

 

[rishma]

Are you planning on a larger tank? Just wondering because I think the skimmer is way over sized. I have been down that road a few times and oversized skimmers get frustrating

 

[reeftivo]

Are you planning on a larger tank? Just wondering because I think the skimmer is way over sized. I have been down that road a few times and oversized skimmers get frustrating

No plans for a larger tank at this time. I've come down from a 125 several years ago and have finally settled on my current tank/sump set up.
As far as the size! It's fine for my 45+ net volume. If it had a 3 3/4 or 4 inch neck and was pulling 700+ lph I would say that would definitely be a stretch, but it has a 3.5 inch neck and pulls 340lph on my dwyer meter. My skimmate tells me all I need to know.

I appreciate the heads up!


Tivo:thumbsup:

 

[reeftivo]

For those interested in the gph of the CO 2 and 3

CO 2= 2200lph (581gph)

CO 3 =2600lph (686.8gph)

*the CO 1 is 475.5gph

Happy reefing

 

[grandp10]

Have had my CO 2 running for a couple weeks now. It was not really loud but had a noticeable vibrating hum that could be heard relatively easily. Though at almost exactly the one week mark it quieted down considerably. I had a SWC 160 w/ the Sicce psk100 and it performed well but did not really fill the neck of the skimmer up with small bubbles. The neck of the SWC was always filled with larger bubbles that would break up in the neck (about 5 inches from the top), though it did get good skimmate in the cup, not really sure how, maybe it was just getting pushed up so fast with the high flow of the pump. The Aquamaxx seems to have small bubbles all the way up until the last roughly 2 inches. I am very happy with the skimmer and the price!!

 

[grandp10]

Oh BTW, thanks reeftivo for the help you have given me and for talking me into getting this skimmer! Thanks to Drae as well.

 

[reeftivo]

Oh BTW, thanks reeftivo for the help you have given me and for talking me into getting this skimmer! Thanks to Drae as well.

No problem. Glad to help!

Now if only aquamaxx could get larger shipments to the retailers. Then more people can enjoy them and see what we're talking about.
Looks like mid September for the next batch. Toooo long!

Let's see some pics of your's in action!

Happy reefing

Tivo