aquamaxx ConeS CO 1 skimmer review

[reeftivo]

Mine runs with the water JUST below the bottom of the air intake chamber.

depending on bioload, some even operate well at 8 inches. A lot depends on the system. I had a light to medium load on my 54 gallon system so 9.25 was good for me and if i went any shallower, i would have to close off the standpipe too much for my liking. I have a little bigger system now and sold off or gave away most of my corals. Working on getting things built up on the new tank (5 months now). I have shelved my CO1 for now and I'm running a ins80S with sicce. nice skimmer!! Only thing i don't care for on the INS80s is the standpipe. Not too much fine adjustment so I have to adjust it carefully.

 

[grandp10]

Thank you very much for your reply reeftivo! Finally got one of these skimmers. Hope all is well with you also! I hot mine used forc $165. Hopefully you think that is a good deal?!

 

[grandp10]

It's going on a 75 with a light medium bioload.

 

[reeftivo]

At first, just set it (water level) at the flange where the silencer attaches, leave the stand pipe wide open and leave it alone for s day or two.

 

[s2nhle]

Great information. My sump level is fluctuated base on the weather. so I have to adjust the air that comes to the skimmer.

 

[reeftivo]

Great information. My sump level is fluctuated base on the weather. so I have to adjust the air that comes to the skimmer.

no ATO?

skimmers won't like that ;-) unless your skimmer chamber is baffled and constant. No need to adjust the air on this. If you need to tweak it (air) all the time it will never skim correctly.

I've been using my tunze ato for 8 years now without fail. Can't imagine life without one. I have no room under cabinet so i got a square 5 gallon poly closed top drum (w/bung) and grabbed a couple square wicker baskets from target (the drum sits in one basket and the other covers it). It looks great with a silk plant on top next to the tank.

 

[MidTnMike41]

I just replaced a vertex omega 150 with a co-1 on a medium stocked 90 gallon about 2 weeks ago. I was starting to wonder if I did the right thing. I could not really get good results with the vertex. I just emptied the co-1 skimmer .... wow that was some nasty stuff. It may not be the show piece that the vertex is but i am very impressed with its performance. Set it next to the vertex and it looks like a toy, but it runs circles around it. Smaller, quieter, cheaper... I am impressed!!! I am currently sitting in around 9.25 in of water. I will probably go deeper once i get the silencer sealed up. It gurgles when i run it deeper. The height of the silencer is my only complaint, but not a big deal.

 

[shred5]

I just replaced a vertex omega 150 with a co-1 on a medium stocked 90 gallon about 2 weeks ago. I was starting to wonder if I did the right thing. I could not really get good results with the vertex. I just emptied the co-1 skimmer .... wow that was some nasty stuff. It may not be the show piece that the vertex is but i am very impressed with its performance. Set it next to the vertex and it looks like a toy, but it runs circles around it. Smaller, quieter, cheaper... I am impressed!!! I am currently sitting in around 9.25 in of water. I will probably go deeper once i get the silencer sealed up. It gurgles when i run it deeper. The height of the silencer is my only complaint, but not a big deal.

Yea no luck with Vertex, some models not balanced other work fine. You need to restrict air flow on them a little or they overflow constantly. They certainly look nice and are built well..
They just need to spend time one designing the skimmer body for the pumps they use.

The CO-1 is awsume but it might be a little small for a 90 depending on your other methods of nutrient exportation.

I think what makes the CO-1 so good is how it forces the skimmate into the cup. By angling it towards a little slot really condenses the skimmate and forces it out of the cup. A normal neck the skimmate rises up and basically as the bubbles pop the skimmate falls back on its self. It never really forces it out of the neck just up until it hits the lid and some if forced out. This is why I believe you never hear much about the other skimmers in the line too. I have seen other skimmers like this too and they really performed well.. Deltec in their older line had a series of skimmers like this.

 

[reeftivo]

I just replaced a vertex omega 150 with a co-1 on a medium stocked 90 gallon about 2 weeks ago. I was starting to wonder if I did the right thing. I could not really get good results with the vertex. I just emptied the co-1 skimmer .... wow that was some nasty stuff. It may not be the show piece that the vertex is but i am very impressed with its performance. Set it next to the vertex and it looks like a toy, but it runs circles around it. Smaller, quieter, cheaper... I am impressed!!! I am currently sitting in around 9.25 in of water. I will probably go deeper once i get the silencer sealed up. It gurgles when i run it deeper. The height of the silencer is my only complaint, but not a big deal.

It will skim like crazy on a 90. But like shred5 states, it's on the small side for that size system. It most likely will not idle much (if at all) if you beef up stocking levels. I definitely would suggest a skim locker or other secondary drain container if you have room. Otherwise you will be constantly emptying the cup.

 

[MidTnMike41]

Yea no luck with Vertex, some models not balanced other work fine. You need to restrict air flow on them a little or they overflow constantly. They certainly look nice and are built well..
They just need to spend time one designing the skimmer body for the pumps they use.

The CO-1 is awsume but it might be a little small for a 90 depending on your other methods of nutrient exportation.

I think what makes the CO-1 so good is how it forces the skimmate into the cup. By angling it towards a little slot really condenses the skimmate and forces it out of the cup. A normal neck the skimmate rises up and basically as the bubbles pop the skimmate falls back on its self. It never really forces it out of the neck just up until it hits the lid. This is why I believe you never hear much about the other skimmers in the line too. I have seen other skimmers like this too and trhey really performed well.. Deltec in their older line had a series of skimmers like this.

I never had the overflowing problem with the vertex like some do. I just could not tune mine in. I tried every water height and adjusted it for months. Mine had 2 settings, no skimmate and a cup full of green tea everyday, no in between. It might have just been oversized for my load, that's why I went with the smaller skimmer. So far so good.

 

[shred5]

It will skim like crazy on a 90. But like shred5 states, it's on the small side for that size system. It most likely will not idle much (if at all) if you beef up stocking levels. I definitely would suggest a skim locker or other secondary drain container if you have room. Otherwise you will be constantly emptying the cup.

Skimmate lockers are a must for this skimmer since the cup is so small..

I run reef octopus ones on all my skimmers too. They shut the skimmer off when full..

I do not know how many times they have saved me from over flowing skimmer.

 

[shred5]

I never had the overflowing problem with the vertex like some do. I just could not tune mine in. I tried every water height and adjusted it for months. Mine had 2 settings, no skimmate and a cup full of green tea everyday, no in between. It might have just been oversized for my load, that's why I went with the smaller skimmer. So far so good.

I do not hear of many issues with the 150 other than a little hard to adjust.

It actually sounds like it may have been oversized for your load. If it only pulls tea or none at all your skimmer might be oversized. Usually you can tell my skimmate coating the neck more than in the cup. Sometimes it pulls and then runs idle for a bit too. A skimmer can never be to big is bull..

 

[MidTnMike41]

I was worried about that when I bought it. I change my filter socks every 4 days and when I do that I rinse out my skimmer cup. So far it gets about 1.5 in of skimmate in 4 days. (getting darker every time i do it) I feel like its a good size for stock I have now. I may add 2 or 3 small fish and a lot more corals. If it starts filling up too fast then I will address it then.

 

[reeftivo]

if you want it wetter at any point and have height in sump, run it at 9.5-10".

it will allow you more adjustment. But definitly run a skim locker if you run it that high.

 

[MidTnMike41]

I do not hear of many issues with the 150 other than a little hard to adjust.

It actually sounds like it may have been oversized for your load. If it only pulls tea or none at all your skimmer might be oversized. Usually you can tell my skimmate coating the neck more than in the cup. Sometimes it pulls and then runs idle for a bit too. A skimmer can never be to big is bull..

Sounds exactly right. The skimmer neck would get pretty nasty but not much in the cup other than almost clear water. It sat idle most of the time. About an inch of foam just sitting in the neck except for a few hours a day when it would make enough foam to go ever the falls. I recorded it to figure this out.

 

[MidTnMike41]

if you want it wetter at any point and have height in sump, run it at 9.5-10".

it will allow you more adjustment. But definitly run a skim locker if you run it that high.

I do have the room, i just need to seal up the silencer first. It sounds like a water bong under my tank if i raise the water level anymore. The other problem I have with running the sump that high is that my filter socks float in the holders. So a lot of the water does not go through the socks. I need to figure out something to hold my socks down.

 

[shred5]

. The other problem I have with running the sump that high is that my filter socks float in the holders.

Same here.

 

[reeftivo]

I do have the room, i just need to seal up the silencer first. It sounds like a water bong under my tank if i raise the water level anymore. The other problem I have with running the sump that high is that my filter socks float in the holders. So a lot of the water does not go through the socks. I need to figure out something to hold my socks down.

take the silencer tube to home depot or lowes and match up a thin 0-ring. drop it in the milled out groove and put a half inch of teflon tape on the end of the nylon screw. no leaks!

if you have a piece of old LR you can drop it in the filter sock and it will weight down the sock so it doesn't float. If you dont have a piece a LFS will have some rubble they should give you. That's what I use and it works perfectly.

 

[MidTnMike41]

take the silencer tube to home depot or lowes and match up a thin 0-ring. drop it in the milled out groove and put a half inch of teflon tape on the end of the nylon screw. no leaks!

if you have a piece of old LR you can drop it in the filter sock and it will weight down the sock so it doesn't float. If you dont have a piece a LFS will have some rubble they should give you. That's what I use and it works perfectly.

:thumbsup:

Good idea with the rock rubble. I'll have to give that a try. I just haven't made it to the store yet to get the o-ring but its on my list of things to do.

 

[reeftivo]

Great!

Trust me, it will work perfect. On the sock! only a small piece of rubble is needed. I am running a sicce psk400 right next to mine and it kept getting sucked into the volute. A small peice (1 x 2") was all it took to anchor the sock. I just dump it rinse it and drop it into the new sock when a switch. Easy peezy