Review: ESHOPPS Cone Skimmer!

[Dooly]

So I was fortunate enough to be one of two to win a brand new ESHOPPS Economy Cone protein skimmer from their giveaway that ran from august-september :rollface:

I just scrolled over their "who won the contest" thread and saw a familiar name and found that I had actually won the contest and shortafter received a call confirming that I did indeed win

So anyhoo, I received the package yesterday and the build quality looks GREAT. I also love the fact that the skimmer is able to be completely taken apart like the BK's

I threw it in a 10g with water from my display to break it in and I will be comparing it to my warner marine AS150 which I am currently using on my 120g display with 40g sump and 10g fuge.

 

[Dooly]

here it is taken apart

 

[Dooly]

I'm going to leave it in the 10g for about 3 days, and then I'll swap it in and test it out..

For now, all I can say is that the build quality is great, and the skimmer is SUPER quiet compared to my WM. But the wm has done very well for me and the only negative thing I can say about this skimmer is that the pump seems very weak.

I wish they put a MJ utility, a small eheim, or a sicce.. but it is the "economy" skimmer and it does cost only $390, so I guess the ViaAqua should do a decent job..

Will post updates in a couple days when I throw it in the sump..

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Cool! I seen one of these at a LFS here in Detroit (Oceans and Seas for you locals), and have been really anxious to see how it runs. I have two of their other skimmers, and have been really blown away by them as well.

Updates ASAP!!

 

[tydtran]

What kind of pump comes with the skimmer?

 

[ROB2005]

I believe its those new via-aqua pumps with the mesh-needlewheel mod.

 

[DSB07]

I have the bigger Eshopps cone as a back up for my Vertex Cone. I was quite impressed with it on my 120 when I was waiting to Vertex to come into the country. Other than the AquaBee2000 being a pain in the butt to restart the cone skimmed very very well.

I am hoping they will come out with a meshwheel for the AB2000 pump ASAP, as the cone could handle the extra bubbles!!!!

Good luck with yours let us know how it is performing.

 

[mcbaes72]

I was considering the Snow 200, similar to the economy version you won (congrats, btw). Although I pre-ordered the XP2000, I was impressed w/ the Eshopps video demo I saw on YouTube.

 

[GSMguy]

the OCTO cone for 10 bucks more is 3 times the skimmer, that price for the Eshopps is $200 too high if they want to get any marketshare.

cool skimmer to win though free is always best.

 

[Dooly]

have you personally compared the two side by side in the same system?

I doubt any company in their right mind would sell a quality made cone skimmer for $189, maybe you can come up with that one

 

[DSB07]

I like the Eshopps SnoCone I have. Being able to adjust the bubble size with a turn of the knob is a nice option. Also makes tuning in the skimmer a breeze. I think that is a big advantage on their design.

Like I said in my previous post, this thing skimmed like crazy on my 120, I only ran it for a month, but was impressed.

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Updates?

 

[Dooly]

sorry guys, lost this thread, and was crazy busy last week. will update this thread as soon as I get a chance to swap skimmers

 

[Dooly]

so I removed my warner marine as150, and here they are side by side..

this is 2 days of nog with my wm skimmer..

and heres day 1 of the eshopps cone.. should take a day or two to break in..

best thing so far about the eshopps is how quiet it is, it's rated up to 150g, but seems a bit overrated by output of the viaaqua pump, but only time will tell..

here are a couple shots of my tank.. 120g display, 40g sump, 10g macro fuge.. a bunch of wrasse, a pair of percs, a chevron tang and a couple other small fish.. medium to high bioload in a mixed reef..

 

[saltydragon]

i want one of the these skimmers...nice tank btw and congrats on the free skimmer

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Is it using a viaaqua pump? The one i was oogling had a aqua bee 2000/1 in it...?

 

[Dooly]

yes, viaaqua pump with meshwheel. the aquabee model is the eshopps snowcone which is double the price of this model which is the S150 Economy Cone Skimmer

 

[DSB07]

Here is a pic of the snocone with the AB2000 next to my Vertex Alpha 250 just for size reference. Also threw in a couple of action shots, this is 2 days worth of skimmate.

I am actually selling the Vertex and keeping the snocone on my 120, the snocone is just right for my tank, I felt the Alpha was oversized for my system. Overall, I have been real happy with the simplicity of this cone and overall plug and play action.

 

[mcbaes72]

Wow, you're selling the 250?! I'm a little surprised. It won't take long for you find a buyer though. I just bought the 200 myself, will arrive next week. Good pics/info on the SnoCone so far.

 

[HaroldT]

wow. looks pretty cool.