Skimmer pt 2:First Choice Aquatics, Nyos, Aquamaxx

duraace9sp

Member
Hello- I posted the first part of my skimmer commentary building a bit of history here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24708437#post24708437

Now I will get to the larger skimmers that I really spent time with in getting them so I was happy....still working to a degree!

I had started with the Aquamaxx ES300. This was a big 8" barrel, straight sides, Lat bubble plate. A very large skimmer physically or my 100 gallon tank with 70 gal sump. No bottle shape here- straight sides as I mentioned, appears pretty old fashioned. .....but.....this skimmer worked! I had no complaints with it until the pump died. At 175 or a new pump......I had spent some time at the aquamaxx booth at reefapalooza and decided to give the Cone S Q3 a try.

Looks very nice- bottle shaped body, the mini bottles on the top of the bubble plate, (you can decide If this is gimmic or good design) a Syncra 3.0 pump, it was however quite a bit smaller than the es300 which it replaced.

The q3 took a while to start skimming, worked good, looked great. The collection cup was easy on and off the level control was nice in the aquamaxx style, but it never skimmed as good as the es300 which it replace (or First choice aquatics dc22/nyos220)
Then I had the constant problem with the q3 where the bubble plate which was a fiction fit with a rubber gasket kept blowing off the pump. No matter how I put this in place in one to 5 days it would blow off inside the body.

By now I had the second 100 gallon setup, the Nyos was new to market and the few user reviews I had seen were positive The problem was it was not inexpensive and I was pretty tired of skimmer musical chairs. Also they made only three sizes and I am in the mindset of not much stuff in system but an oversized skimmer for my tank- so If I was going Nyos it had to be their biggest model the 220. Got it and it is still in the tank.

On the Nyos- ok, the commentary:
I have seen All the reviews talk about the adjustments. Thee are the three ways to adjust the water/bubble level, twisting the main arm, adjusting the air screw on the silencer, and the top of the arm is a knob which moves a tube over the opening below or fine tuning. These are not all necessary in my opinion, but also not a detriment. The Nyos is of course bottle shaped body and it is very tall. It skims good, and is still in my system as is the previous commentaries bubble magus G7. The things I do not like on the Nyos are the collection cup. First the shape with its smaller bottom belling to the wider top rim just takes volume away, but the worst is the way the cup attaches to the body- it is so awfully diicult to get on and off. You must force down compressing the seal, the while holding the cup edge with one hand and the body with the other twist it while heavily pushing down on the cup while stabilizing and holding the body from twisting. I expect sooner or later the cup will break. Also I you just twist it onto the body lightly then it leaks between the cup and body. It is very hard to get this on and sealed. The consequence of this is I do not clean the cup as often as I should because it's such a pain in the......

Next is at the last years reefapalooza Seaside Aqutics had a huge display of several brands of skimmers. I had never heard of First Choice Aquatics, and spoke at length about which of their several brands was best value - cost vs performance. They were sort o suggesting the FCA but not strongly which I suspect was due tot he dilemma of how do you favor one brand over another when you represent them all, but they also want business so they (all sales people) tend to support the buyers conclusion. At the end of the day the statement that this DC22 skimmer with a dc pump which I had avoided in my system would equal or outperform the others, and I could get at a pretty decent price compared to the others- so I gave it a try as I needed to replace the Q3.

First observation was the pump is huge! No wonder they were confident it would perform well, a massive pump compared to any of these skimmers. The body is what I will call a hybrid with a straight bottom until the bubble plate then a cone/bottle shape from there to the collection cup. Size wise it is smaller than the Nyos maybe about the size of the q3 but with a much larger collection cup. It skims-period. It didn't take long and it skims very well. The Unit has basically the same bubble plate as that on the es300, petty old school flat with taped holes, no Fancy ribs or swirls like the Nyos or bottles like the q3, but like the es300 it works well. The pump puts out - apparent volume and tiny bright white bubbles. The adjuster is an acrylic/plexi arm with a knob on top (grip) that threads into the bottom, when you tighten/lower the arm it pushes a cover down from the base allowing more water into the body for your adjustment. As mentioned the collection cup is huge, the motor is quiet and it skims very good. If I was to nitpick this skimmer (and I will) my complaints are the arm for adjusting is too short. The knob is barely above the water level of my sump and it old and should be 4" taller. Fortunately it is solid material So even If it was submerged (it is not) it does not affect it other than slightly annoying. I also believe with the size of the pump and collection cup the body could easily be taller providing additional dwell time. This skimmer though has been very easy, does not fluctuate in level, is easy to get in and out to clean and works - hence it is still in the systems along with the Nyos and bubble magus g7.


Here I will note that I believe these are all good skimmers, and clearly this is hobby- hobby for me therefore while I could fix or live with most any of these skimmers I chose to keep trying another and if I felt one was an improvement I sold the previous (except the sca)

In conclusion I'd say the Nyos and first choice aquatics performed the best, but for the Nyos money I could have got a vertex, which I was intending to get or the second 100 before I acquired the fist choice aquatics dc22. Now when you consider the cost the dc22 is not even close to as sexy as the Nyos but for a ew hundred less expensive it performs equal or better without the headaches with the cup and cleaning. I didn't expect to want the scoop pump but it works and is o course erupted to be less expensive. I will never know as I'm running three chilled, t5s etc and won't notice the cost also with the heat this summer and AC all the time......

Thee is my summary experience...eel red to question or comment

Thanks!
 
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Lots of typos.....my f key often fails so when in doubt add f to word if auto correct didn't screw it up more.....apologies
 
I have no problems removing and attaching the collection cup on the Nyos. I do remove the cover and attach/detach without it. I grab and twist from the top, not the side. Need a big hand to do this though.

What I hate is that, now that it has been running for a while, the Venturi does not kick in when it starts up. I have to lift the whole thing up to get the Venturi started 80% of the time. Once started it is fine. I've cleaned the whole unit and this didn't solve it. This started after three months of use. As a result I no longer shut it off when the main pump is off for feeding.
 
Yes on the start up problem, I just don't turn it off. I also take the cup cover off then grab the edge and hold the body with other hand and twist it off.....pretty straight forward

It is the back on for the cup that is very difficult..I need to align it, then with cover off and holding the rim force it down then twist it into the seal so firmly I feel the cup flexing. If I place it and seat it lightly like I could do with both the Aquamaxx skimmers the Nyos leaks between the cup and body. The only way to stop it leaking here is to force it into the seal firmly.....very not user friendly. I am running the 220- which one do you have?


Don't get me wrong, I like the skimmer, but round 2 for Nyos needs some refinement. I only mention it in the context the first choice aquatics dc22 in one of my tankers is not nearly as pretty but very user friendly and at least equal performance......I wish Nyos would offer support for stuff like this. As for the Venturi, I hadn't identified why the problem. When I couldn't get it to start and foam correctly I took the whole skimmer out and broke it down cleaning everything......not my favorite chore....oh well....good thing it's a "hobby".....
 
Ok......some confusion here, caused by me! I was cleaning the skimmer today and noticed the name! It is Your Choice Aquatics as the brand, not first choice aquatics.......LOL.....I'm a little embarrassed, but honestly when I set it up, I throw the boxes and manuals away and never think about it again other tHan useage and maintenance. As I cleaned the cup and cover both " enlightened me" that I had name in my head wrong.


Thx
 
Hello-I havebeeasked to post photos.....I have not been successful w pics but will give it a shot! .
 

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The above is the bubble magus G7. It's been about four days since cleaning. This is the same simmer as the curve7 only with an exposed pump which greatly reduces the footprint which I need astounding can see by how narrow the sump chamber is. This is the only skmer this size/volume with even close to a small enough footprint that I could fit.malso not the adjuster with the precise hear drive adjustment visible at the bottom
 
First choice aquatics dc22

First choice aquatics dc22

Here is the your choice aquatics dc22......just cleaned not the scale..the sump is 17" tall and the ATO tank is the eshopps 5 gal

Didn't mean to have duplicate...I keep mis stating the name. See corrections below
 
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Your choice aquatics dc22

Your choice aquatics dc22

Here is the your choice aquatics dc22......just cleaned. For scale..the sump is 17" tall and the ATO tank is the eshopps 5 gal
 

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And here is the Nyos. Also about four days since cleaning. This sump is 16" tall
 

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The 1st year the motor start problem was infrequent ... Now in the year two, each and everything it is shut off it will not restart. Take the motor out and clean it...still no start......bang it round, whack it, off and on until it starts so far I usually get it going....a real unpleasant skimmer......works good when it's running, but between the crap cup mount and motor....is pass
 
The 1st year the motor start problem was infrequent ... Now in the year two, each and everything it is shut off it will not restart. Take the motor out and clean it...still no start......bang it round, whack it, off and on until it starts so far I usually get it going....a real unpleasant skimmer......works good when it's running, but between the crap cup mount and motor....is pass

Update is echotech replaced the Nyos 220......so far so good. Gary at echotech was outstanding in his assistance........
 
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