AquaMaxx ConeS CO-1 Review

Hi everyone. I just received my new Aquamaxx CO-1 skimmer today from Marine Depot and wanted to provide a review of the components, followed shortly by performance once it breaks in.

So I currently run a Reef Octopus NWB-110 that was great on my previous tank but recently noticed it wasn't keeping up with my 57 gallon that is more heavily stocked. The Reef Octopus was also notoriously loud with the older OTP pump. Based on many glowing reviews I decided to go with the Aquamaxx skimmer as it provided good bang for the buck and said to be dead quiet.


These skimmers have been hard to come by lately and Marine Depot recently go a shipment in so I jumped on it.

This is how it comes in the box. The Sicce pump broke lose from the compartment within the box during shipment. Luckily it did not seem to damage anything.



Once I unpacked the components my first priority was to inspect the angled skimmer cup. I was perplexed as to how this cup could actually hold any liquid when the angle part goes all the way down to the bottom of the cup. I knew there had to be something I was missing in the pictures you find online. Here's what doesn't show up in most photos:

The angle which appears to be open is actually closed off and there is a oval slot near the top for the foam to come out of.


A closer look:



This skimmer incorporates a unique bubble plate with tiny cones that are said to reduce turbulence. Will have to see if this is true but it certainly is cool looking.



This skimmer uses a Sicce Syncra 2.0 pump to drive the bubble production. For some reason it is also labeled as a Shark 1.5 by either Aquamaxx or JNS.



Here is a shot of the bubble plate and skimmer body assembled





And to top it off - the cup lid

 

Here is a size comparison between my Reef Octopus NWB-110 and the ConeS CO-1

 

So the skimmer body was scrubbed down with vinegar and it is now running in my sump. Most folks say that this skimmer breaks in within 8 hours so hopefully by in the morning there should be some skimmate being produced. One thing I can tell you is that this skimmer is QUIET. You have to strain to even hear a hum from it. The Sicce pumps are known for this and the way the skimmer's rocket fins (legs) isolate the pump appears to further dampen any vibration.

I will follow up with short term and long term review of skimming and general performance.

 

Great review thus far DeeBee. I really appreciate the details and time you put into it. Great pic to show the skimmer cup - that really helped understand it.

New pumps are generally quite - 1 month mark should really show how it holds up. But I hope to see some skimmate and bubble pics before then!

matt

 

Alright, we are around 22 hours into it and this is what we have thus far. I think the skimmer is just starting to hit its stride as in the past couple of hours the gunk production has really picked up.


To be fair the skimmer was at a disadvantage as my Thin Stripped Hermit decided to molt last night and jammed up the intake for who knows how long (at least I hope that was just a molt )



Here is a shot of the cone bubble plate at work



I need to post a full skimmer shot to show bubble density within the body. Despite having a fairly low air draw at 360 liters/hour it produces a surprisingly dense amount of bubbles. I am feeling confident that this skimmer will be more than sufficient for my tank. Looking forward to seeing what it collected in the morning.

 

Nice review. Ive been using this skimmer for about 9 months now. It works very well, very quiet but my pet peeve is the angled collection cup. Worst design ever Imo. I have seen 0 advantages of this over a regular neck just requires more cleaning on a regular basis.

 

Is it really more cleaning nc208082 or harder to clean?

 

From the looks of it, the angles cup does not allow for skimmate to be collected in the cup, as it would just fall back into the neck. This skimmer would require a remote collection container via the skimmer cup drain provided.

 

Both, the underside of the angled plate of the collection cup gets coated with a very thick sludge extremely fast, Also the area behind the neck of the collection cup is very small, a toothbrush doesn't fit behind so you have to use something quite small. I have to clean it daily for it to be producing good skimmate. If I let build up a layer of skim on the plate I can see it doesn't collect as much in the cup as if the cup were clean. If that makes sense.

 

I can see how that area would be almost impossible to clean. I'm really not sure of the rationale for the angled cup other than to just be different. I haven't seen any explanation of the advantage of it from Aquamaxx/JNS so if anyone knows please share. Glad to hear that it works well otherwise.