Bubble Magus NAC6A mini-review: first impressions

[nlreefguy]

I just replaced an Eshopps PSK100h HOB skimmer with a BM-NAC6A due to the fact that I added a sump. I'd have to say that the Eshopps was probably the best HOB skimmer I've ever owned but still undersized for my tank I think.

My system is a 54 gallon SPS dominated tank with lyretail anthias, clownfish, a small yellow tang and a fat and healthy mandarin. I've been feeding heavily and often due to the anthias but have been running NP-biopellets until recently. I started to notice cyano films over some of my corals and they weren't really responding that well to it (duh) so I decided to scrap the biopellets and go back to a chaeto refugium, which I have had good success with prior. I don't think the Eshopps was keeping up with the biopellets very well.

So anyway, I ordered the Bubble Magus in early July and, thanks to Canada Post, didn't receive it until a few days ago. Kudos to Oceanic Corals for responding to all my concerns during the protracted shipping process. I have to say thanks to them for putting up with me - I was bordering on rude, I think! I was just frustrated because I needed it immediately.

Initial impressions on shipping: you'll see in the attached pics that the box is very solid, stiff cardboard inserts throughout inside. Very well packed. It arrived in perfect condition. My impressions of build quality are also very positive. I've owned quite a few skimmers and I think that only the Deltec AP-701 I owned previously was built more solidly than this one. Some nice thoughtful touches include numbers on the wedge pipe to let you know reliably how open it is, a large diameter and well designed skimmer cup drain, and that it is able to be totally disassembled for cleaning. They also include a spare mesh wheel, which is also a nice touch, see the pic below.

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So I set it up immediately, no vinegar bath or anything - straight into the sump. To my surprise it developed a good stable foam head in the first 3 or 4 hours and over a 48 hour period had skimmed out more than my eshopps did in two weeks or more - without even being broken in! Needless to say I'm impressed so far, I hope it continues to improve as it ages. Noise levels at this point are a little high for my liking but I'm very picky about that. It's louder than my eshopps, but then again my eshopps was actually very noisy when I first set it up and became virtually silent over the period of a couple of weeks break-in.

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Positives: build quality, ease of assembly and disassembly, very compact with small footprint, skimmate production thus far has been remarkable.

Negatives: a bit loud for my taste (still breaking in), don't know if it's a negative per se but if you need to do any work or impeller replacement on the pump you have to completely disassemble the skimmer to do so (but this point also allows it to have a small footprint).

See the attached pics - the skimmate you see is about 48 hours or less after being set up! Oh, and if anyone knows what the extra circular piece of acrylic is for please let me know!!! Finally, another shout-out to Oceanic Corals for fine customer service!

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