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Looking for the very best Protein Skimmer available for your saltwater aquarium today? If so, you have come to the right place. Today, I go in-depth with a Nyos Skimmer review!
As you may have read in my Best Protein Skimmer round up article, Protein skimmers have become a staple piece of equipment for many reef tanks. It all started with the Berlin method that became popular when I started up reefing back in the early 90s. Everyone swears by their protein skimmer, and we can see why with so many successful reef tanks running them. So what makes the Nyos Quantum so unique? Let’s find out shall we?
My reviews are fairly structured. I’m going to be reviewing the following with the categories with this protein skimmer line:
- Features
- Craftsmanship
- Ease of Use
- Value For Money
- Product Support
- Price
In a hurry? I recommend purchasing the Nyos Quantum 160
Nyos Skimmer Review – Features
The Nyos skimmer prides itself by it’s extreme performance. This is a result of the massive amount of air and water it drives through it’s skimming chamber. This is achieved by their Nyos Twister technology. The twister is an additional blade that is added to the usual bubble plate you will see in most protein skimmers. This blade gives the bubbles an additional cycle within the bubble vortex. What this does is create additional contact time for the air bubbles in the water column.
A protein skimmer lives and dies off the contact time. The more contact time the better for a skimmer. This is why recirculating skimmers are popular at the high-end of the hobby. Nyos achieves a recirculating effect all within a small footprint.
The next feature to speak of is the quiet operation of the skimmer. I’ve worked with skimmers that do a great job, but are very loud. Given that the Nyos is a premium level skimmer, I would expect it to be dead quiet. I purchase a skimmer like this for the performance and it’s silent operation. Not only is it one of the quietest skimmers on the market, it is also energy efficient even without using a DC pump!
The pump is built off what Nyos calls the Nyos Hybrid Wheel. This is a specialty designed impeller that combines the advantages of a needle wheel and lattice wheel. It is an AC pump, which I personally love because I know AC pumps are generally more reliable than DC pumps. The pump is placed in a clear view reactor. This is a clear impeller cover that lets you see the function of the skimmer. This allows you to visually inspect the protein skimmer to see if there are any obstructions that need to be cleaned out. The pump will operation best in a water level of 8 – 10 inches on all Quantum models
Craftsmanship
The Nyos has nothing cheap built into it. When you pull it out of the box, the first thing you will notice is the weight of skimmer. There are no cheap plastic and thick high quality acrylic. It comes with titanium screws so you do not have to worry about your screws rusting out. Below is a image of the Nyos Twister blade.
The Nyos is built to be compact and does not use externally mounted or large bulky pumps. This not only allows it to fit in smaller aquarium sumps, but also makes it quiet and easy to maintain. The Nyos skimmer is designed and built in Germany. There is are no corners cut with its design and it shows not only in its parts, but its looks. It looks cool just sitting in your sump. For those of you who like to make aesthetically pleasing sump setups, this skimmer is a great additions for its looks and it’s performance.
Ease Of Use (Installation)
The Nyos built to be plug in play. In my experience, this is the quickest skimmer to break in among all the skimmers I have worked with. Many lower end skimmers will take several weeks to break in until they start performing the way they should. The Nyos gets off running. They usually break in after a day or so.
They are built to be simple to use. It has two adjustment values for the air intake and the chamber level. The collection cup is also generous in size and goes a while before needing to be replaced. The cup comes off easily by twisting off.
While the instruction manual does not have pictures illustrating install, EcoTech Marine does provide a video showing how to assemble and install the skimmer. I have supplied the video below for your reference so you can view it when you purchase it.
Value For Money
The Nyos Skimmer from first look seems like a very expensive skimmer. When you look at the quality of construction and features that this skimmer has, you can see how it stands out from many of the its competitors in the marketplace. A Nyos has been known to be too good at its job and has to be dialed back in order to control nutrient levels. This to me is a hallmark for a skimmer. A good unit should be able to run on its own without added equipment.
A quality skimmer should be able to run with just this unit and the biological filtration coming from the rock in the aquarium and the micro fauna that is breeding in the refugium. The Nyos can achieve this balance in a heavily stocked tank without missing a beat.
Models
The Nyos Quantum comes in 4 different models that can handle from 40 gallons all the way up to 1000 gallons. The 160 is the most popular of the entire lineup.
Product Support
Nyos Skimmers are distributed in the US by EcoTech Marine. EcoTech marine is well known in the reefing hobby for producing high-end equipment and having excellent customer server. EcoTech marine provides the support for Nyos. They are typically fast to respond to phone or email inquires.
The main downfall with the Nyos protein skimmers are their warranty. You only get a 1 year warranty. This is disappointing given the Germany quality engineering and the fact that the pump runs of AC power. However, looking at other brands like Reef Octopus and Deltec, you will see similar short warranty periods. The longest warranty I’ve seen for a distributed protein skimmer has been Simplicity which offers a 3 year warranty.
The Nyos website it linked back to Germany or something, but they’re actually distributed in the USA by Ecotech Marine. Most people already know Ecotech’s reputation for being a well-established exceptional company. They respond to inquiries extremely fast via both phone and email.
One issue we ran into when it came to contacting them was we were informed that during some warranty issues a credit card actually gets held to ensure everything runs smoothly. The next was for price point. The prices on them for a skimmer with a 1-year warranty we think is a little high. But, there is room for a slight margin of error. When we called the company we got 5 different answers. 3 people told us that the warranty in the USA is only 1-year, but 2-years in the UK and Germany. 2 people told us the warranty is 2-years no matter where the skimmer is sold.
Either way, no one seemed to really know. They should be ranked #1, but we couldn’t seem to get solid answers about how long the warranty actually is or how the warranty issues are actually handled. The only thing for sure when it comes to Nyos skimmers is they perform exceptionally well and are backed by one of the best companies in the USA.
Price
The price for this skimmer may seem very high at first. We have to compare apples to apples though. The Nyos is one of the few German made skimmers out on the market. A fair comparison would be to compare these to the Daltec and Bubble King brands of the hobby. A bubble king is typically going to be 50% more expensive than the Nyos while the Daltecs are going to be slightly more expensive, but less feature rich.
Compared to an equivalent German made protein skimmer they actually are an economical option. Knowing that however, the Nyos does not perform economically. It is an elite performing protein skimmer with stellar support from their EcoTech distributor.
Closing Thoughts
The Nyos Quantum skimmer represents the best of the best when it comes to protein skimmers. It is the best mix of simple to operation and elite performance. The German engineer and quality really make this skimmer stand out for all others on the market. With EcoTech backing support for US distribution, you have great customer service behind the product. If you are looking for the absolute best skimmer on the market today, the Nyos my choice for any top-end reef setup.
You can see the ratings below from me and my editor’s choice badge that these skimmers receive. Since I’m open to all reviews, you can leave your own reviews below. I’m all about being an unfiltered source of reviews for our reefing community. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
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I’m thrilled that you found Aquarium Store Depot! Here you’ll find information on fish, aquariums, and all things aquatics related. I’m a hobbyist (being doing this since I was 11) and here to help other hobbyists thrive with their aquariums! I adhere to a high quality Editorial Process and Review products with real life field usage and practical analysis.
I was happy to get one tell I got one. First problem I had was within 90days. Customer service is terrible! The body couldn’t be attached to the base with the cheap plastic tabs. I told them about the problem I was having and they couldn’t of cared less,Told me I was the only person with this problem and must be something I did. Great job nyos!
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Hi Brian,
Sorry to hear that! Ya, I’ve usually heard good thing myself. I never had an issue that early on. I wonder if there is something you can do by contacting the place you ordered from or the distributor (EcoTech).