IM Fusion 20 Skimmer Choice. 9001 vs HOB 1.5 vs FM-1 vs bullet-1

sssky

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I know there are million threads about this probably already. I have read a lot of them. But I still can't decide using because I have some constraints. So please hear me out:

What I am trying to look for:
- Easy to use. Don't need to constantly play with it
- A collection cub big enough for a week worth of junk

Tunze 9001:
Pro:
* Good reputation
* looks Okey
Con:
* Very picky about the water level in the sump.
* Require modification to the plumbing to clear out space, and modification to the magnet
* Also due to sensitivity of water level, you have to turn it off during feeding when pump is off. So if I would turn off the pump for half an hour when feeding, like RedSea recommended for Reef Energy, it is kind of soft requirement for me to have a controller or I have to stay there around.

AquaMaxx HOB 1.5:
Pro:
* Good reputation
* Since it is HOB not sensitive to sump water level
Con:
* An eye sore
* Might actually be too powerful for 20 gallon. Might have to turn it during some time of the day.

AquaMaxx Bullet-1 HOB:
Pro:
* Small and not bad looking
* HOP so not sensitive to sump water level
Con:
* Very little information online.
* Collection cup might be too small

AquaMaxx FM-1 Nano Skimmer:
Pro:
* Small and good looking .
* In sump
Con:
* Very little information online
* Collection cup might be too small
* Use a sump chamber, where I could have filled with MarinePure bioball.

Others: Icecap K1, Eshopp Nano, IM NuvoSkim . They have mixed reputation online and some of them is bad enough for me to consider other alternatives.

Please lend me some wisdom!!
 

SDK

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I had a Tunze on my IM 20 and it worked well. A couple of comments on your cons:

It drops right into chamber 2 so there should not be any plumbing mods needed. You can also just remove the magnet and not bother moving it to the side.

The water level in chamber 2 stays consistent, so you should not have any issues with the Tunze being finicky. Once I broke mine in and got it adjusted, it pretty much stayed dialed in.

Get a smart plug with a phone app for feeding time if you don’t have a controller. I used a smart power strip before I had an Apex. It made switching things on and off very easy.
 

OrchidMiss

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I also use the Tunze 9001 in mine.
I love Tunze products, and this little guy is no exception.
I think by "plumbing mods", OP meant the water intake pump needed to be rotated 90° and the intake cover needed to be removed in order to fit properly into chamber 2.
At least this is what I had to do.
With that, it fits perfectly!
 
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sssky

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I had a Tunze on my IM 20 and it worked well. A couple of comments on your cons:

It drops right into chamber 2 so there should not be any plumbing mods needed. You can also just remove the magnet and not bother moving it to the side.

The water level in chamber 2 stays consistent, so you should not have any issues with the Tunze being finicky. Once I broke mine in and got it adjusted, it pretty much stayed dialed in.

Get a smart plug with a phone app for feeding time if you don’t have a controller. I used a smart power strip before I had an Apex. It made switching things on and off very easy.
Wow you put the 9001 in chamber 2 ? I assume chamber 2 is the chamber next to the overflow chamber. I thought that that chamber is not big enough. From what I read online people put 9001 in return pump chamber after remove Y plumbing.

you are right if I can put it in chamber 2 it resolve the biggest complain about the product.
 

Acros

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I do not use a skimmer in my IM25. I could not get my phosphates to go above 0.04 with heavy feeding. My pick is no skimmer or such a small tank.
 

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Wow you put the 9001 in chamber 2 ? I assume chamber 2 is the chamber next to the overflow chamber. I thought that that chamber is not big enough. From what I read online people put 9001 in return pump chamber after remove Y plumbing.

you are right if I can put it in chamber 2 it resolve the biggest complain about the product.
YES! Kind of hard to see, I will talk a better photo when I get home.

IMG_20211027_181510_DRO-01.jpeg
 
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sssky

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I do not use a skimmer in my IM25. I could not get my phosphates to go above 0.04 with heavy feeding. My pick is no skimmer or such a small tank.
Oh wow. Good job on that. May I please ask what filtration set up you use ?
 

SDK

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Wow you put the 9001 in chamber 2 ? I assume chamber 2 is the chamber next to the overflow chamber. I thought that that chamber is not big enough. From what I read online people put 9001 in return pump chamber after remove Y plumbing.

you are right if I can put it in chamber 2 it resolve the biggest complain about the product.
Yes, next to the overflow chamber. There is a shoulder on the skimmer body that rests on the glass divider between chambers 2 and 3. It locks the skimmer in at a good height. Literally just drop it in there....
 

OrchidMiss

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Yes, next to the overflow chamber. There is a shoulder on the skimmer body that rests on the glass divider between chambers 2 and 3. It locks the skimmer in at a good height. Literally just drop it in there....
Happy Season 5 GIF by The Office
 

Acros

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Oh wow. Good job on that. May I please ask what filtration set up you use ?
I use live rock from gulfliverock.com (20 lbs) and change filter floss every week or so. That is my only filtration. I dose all-for-reef, which has a negligible effect on nutrients.

My tank is 6 months old. Houses 3 PJ cardinals, 1 cleaner shrimp, and numerous snails. I feed reef nutrition c1 pellets once a day (on auto feeder) and frozen food once a week or so. I had a dino outbreak in August and started to feed like crazy. I could never manage to get my phosphates above 0.046 (measured with hanna phosphorous ulr).

I had a tunze 9001 on my tank for the first month. I did not like that it skimmed wet and is quite noisy. My tank is dead silent now.

That being said, my nutrients might creep up if I have more fish and maybe it will in 1 year without any livestock additions. If I am to get a nano skimmer, my pick would be the IceCap K1 nano. It seems to be the best nano skimmer based on reviews on this forum.
 
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sssky

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I use live rock from gulfliverock.com (20 lbs) and change filter floss every week or so. That is my only filtration. I dose all-for-reef, which has a negligible effect on nutrients.

My tank is 6 months old. Houses 3 PJ cardinals, 1 cleaner shrimp, and numerous snails. I feed reef nutrition c1 pellets once a day (on auto feeder) and frozen food once a week or so. I had a dino outbreak in August and started to feed like crazy. I could never manage to get my phosphates above 0.046 (measured with hanna phosphorous ulr).

I had a tunze 9001 on my tank for the first month. I did not like that it skimmed wet and is quite noisy. My tank is dead silent now.

That being said, my nutrients might creep up if I have more fish and maybe it will in 1 year without any livestock additions. If I am to get a nano skimmer, my pick would be the IceCap K1 nano. It seems to be the best nano skimmer based on reviews on this forum.
Thank you for the information! Yeah unfortunately icecap k1 is showed as discontinued on BRS. I will check out the feeding product you used. They seems pretty nice.
 

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OrchidMiss

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Yes, next to the overflow chamber. There is a shoulder on the skimmer body that rests on the glass divider between chambers 2 and 3. It locks the skimmer in at a good height. Literally just drop it in there....
20211125_104253.jpg
 

Schraufabagel

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As @rishma can probably attest to, the 9001 is a very good skimmer. The icecap K1 nano is another very highly rated option. I’ve heard good things about Aquamaxx too. So honestly it’s up to how much space you have in your AIO sump
 

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I currently use the Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 on my Nuvo 40. I used the DC version of the Tunze 9001 on my BioCube. They are both set it and forget it. I also used the IceCap Nano previously and I think that would be your best bet for the Nuvo 20.
 
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rishma

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On your list, I’ve only used the Tunze.
I don’t do HOB filters at all, I have flooded enough floors to know that if it’s possible, it will happen to me. HOB are the least idiot proof design, not saying they are not good skimmers.

The 9001DC has way more range of power than I realized. It will skim wet, especially if like most people you have the pump speed turned up too high. I used it on a 40 gallon system for a while and it was powerful enough for my high bioload LPS reef, no problem. I currently have it on my 25 WB peninsula, very low bioload, and it makes great consistent foam at ~25-30% pump speed. Once I turned the pump down it skimmed way better. I have a lot of room to turn it up as I add bioload.

As far as sensitive to water level, I agree. But if you keep it in a constant level chamber it’s set and forget.

the new Tunze silencer for the air is remarkably effective.

If I were to buy one today I’d go the Tunze or the Icecap which looks to perform very well.
 
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sssky

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I currently use the Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 on my Nuvo 40. I used the DC version of the Tunze 9001 on my BioCube. They are both set it and forget it. I also used the IceCap Nano previously and I think that would be your best bet for the Nuvo 20.
Wow you have used all 3. Do you mind if you can elaborate why you think Icecap Nano is the best ?
 
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sssky

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I never thought of removing the intake cover when I had the 9001. If I ever need a skimmer on my IM25 again, I might try what you have mentioned in the above comments.

Hard to beat the easy tuning of tunze DC skimmers, even tho they skim wet.
Wait intake cover ? Do you mean I need to remove the intake cover to put it in chamber 2?
 

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