Any experience with the MagTool DC Nano Skimmer?

[Pembro]

Soo I’ve been searching for a skimmer for my Red Sea max e260 it’s 69g AiO. Stumbled upon the cad lights one but being in Canada it’s ***** hard to get. So I stumbled on this skimmer the OP found from Amazon. It looks identical to this .. but Amazon says up to 30.. but this one says 50-80.. are they the same? https://m.aliexpress.com/item/10000...03e001c436691c1147d2e3aa5b2&afSmartRedirect=y

 

[KonradTO]

I just found out that in EU this same skimmer is rebranded under the "FZONE" name. I had the same for few months now and the only issue I found was that it is quite difficult to tune at the beginning. Once the right water level and airflow is found it can skim drier or wetter very reliably (here in the pic you can see the pitch dark skimmate I produce with mine in 5-6 days. I cannot compare with more expensive ones because it is the first one I own but I can say it seem to do it's job on a 32g nano.

 

[Pembro]

I just found out that in EU this same skimmer is rebranded under the "FZONE" name. I had the same for few months now and the only issue I found was that it is quite difficult to tune at the beginning. Once the right water level and airflow is found it can skim drier or wetter very reliably (here in the pic you can see the pitch dark skimmate I produce with mine in 5-6 days. I cannot compare with more expensive ones because it is the first one I own but I can say it seem to do it's job on a 32g nano.

That looks a lot like the one I just got. I have not set it up yet. Any Tips on tuning?

 

[KonradTO]

That looks a lot like the one I just got. I have not set it up yet. Any Tips on tuning?

Yes that's the one. I tried for months to tune it in by "screwing" the bottle for increasing or decreasing the water level but it never worked. What actually made the difference was to start placing the skimmer at the correct depth (20 cm from the pump base to the water surface). Then I rotated the bottle to get the bottom of the foaming bubbles more or less at the same height as the base of the collection cup. Finally increase or decrease height from (external) water surface by 1 cm (if you want to skim drier move up, if wetter move down). In this way it seemed easier to me to find the sweet spot. It takes a while to show the difference in skimming after you modify the height.

 

[Pembro]

Yes that's the one. I tried for months to tune it in by "screwing" the bottle for increasing or decreasing the water level but it never worked. What actually made the difference was to start placing the skimmer at the correct depth (20 cm from the pump base to the water surface). Then I rotated the bottle to get the bottom of the foaming bubbles more or less at the same height as the base of the collection cup. Finally increase or decrease height from (external) water surface by 1 cm (if you want to skim drier move up, if wetter move down). In this way it seemed easier to me to find the sweet spot. It takes a while to show the difference in skimming after you modify the height.

thanks for the reply. Gonna set it up this weekend. It had awesome reviews on Amazon.

 

[KonradTO]

thanks for the reply. Gonna set it up this weekend. It had awesome reviews on Amazon.

Good luck! once tuned it's a nice skimmer for what I can say.

 

[afrokobe]

seconding all the people that have bought what looks like an upgrade magtool. Here is the link to the one I purchased:
This thing rocks. very solid build and the dc pump makes it super easy to dial in. The collection cup is also decently sized for a nano skimmer. I will have to test it to see how often I need to clean it.

Been running for about 12-18 hours now. This won't fit in the desktop IM back chambers. I have it currently in my hob refugium. Unfortunately the IM chambers are just too small. I believe this will fit in some the other AIO chambers. I also don't have it hanging on anything. I slapped some feet onto the pump stand and it stood up fine by itself. Seems like the water level in my HOB fuge is perfect for its function

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

that is a shame this skimmer will not fit the IM AIO.

seconding all the people that have bought what looks like an upgrade magtool. Here is the link to the one I purchased:
This thing rocks. very solid build and the dc pump makes it super easy to dial in. The collection cup is also decently sized for a nano skimmer. I will have to test it to see how often I need to clean it.

Been running for about 12-18 hours now. This won't fit in the desktop IM back chambers. I have it currently in my hob refugium. Unfortunately the IM chambers are just too small. I believe this will fit in some the other AIO chambers. I also don't have it hanging on anything. I slapped some feet onto the pump stand and it stood up fine by itself. Seems like the water level in my HOB fuge is perfect for its function

 

[afrokobe]

that is a shame this skimmer will not fit the IM AIO.

I agree, I would probably run the Tunze 9001 sideways if I had to fit it in a IM back chamber. That was my back up plan before putting the cpr hob fuge on this tank. The eshopps nano skimmer and those other smaller tube format ones just seem like a pain to deal with. Both with dealing with the adjustment and how often you would need to clean based on how small they are.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Heard good reviews for the Tunze 9001. I may have to go that route for the Fusion 15.

 

[tinyfellows]

seconding all the people that have bought what looks like an upgrade magtool. Here is the link to the one I purchased:
This thing rocks. very solid build and the dc pump makes it super easy to dial in. The collection cup is also decently sized for a nano skimmer. I will have to test it to see how often I need to clean it.

Been running for about 12-18 hours now. This won't fit in the desktop IM back chambers. I have it currently in my hob refugium. Unfortunately the IM chambers are just too small. I believe this will fit in some the other AIO chambers. I also don't have it hanging on anything. I slapped some feet onto the pump stand and it stood up fine by itself. Seems like the water level in my HOB fuge is perfect for its function

Do you know if they sell just the dc pump bought a Magtool that’s ac but would love a dc pump

 

[afrokobe]

Do you know if they sell just the dc pump bought a Magtool that’s ac but would love a dc pump

I haven't seen it for sale, but maybe worth a message to the seller or checking aliexpress

 

[Jphoadley]

Based off this post and a couple similar, I bought the Magtool skimmer off the link in OP.

I received it from Amazon Prime the next day, altho I did receive a slightly different model than Amazon shows. Says its good for 80 gallons on the box (good thing for me as I have a 50 gal tank), it has a 6 watt DC pump. It did not come with any instructions but was incredibly easy to figure out how to put it together, took a couple minutes, no tools necessary.
It does fit in the 2nd chamber of my AIO Lagoon 50, but only after I removed the screws that hold the hanging clip on on. It is so snug without the screws that it is squeezed into place and doesn't seem seem to move on its own. It has only been a day so needs a little break-in and tuning, but after the 1st night, I did already have about 1/4" of wet green skimmate.

The box for the one i received is model # REEF-80IN and is actually EXACTLY exactly like this one however without the little black controller.

Early on I would say it is a steal for $79 I paid, and the 2nd one with the controller looks to be an equally good deal with the little controller for $99. Will try and remember to update after a I get her dialed in.

 

[afrokobe]

is this suggestion for me?

not necessarily, but I do think the upgrade version with the controller is better than regular magtool version. I was just advising people to look out for the new version

 

[Poochaku]

no response to this NBA Finals

You posted a specific question about a different skimmer in a thread about the magtool... ?! Fwiw, my 9004 is quiet, not silent. No experience with the 9001.

 

[RandomReefer1]

just got the magtool and so far so good (as in, I literally just turned it on). Looks nice and not too loud and seems pretty flexible in terms of tuning.

 

[Budman93]

I ordered the Magtool Mini protein skimmer. Doesn’t fit in the back of the IM 25 lagoon so sending it back.

Did you get the bigger sized one? There’s two

 

[Budman93]

I bought the nano one and have been having the hardest time getting the thing to skim correctly. Managed to get it skimming well for like a few hours and then the skim head randomly went down and it stopped skimming properly. Will have to play with it more this weekend but it seems pretty finnicky. I prefer a much drier and gunky skim though so maybe that's just me.

 

[Ideallandscaping]

I ordered the Magtool Mini protein skimmer. Doesn’t fit in the back of the IM 25 lagoon so sending it back.

How is that possible it easily fits in the back of my kids im 15g

 

[jcmental]

I must have a dud, I’ve just bought one off a guy on eBay un opened for my nano tank. It’s noisy as hell. My TMC 200 is silent compared to this AIO-70P