Review on AquaMaxx HOB-1.5 Hang-On-Back Protein Skimmer - Maximized Efficiency for Optimal Filtration by Heidi Nelson

Installed this at 1pm on my innovative 25g sea lagoon and it seemed like it was taking a while to break in (I've been waiting weeks for some skimmers). Around 6:00 p.m. I fed my fish vigorously. I always turn off the pumps and skimmer when I feed. I stopped feeding and turned the power back on. This skimmer immediately started getting thick foam and started shooting perfectly. It's 1am now (I'm awake) and it's still foaming in all its glory. I have had many skimmers from online shopping, reef octopus, ska to cheap ebay skimmers. This is the best so far. On a 28g nanocube I had years ago I had eshopps psk 75 and it was great but aquamaxx is way better. The problem with the PSK 75 was that all the tubing and elbows were external and only needed hand tightening or it would break and be very brittle and very noisy. I broke 2 PSK75 but as for the hob I thought they were the best before this purchase. The aquamaxx hob is a bit bigger, but the idea behind the design is excellent. I don't see how this would work for anything in the 10 gallon and up range. One of the best things about this box design is that the pump is internal and submerged in water so it's as quiet as possible. All you can hear is a low hum from the raw frothing power, unlike the psk75 which buzzes in your ears. If noise bothers you, stay away from skimmers with external pumps and hoses. Experience has shown that there are no quiet skimmers with an external pump. In addition, the box design of this skimmer allows you to filter a large amount of water, as large as skimmer, and this is important for the thickness of the skimmer that you can get in a short time. On the downside, the large size can be an issue for many people, but I think it's worth it because my corals have become happier with just a few hours of work. The drip tray is very large. The design of the shim kit on the drip tray is also good in terms of cleaning as there is no resistance and it can be done with one hand. The other type, most commonly used on round skimmers where it provides a tight seal, always requires 2 hands and effort. It also has an overflow nozzle if you want to set it and forget it, or you can set it to overflow back into the skimmer outlet. I also have absolutely no fear of this skimmer leaking due to the build quality. If this skimmer keeps running like it is today, I'll probably never have to change the water again. lol. I really don't like spending the extra 100 on a product, I can usually get the same results but this time it's worth it.