The Nyos Quantum protein skimmer is a familiar cone body design that is being presented in a wholly creative way with lots of refinement throughout its construction. The most striking thing about the Nyos Quantum skimmer is its nearly all-clear construction wherever possible, but an all clear construction does not a good skimmer make.
In a sea of barely differentiated protein skimmers based on widely available generic designs, it seems like very little is changing in the skimmer space besides the name of the skimmer and the logo of the brand that is promoting it at that given time. Nyos is somewhat guilty of this too, with their rebadge of the Skimz line of protein skimmers several years back but with the Quantum skimmer, it’s clear that Nyos is making amends and then some.
In addition to the nearly all clear acrylic construction, subtle design features catch the eye like the gently flared diffuser plate nozzle, mirrored above it in the underside of the collection cup lid and of course, that sinuous curve to the cup itself which elegantly compliments the graceful lines of the skimmer body. These design tweaks seem to be primarily cosmetic but the ‘internal flares’ ought to aid in reducing turbulence in the body and limit the restriction of foam collecting in the skimmer cup (not that skimmate foam offers any real resistance to begin with).
Thankfully, the Nyos Quantum has a lot more than cosmetics going for it, including the use of their custom designed Viper water pump. The performance of the Eden-derived Viper pump is helped along by a clear custom volute and a perforated needle wheel impeller. The enlarged custom volute has been shown to greatly enhance air intake in protein skimmers and the lightweight perforated needle wheel will help the pump to spin at maximum RPMs for chopping up the indrawn air into the frothiest foam possible.
Furthermore, foam exiting the diffuser plate is guided into a circling motion by the use of fixed pinwheel blades to gently spin the water in the reaction chamber thereby increasing contact time. The rest of the specsheet for Nyos’s Quantum skimmer line is standard issue including adjustments for both water level height and air intake, titanium screws for complete dissasembly of the skimmer, but the all clear construction will come in handy for knowing when it’s time to clean the air silencer.
The Quantum Skimmer from Nyos will be available in three sizes ranging in capacity from 500 to 2000 liters, 130 to 500 gallon aquariums with the smallest model the Nyos Quantum 120 being too small to accommodate the clear air-water mixing volute. Nyos expects to have their Quantum line of protein skimmers released May 15th to the European market at which time pricing will be revealed, and a potential broader international release may be divulged. [Nyos]
