*product review* AquaMaxx HOB-R Refugium

[Kyle99]

So I will be doing a long term reveiw of the new AquaMaxx HOB-R Refugium sold @Marine Depot

 

1st impressions

Pacageing was great on both ends. The box from Marine Depot was well stuffed to protect the contents and so was the box from AquaMaxx. The acrilic was surounded in foam on all sides to protect from shipping. A+ on both ends 

 

The refugium was a little pricy from what you end up with, but it is acrilic. This is the first hob fuge ive seen with the pump in the back and not in the tank. This was a key factor when i was looking for one. The fuge wis well built as far as I can tell seams are almost invisable.

 

Pros

Well built

Pump is in the back

Veiwing window to check growth.

There is a arm to lift the pump out for cleaning

 

Cons

Pricy but every one like this is 

No great place to put a clamo style light.

The siphon tube is one piece so it will require a long pipe cleaner. 

 

I also bought a cheap light to go with it to help grow mirco algae. Its not much of one but maybe you might have some insite. 

 

I will set it up in the next few days and give a update. 

[Marine Depot]

On 12/22/2018 at 7:44 PM, Kyle99 said:

So I will be doing a long term reveiw of the new AquaMaxx HOB-R Refugium sold @Marine Depot

 

1st impressions

Pacageing was great on both ends. The box from Marine Depot was well stuffed to protect the contents and so was the box from AquaMaxx. The acrilic was surounded in foam on all sides to protect from shipping. A+ on both ends 

 

The refugium was a little pricy from what you end up with, but it is acrilic. This is the first hob fuge ive seen with the pump in the back and not in the tank. This was a key factor when i was looking for one. The fuge wis well built as far as I can tell seams are almost invisable.

 

Pros

Well built

Pump is in the back

Veiwing window to check growth.

There is a arm to lift the pump out for cleaning

 

Cons

Pricy but every one like this is 

No great place to put a clamo style light.

The siphon tube is one piece so it will require a long pipe cleaner. 

 

I also bought a cheap light to go with it to help grow mirco algae. Its not much of one but maybe you might have some insite. 

 

I will set it up in the next few days and give a update. 

Looking forward to seeing some macroalgae growth in future posts! Thank you for shopping @ MD! Merry Fishmas!

Jeff @ Marine Depot

[Tamberav]

Just won one of these from Marine Depot 😮 Excited to see how it does for ya. I have always loved Aquamaxx products. 

[Kyle99]

*small update* 

 

The fuge is now set up and running! Pump was loud at first but once it primes goes completely quiet. 

 

WARNNING for future buyers! When the pump is shut off it does back flow into the tank but stops once the water is level with tank water. Make sure to have enough room in the tank for this. 

 

It holds about 3 gallons. A lot more than i was thinking. Also a added plus is that on the outlet there is a skimmer box that stops aglae from exscaping. It also acts as a great media bag placement.

[Kyle99]

3 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Just won one of these from Marine Depot 😮 Excited to see how it does for ya. I have always loved Aquamaxx products. 

Oh cool! You have any pictures of it running? Also what do you have in it. I was thinking some live sand, rock rubble and some micro algae.

[Tamberav]

5 minutes ago, Kyle99 said:

Oh cool! You have any pictures of it running? Also what do you have in it. I was thinking some live sand, rock rubble and some micro algae.

 

I don't have it yet, literally just won it this morning. I may put it on a IM25 lagoon if it fits, otherwise I have a frag tank I am setting up. I may put caulerpa in it or cheato, or both since it looks quite large. 

[Kyle99]

Its a good size its 17" wide. Plenty of room. On a 20 gallon long there is enough room on each side for a ac20 on ether end to give you an idea

 

15 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

I don't have it yet, literally just won it this morning. I may put it on a IM25 lagoon if it fits, otherwise I have a frag tank I am setting up. I may put caulerpa in it or cheato, or both since it looks quite large. 

 

[HarryPotter]

@Marine Depot: aquamaxx is your brand, correct? 

[Marine Depot]

19 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

@Marine Depot: aquamaxx is your brand, correct? 

Marine Depot is the master distributor for AquaMaxx brand products. 🌊

[jbb]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

Just won one of these from Marine Depot 😮 Excited to see how it does for ya. I have always loved Aquamaxx products. 

We need to talk. By me saying that YOU won, I really meant ME . 

 

You're welcome and Congratulations to ME 

[Kyle99]

Sorry for the late post here some pictures of it set up. You can also see that a 7" light is very small compared to this haha. Also how i have my carbon right on the out flow box.

[Kyle99]

I was able to get some chato and what seems to be the red wide leaf type of micro algae today along with some new corals. Lets see where we go from here! Only time will tell. 

 

Also i moved my carbon to a high flow area and put filter floss on the exit. 

[Kyle99]

So, sorry for the super late update but I've had a busy time with the holidays and a few mess ups in my tank.

Starting out my ATO decided to over fill the tank at 2 in the morning. I figured it was just snails on the optical sensor, so I figured Id just clean it off and retry. well the next day while I'm at work it did it again, but this time I only had a gallon so not too much on the floor. 

 

But getting past the negatives, my chato has grown a little under the basic light. I'm sure if I put a better light or a grow light it will grow much faster. so far after adding the chato my nitrates have slowly started to decrease (including with the water changes). before I was testing the day after a water change and then the day of a water change to see how fast my nitrates would rise. usually my nitrates end up being around 10ppm on average, but have now have lowered to around 5ppm.

 

 so far so good. my only complaint about this unit is that due to how the pump is mounted it does cause a notable hum. after puttting some airline hose around the siphen tube it seemed to help but didn't fix the problem. soon i will try to ad some between the wall and the bracket arm see how that will work. till next time I hope everyone had a better start to the year than I did.

 

- Kyle

[Tamberav]

Finally got it on the tank today but I have no cheato yet 😛

 

 

 

Yup, it fits the IM25g chambers. It does not interfere with the operation of the tank or its chambers or even my ATO. Sorry tank is s mess right now of water spots. 

 

I have not noticed any hum from the pump but I will try and see if I can hear it tonight when the house it quieter. 

 

Not sure I will keep it on this tank but I want to try it out and see what I can culture in it, then maybe put it on a frag tank but maybe not. We'll see! 

 

 

One thing to note is this HOB could easily be modded into an AIO on a rimless tank that doesn't have chambers. it would just need a few easy acrylic baffles. It really temps me to buy a Aquamaxx rimless and hang it on there AIO style. It wouldn't even be difficult to mod it to surface skim with a black acrylic box with teeth. 

 

I have serious multi-tank syndrome. 

[Marine Depot]

7 hours ago, Tamberav said:

One thing to note is this HOB could easily be modded into an AIO on a rimless tank that doesn't have chambers. it would just need a few easy acrylic baffles. It really temps me to buy a Aquamaxx rimless and hang it on there AIO style. It wouldn't even be difficult to mod it to surface skim with a black acrylic box with teeth. 

 

I have serious multi-tank syndrome. 

 

 

AquaMaxx also offers the HF-M which is a nice option for rimless tanks!

 

Jeff @ Marine Depot

 

[One&only]

I have a rimmed 29 gal and the HM-F fits very well