800ish Gallon System - 2 Skimmers or 1 XL?

T

tanglovers

New member
Hi All,

I am strongly looking into a sooner then expected upgrade for our system.

Our system is currently around 550 gallons. 220 gallon display, 100 and 150 plumbed into a common sump. System is an SPS system with a high bioload.

I have a freind getting ready to break down his 520 gallon display tank and I strongly considering swapping out my display for this one. My wall and fish room have been already set up to accomodate this size tank.

I am just looking at and figuring the "total" upgrade cost then can double it to be accurate :)

Anyhow, I am currently running a Bubble King 300 Internal and love this skimmer. It is techincally rated to 800 gallons but I personally feel more skimming capacity is needed then this.

I am trying to decide if I should upgrade to a single larger skimmer or add a second one to the lineup. I could setup the sump anyhow required to make 2 skimmers run efficiently if possible (thinking splitting the sump so that each skimmer gets its own fresh drain water from the overflows).

Any opinions would be appreciated. I absolutely love my BK so would be looking for comparable skimmer quality in build and performance.

Thanks!
 
What about a Bubble King 500? It rated up to 1300 gallons.

AS_BK500Ext.jpg
 
Yes they do have larger BK skimmers. If a single large skimmer is the best option then they could be considered. Obviously price wise, adding a second skimmer to the existing skimmer would be the most cost effective.

If not a good option then it will likely not be considered. If a single skimmer is the best option I will likely consider the ATB line.

I have done some research on running dual skimmers and have found some people say running two different size necks will allow the skimmers to both run efficiently and not fight against each other.

I was also considering running a split sump so that both skimmers get fresh 'dirty' overflow water so that one is not getting already skimmed water. In my mind this would also allow both skimmers to perform and skim well.
 
zygote2k said:
Somewhere here is a study done on skimmer efficiency. The winner was not a cone skimmer with a bubble plate. In fact, one of the least efficient was the cone and the most efficient was a counter current air pump driven skimmer.
If I wanted to make sure my butt was covered in selecting a skimmer, I'd go with multiple skimmers on the same system. ASM and Euroreef make efficient, inexpensive skimmers that have a proven track record.
Click to expand...

I remember thinking about this post when I read your post about whether you should go with a single or two skimmers.
 
Go for the Bubble master 500, think its the same like Chingchai. I seen it in action 2 weeks back, a beast of a skimmer.
 
ccampbell57 said:
Scott...honestly, I would go with a quad beckett from MRC.
Click to expand...

Hey Chris - thanks for the input I appreciate it. Will be a similar setup as yours but will have corals right away.

I have never run beckett skimmers, was under the impression they were large energy hogs. I have always favored needles wheels for the energy efficiency and I love my BK. Just unsure $6-7k is in the budget for the big dawg BK. This is why I considered a second skimmer.

The XL ATB is a little taller then I would prefer, not undoable but at 40" (if I recall correctly) means my stand needs to be quite tall to accomodate this.
 
tanglovers said:
Hey Chris - thanks for the input I appreciate it. Will be a similar setup as yours but will have corals right away.

I have never run beckett skimmers, was under the impression they were large energy hogs. I have always favored needles wheels for the energy efficiency and I love my BK. Just unsure $6-7k is in the budget for the big dawg BK. This is why I considered a second skimmer.

The XL ATB is a little taller then I would prefer, not undoable but at 40" (if I recall correctly) means my stand needs to be quite tall to accomodate this.
Click to expand...

Becketts dont have to be energy hogs, their nice because you can run the pump of your choice... a lot of people happen to run big hogs on their skimmers or the skimmers come with big energy hogs. I recently swapped out my SWC 300 for a BashSea beckett and really like the results...its fed off of a big return pump but I would have no problem putting an Askoll based pump on it.
 
tanglovers said:
Just unsure $6-7k is in the budget for the big dawg BK. This is why I considered a second skimmer.
Click to expand...
Yeah I wouldn't lean too hard for a giant BK Scott. Of course, they're amazing skimmers, but other companies have come so, so far in even just a couple/few years. You can get well built great performing skimmers for dirt cheap compared to what they used to be. IMO, nowadays you pay more for the name than where in the past the quality was unsurpassed on the "high-end" skimmers. Some of the cheaper skimmers perform just as well (or better) for a fraction of the cost.

I have a SWC skimmer now, picked it up for under $400 from PA. As you know I ran the ATB Medium the first time I set up the AGE, which was around $1,200. The performance has been nearly identical out of the two skimmers, and I have no complaints about the SWC, just more mulah for fish ;)
 
I have a friend that is running the 8000 and it is a beast. I'm going to add one to my list for our new 500 display 800 total. And the nice thing, its 1/8 the price of a BK.
 
I would add on a second skimmer.
I agree with stunreefer, shop for value. If I were doing it I would seriously consider the Super Reef Octopus XP8000, and the I-tech supper beast:
http://www.i-techskimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13
I haven't ran either but I have the I-tech 200 on a 140 gallon tank and I really like it.

If you are looking to spend some cash look at Deltec's latest line of skimmer. That way you can upgrade later and get the cleaning heads.
 
I appreciate all the input. I will be playing with sump designs the next couple days and this will be the deciding factor on which route I go. At this time, I am leaning towards adding a second skimmer. When I design the sump though I will make sure a single larger skimmer could fit in there too incase I change my mind.

I am always very aware of energy use. For this reason I am looking at the SWC and ATB line of skimmers. If I could find a good used BK 250 I would grab it and call it a day.

I just am having a hard time parting with my BK300, it has been an awesome skimmer since I bought it nearly 5 years ago. It is proven and does an amazing job skimming. It could probably handle this upgrade but it will have a large amount of tangs and angels so I would prefer more skimming capacity.

Is there any other skimmer lines other then Vertex, ATB, SWC and BK that use the Askoll pump motor block?
 
xp 8000
its on my wishlist i know its 160 watts but can handle 1500 gallons... for 1200
less than $ 1 per gallon
 
Well I have made a decision.

I found a good price on a used BK 250 Supermarin 250. I will run this with my existing BK300 Internal.

I am not 100% set on the upgrade but was worth grabbing this skimmer just incase.
 
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