9006 on a 60g?

[mayjong]

hello-
just picked up a 60g cube. i have an existing 29g biocube with the modded 9002 on it.
the new tank has a very limited space for skimmer (approx 6" x 6"). i'm thinking of going with the 9006 . the other option would be the 9004, but not sure if this is enough. it will be a mixed reef, sps heavy and i tend to feed alot.
i'm assuming the 9006 would fit
whaddya think?
thanks!

 

[rvitko]

I prefer to 9004 over the 9006, it is smaller and honestly seems to be comparable in performance. Being a needlewheel skimmer the 9004 bubble is smaller and the skimmer just seems to react faster. If I was wanting bigger than the 9004, I would look at the 9011, the 9006 is just barely any stronger and not enough to justify the cost and footprint. The only place I really recommend the 9006 for is in tank with a canopy as that is really what it was designed for, hence the really short cup.

 

[mayjong]

so the 9004 would be good enough to handle a 60G , sps dominant?

btw- this tank does have a canopy, with fuge/sump in rear. there is no undertank sump.
that's why i only have 6"x6" to work with (it is plenty deep, though...)

 

[rvitko]

Either is weak for a full blown SPS tank, it would work with water changes and other media to reduce nutrient levels. Between the two, my choice would be a 9004, it just reacts faster to nutrient input. The best choice though would be to add a sump and run a larger skimmer, 9410 or 9011.

 

[mayjong]

9004 it is then...
i will be running carbon and gfo (semi-passive) and of course doing water changes.
one last- what is the size/capacity of the collection cup?

 

[mayjong]

or 9011??
9011 would fit. it appears to be the same dimensions as the 9004, just deeper.
i have plenty of depth. i love the idea of the larger collection cup.
decisions, decisions.
thing is, i only want to decide 1 time!

 

[rvitko]

9011 is bigger, same size as a 9006 just a bigger cup. 9004 is much more compact.

A 9004 cup holds .2L and a 9011 cup holds .7L. I would not take those volumes too literally as an indicator of cleaning duration. With all skimmers, as the neck of the cup fouls, skimming is reduced so from a practical stand point they generally have to be cleaned every sweek and twice as often will generally give better results. In a day a 9011 might remove 100ml and this declines each successive day as the riser tube fouls with debris. After a few days this is usually closer to 50ml and after a weak maybe as little as 20ml.