Advice on skimmer selection for 40 breeder

[wantacookie]

The time has come for me to order a skimmer. However, I'm having some trouble deciding on the skimmer for my build.

The system consists of a 40g breeder display with 29g sump/refugium. Livestock is mostly undecided, but leaning towards SPS. Also enjoy plating corals, montipora, etc. Fish selection is mostly undecided, but around 3 to 4 medium sized fish. I would consider this to be average bioload. Is this correct?

So far, I am thinking that I want to order the Euroreef RS-80 because of the high reputation of Euroreef. But, the MSX-160 is only 20 bucks more and has the potential if I ever decide to upgrade tank size.

Is the MSX-160 too much skimmer for my current setup? Will I see sporadic performance?

 

[porthios]

well, imho..

skip the skimmer on a 40b. it's just too easy to manage a tank that size with water changes ime. save your money..

i own an msx-160 and i'm not all that happy with it. i'd take it over an rs-80 for sure but i find the bottom mounted pump inconvenient and i'm not a fan of the slip ring cup fitting. i prefer the twist lock style..

my 2c.

 

[wantacookie]

Thanks for your input on the msx-160. Your 525 build is sweet.

My old 20g tall ran very well for over three years with only water changes. It had excellent coralline growth and a huge pod population. Once I put a small skimmer on it, however, the water looked a lot clearer. This tank did not have any corals, only fish and CUC. The entire tank was donated to start a small in wall tank for my parents, which is doing very well so far.

My hope for this system is to keep corals and make them thrive. This is my reason for skimming. I've read that you can over skim a tank and take too much out thus needing to add supplements to compensate. This is one of my concerns. Would the b-ionic 2 part and mag supplements be sufficient to compensate for any over skimming?

Also, I've read that one should match the gph of the skimmer's pump to the return pump, taking into account head loss. The return pump is a rated for 1000 gph. With head loss this will be around 500-600 gph. If this is still too much flow, there will be a gate or ball valve on the return. Would this allow me all the adjustment I need to match the two pumps?

 

[porthios]

Thanks for your input on the msx-160. Your 525 build is sweet.

why ty . i've wanted to build it for a long time so it's a lot of fun to finally get started.

take my msx-160 comments for what they're worth. i liked the oct nw200 that it replaced better, but not because it out performed the msx-160. i just found it more pleasant to use. the bottom mounted pump may in fact be a good idea in your case as you won't have much room in a 29gal sump.

My hope for this system is to keep corals and make them thrive.

lots of ways to do this with and without skimming. the trick really, is to find out what methods work best for you in achieving the goals you have for your tank. i'm very happy with the health of the animals in my 40b and i don't use a skimmer. nor would i hesitate to use any of the skimmers i have lying around if i thought it necessary. skimming/not skimming is the religious subject for me that it is for some..

I've read that you can over skim a tank and take too much out thus needing to add supplements to compensate. This is one of my concerns. Would the b-ionic 2 part and mag supplements be sufficient to compensate for any over skimming?

not sure what you were reading but skimming should have a negligible effect on ca/alk/mg. i'd say none but someone will point out that the shells of the dead pods in my collection cup contain calcium, lol. can't be too careful on rc .

when someone talks about 'over skimming' they're usually referring to the dissolved and particulate matter that would otherwise be used as food by other organisms. the 'supplementing' you would do in this case is to feed more..

Also, I've read that one should match the gph of the skimmer's pump to the return pump, taking into account head loss. The return pump is a rated for 1000 gph. With head loss this will be around 500-600 gph. If this is still too much flow, there will be a gate or ball valve on the return. Would this allow me all the adjustment I need to match the two pumps?

i'm not sure i follow you here. if you're trying to gravity feed your skimmer from the tank's overflow, yes, having your return pump match the skimmer's desired feed rate can save you from having to run a separate pump for the skimmer.

if your return pump is pushing more water than you want to run through your skimmer you can either use the valve to reduce the flow to the tank, or tee off the drain to send the flow you want to the skimmer and the rest straight to your sump.

is that what you're asking?

 

[wantacookie]

Your point about the bottom mounted pump is one of the reasons for my choosing the MSX-160. There simply isn't enough room for the msx-200 or octo extreme 200.

It is good to know that skimming won't have any effect on ca/alk/mag. Thanks for explaining that to me. Sounds like I'll just have to keep feeding heavily. My fish are always fat and happy.

Concerning the return pump question... What I meant was that the return pump output should be matched to the skimmer pump output. From what I can understand, this slows the flow of water and ensures that the majority of the water going into the skimmer section is adequately skimmed prior to proceeding to the return. Is this really a major concern?

If it happens to be a problem, I believe you answered my question for a solution when you confirmed that I would be able to throttle back the return in order to slow the flow through the sump.

I pulled the trigger and ordered the octo extreme 160 yesterday from premium aquatics. We'll see how it goes. Once it arrives I can put the baffles in my sump, plumb it, and get some water in this thing.

Thanks for your help so far. Hope your build runs smoothly.

 

[porthios]

Concerning the return pump question... What I meant was that the return pump output should be matched to the skimmer pump output. From what I can understand, this slows the flow of water and ensures that the majority of the water going into the skimmer section is adequately skimmed prior to proceeding to the return. Is this really a major concern?

ok, i think i follow you now. no, that wouldn't concern me at all. i would run my return pump at 2-4 times my system volume and run my skimmer pump at whatever rate it's designed for.

if the skimmer feed rate fell within an acceptable rate for my return pump, i'd only run the return pump and feed the skimmer from the overflow drain.

when you start a build thread for yours, pm me a link. i'd love to tag along.

best of luck..