I have a 180 gal display with an additional 60 gal for my sump and refugium. The tank has been set up for 8 years and is lightly stocked with a 3 fish, soft corals, and LPS. I am just coming off a serous algae problem and have decided to upgrade my skimmer to one of the new ATIs. I originally planned on purchasing a 250 but have been told that it may to too large for my system and will end up being less efficient that the 200. I am willing to spend the extra money on the 250, but want to make sure I have the best match for my system. Any thoughts?
ATI 200 or 250 for a 180 gal?
- Thread starter KRussell
- Start date
I have the 250 on a 180 with a sump and a seperate fuge, But i plan on a 500 gallon one day so i went bigger.
The 250 is way overkill, The skimmer will def strip the water clean.
The 200 would be just as good IMO because theres only soo much the 250 can remove before its starts to spin its wheels. I feel its a waste on a 180 because it barely breaks a sweat on the crud in my system and i feed very good. The 200 would be a better choice for it..
Its not going to hurt other than your wallet to have the 250.
But thats $200 you could spend on other equipment or corals, or just save.
JMO though, I think the 200 would be more than enough skimmer for your tank.
The 250 is way overkill, The skimmer will def strip the water clean.
The 200 would be just as good IMO because theres only soo much the 250 can remove before its starts to spin its wheels. I feel its a waste on a 180 because it barely breaks a sweat on the crud in my system and i feed very good. The 200 would be a better choice for it..
Its not going to hurt other than your wallet to have the 250.
But thats $200 you could spend on other equipment or corals, or just save.
JMO though, I think the 200 would be more than enough skimmer for your tank.
UCanDoIt
In Memoriam
Assuming your sump is 1/2 full, you have total water volume of approximately 210g. The BM200 is rated up to 250g bioload, but based on my observations of seeing this skimmer tested, IMHO I would only use this up to 200g heavy bioload. So, with 210g light bioload, the BM200 is a more appropriate. BUT then it depends on what you plan to do after you put on this new skimmer... are you planning for something like heavy SPS or clams... or larger pooping fishes 
if not, BM200 is perfect fit.
As for hair algae, I know that my local dealer when testing, had nagging hair algae. He felt embarrashed even to show his tank to anyone as this was in the aquarium maintenance business... but you know how that goes, you do everyone's tanks before you do your own. :lol: Not that it was taking over the tank, but just enough that it was annoying and won't go away. He started attacking the problem with phosphate removers, then put in LOTs of hermit crabs and snails and most of it started to disappear. But during this last 2 months, while testing the Bubblemaster skimmers, hair algae disappeared completely... not a spot! So, if you set your BM200 to skim wet, it will definitely aid in ridding your tank of hair algae as the wet skimming seems to strip the water of phosphates.
if not, BM200 is perfect fit.As for hair algae, I know that my local dealer when testing, had nagging hair algae. He felt embarrashed even to show his tank to anyone as this was in the aquarium maintenance business... but you know how that goes, you do everyone's tanks before you do your own. :lol: Not that it was taking over the tank, but just enough that it was annoying and won't go away. He started attacking the problem with phosphate removers, then put in LOTs of hermit crabs and snails and most of it started to disappear. But during this last 2 months, while testing the Bubblemaster skimmers, hair algae disappeared completely... not a spot! So, if you set your BM200 to skim wet, it will definitely aid in ridding your tank of hair algae as the wet skimming seems to strip the water of phosphates.
fours2many
Member
I have a 180 with 65 gallon sump. I ordered the 200 from Greg after we talked. He said that it should be plenty. Now, I am second guessing it.
Ucandoit, I have mainly SPS and clams. Do you think that I should upgrade to the 250? Greg said he thought the 200 would be fine. I need to know if I should get bigger before the order comes in.
Thanks, Kristin
(sorry don't mean to interfere in your post, just saw that we have about the same set up and this really caught my attention)
Ucandoit, I have mainly SPS and clams. Do you think that I should upgrade to the 250? Greg said he thought the 200 would be fine. I need to know if I should get bigger before the order comes in.
Thanks, Kristin
(sorry don't mean to interfere in your post, just saw that we have about the same set up and this really caught my attention)
UCanDoIt,
I am going by Ed's place tomorrow to see both the 200 and 250 and to make my final decision. I contacted Ed based on your PM - thank you. My total water volume is 240 gal (I already calculated actual volume) and Ed felt I was right on the line between the two. He also said that he feels if the skimmer is too large it will not be as effective. I just want to make the right decision based on performance.
All other opinions and experiences are appreciated.
Thank You,
Kevin
I am going by Ed's place tomorrow to see both the 200 and 250 and to make my final decision. I contacted Ed based on your PM - thank you. My total water volume is 240 gal (I already calculated actual volume) and Ed felt I was right on the line between the two. He also said that he feels if the skimmer is too large it will not be as effective. I just want to make the right decision based on performance.
All other opinions and experiences are appreciated.
Thank You,
Kevin
Roland Jacques
Premium Member
You have to CALL them and say the password and they will get you one.
UCanDoIt
In Memoriam
KRussell - Did you pickup anything? Also, since you met with Ed, you probably know how I feel about him being a excellent Aquarium techinician.
GQuinn - forwarded a PM to you about calculating the right size BM skimmer to match your system. Why would you want to change your Geo Recirc skimmer, heard they work very well?
GQuinn - forwarded a PM to you about calculating the right size BM skimmer to match your system. Why would you want to change your Geo Recirc skimmer, heard they work very well?
UCanDoIt
In Memoriam
Sorry that I took so long to respond as I didn't see your post.
I currently own a H&S and Deltec skimmer of each of my 2 tanks. On those forums, I notice that reefers with SPS dominated tanks with clams always go up to the next size, especially if they are right on the border between 2 skimmer sizes.
I believe that based on my observation of the performance on the BM200 and BM250, I wouldn't put a BM200 on a tank between 100g-200g range and on the BM250, 200g-500g. Most likely the BM200 will be adequate, but the BM250 protect SPS better. What is your feeding habit on your tank? Any algae bloom problems?
I ended up purchasing a BM200 on Friday. The dealer (Ed from KM Associates) felt the BM250 was too large for my bio load and would not foam. After 2 days the BM200 has not performed any better that the DYI I had on before, but I assume it will take a couple of weeks to break in. I will post my experiences on the main ATI Bubblemaster forum. By the way Ed at KM Associates was great to deal with, and I highly recommend him for anyone considering a high end skimmer. http://home.wwdb.org/kmaintl
Thank you all for your advice.
Kevin
Thank you all for your advice.
Kevin
UCanDoIt
In Memoriam
The BM150 started skimming on day 1 and pulled out all kind of gunk on Ed's display tank. The BM200 did as well. The BM250 took some time to get started since the BM150 and BM200 basically taken out everything and caught up already. But by around 10 days, it was skimming really well. The longest that I heard the BM takes to break-in is 3 weeks, then they are pretty much ready for final adjustments.
RichConley
New member
Greg, while I generally agree with this sentiment, the BM skimmers pull so much more air than the other skimmers with the same ratings that i think they're are probably underrated if anything.
Those single pumps pull upwards of 70scfh. You gotta run a big dual eheim H&S/Deltec to get even close to that. You're looking at a 702/902 to even come close. Deltec rates those for 400/530 and 480/660 gallons respectively.
So far I think the BM200 was the correct choice. After 6 days I have produced some light tea, but no dark skimmate. I think my DYI skimmer was working better than I thought, and my water is fairly clean. The only time I have any head on the skimmer is after I feed the tank. I am hopefull the skimmer will produce more as it breaks in.
Similar threads
