I'm planning to downsize my 120 to a 50g cube. I have a BK Mini 180 that I love dearly (dead quiet and pulls hard). I don't particularly want to give it up so I'm wondering what the downside of running an oversized skimmer is. I am also going from SPS dominated to what will hopefully be an easier to take of LPS dominated tank. Killing me but I just don't have the time these days.
Bubble King 180 for a 50g
- Thread starter rsaha
- Start date
biecacka
Active member
I'm sure scott will chime in here, but let me share my things on this. No, don't do it. These skimmers seem to be sized very correctly and you don't want to oversize them, especially this much. There are plenty of factors that will effect the performance and one large one will be the neck size, if it is too big for what your bioload is then you will get very irregular performance from your skimmer. It will run idle most of the time, then when there are ample DOC's in the tank it will skim them away then sit idle for days again. Not worth it.
I have the double cone 200 which is rated for heavy stocked 250 gallon tank. I have a 240 gallon cube with 30 fish......I am now running the skimmer in 10 inches of water and the wedge pipe 60% closed to get a good foam. Now I still a, tinkering with her setting as the skimmer is 3 weeks old. But I imagine it is close to this setting for now. The recommended water depth is 8-9.5 or so and pipe open. So 30 fish in my tank is NOT a heavy bioload. Granted only 10 fish or so are 5inches or larger now but a few are 8 inches. I almost went with the DC 250, the next one up because of the natural desire to upsize our skimmers.
I'm sure in many cases that is needed, however with these skimmers I wouldn't go larger if I could avoid it.
Hope this helps, but I'm sure Slief, the expert will hop in here soon to point you in the right direction.
Corey
Thanks. I'm still pondering my downsize project. I also have a nice big custom acrylic sump but it's 36 inches long so I'm also considering a 70g display (36x24x18 high) with around 15 gallons in the sump for 85 total. Do you think I could get away with my BK180 in that configuration?
Also, I don't have a problem with idle. I can put it on a timer if need be. Quiet is a really big deal for me along with performance. The loudest thing on my tank is the gurgle on the overflow and I'm thinking a ghost with a beananimal for the new tank so that should presumably move my noise floor down as well.
Are there other skimmers out there (I have not shopped for skimmers in a long, long time) that are as quiet as BK?
Also, I don't have a problem with idle. I can put it on a timer if need be. Quiet is a really big deal for me along with performance. The loudest thing on my tank is the gurgle on the overflow and I'm thinking a ghost with a beananimal for the new tank so that should presumably move my noise floor down as well.
Are there other skimmers out there (I have not shopped for skimmers in a long, long time) that are as quiet as BK?
slief
RC Sponsor
Sorry for not replying sooner. I didn't see this thread. The Double Cone 180 as you are aware is way oversized for your display and any load you could possibly stock it with. The issue will inconsistancy. If you tune it like you normally would for a larger display and load, you will end up with a very inconsistent skimmer. It will produce for a day or two and then idle along until the dissolved organics build up enough to get it to produce a good foam again. The other alternatives is to adjust it really wet and live with tea colored skimmate and a skimmer that is more sensitive to the water conditions and may want to overflow on occasion. You wouldn't really want the skimmer on a timer because when the neck dries out, the skimmer will have to go through a mini break in period which will result in even less consistency. If you could have an acrylic sleeve made for the inside of the neck using a cylinder that has on outside diameter that matches the inside diameter of the Double Cone 180 neck, that would help improve it's ability to work on your size display/load as the larger neck diameter needs more dissolved organics to maintain a good foam head. For a 50 or even 70 gallon display, the Double Cone 150 is a much more appropriately sized skimmer.
I have a Bubble King Mini 180 G2, not a Double Cone. I'm guessing that won't make much difference in the answer but I wanted to be sure. It is rated 105 to 200 which is why I was wondering about getting my total volume up to 85 gallons....
slief
RC Sponsor
My bad. Not sure what I was thinking when I said Double Cone 180. Either way, the Mini 180 is going to be oversized for the 50 gallon display. Total volume isn't as important as the display size. Load is generally based in the display where the fish and waste is concentrated. Our sumps and refugiums contribute to waste reduction and as such, really aren't relevant when it comes to sizing a skimmer that is properly rated. Ultimately, you won't get consistent performance from this skimmer on your new setup unless you can reduce the neck diameter by inserting an acrylic sleeve. If you can find a acrylic cylinder that is smaller the same length as the mini 180 neck and smaller in diameter, you could always use some large diameter o-rings to hold it in place within the 180's neck. The neck diameter reduction would help to make it much more consistent with the exponentially lower. That or live with the inconsistency or really wet skimming which will likely require increased sump depth and or closing of the wedge pipe more than you are used to.
Similar threads
