Can a skimmer be too big?

[villious]

Can a skimmer be too big for a given tank volume that it would impede performance?

 

[old salty]

Absolutely.

 

[MN. Reef crzy]

agreed.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I would say that it can be too much for your nutrient input. You can usually dial back the skimmer, or feed more.

 

[BangkokMatt]

So how big is too big - lets say on a 150g

 

[Mishap]

The skimmer I am currently building is 12" diameter, 42" total height. I have a 125

Reaction chamber is 20" tall, 12" diameter, 2 Gen-X 4100's mesh-modded recircs.

 

[NealNano]

I would say that is over kill. If you put a large skimmer on a small system it will skimmer out all the waste. Then your skimmer will not skim cause there is nothing left to skim. IN SHORT TOO BIG JUST WASTES POWER.

 

[madmax7774]

I have a 110G tall with a 40G sump. 150G total volume. I use a deltec ap851 which is rated for 400g. I bought large because I intended to upgrade my tank someday. I have since found out that Deltec (like all the other manufacturer's) way overates their skimmers. I wouldn't attempt a 400g system with my current skimmer. It won't be enough. I have had this setup for over a year, and it always had something to pull out, and always will.
I strongly doubt any skimmer you build will be too efficient for a system with 120g of water or more. there is no such thing as overskimming, or having water that is too clean. I say go for it, you will most likely be very happy with your setup. I know I am. oh, and as for when I do finally upgrade my system, I will be getting yet a larger skimmer.

 

[leeweber85]

I don't agree with you about never having too clean of water. Corals need some nutrients or else they will lose color and not grow. A lot of people running the fancy deltecs / bubbleking skimmers have ran into that problem.