Help needed on selection

[Thoax]

Looking for some help here i am about to buy a new skimmer for my tank and wanted to see what everyone thought or suggested.

Right now the tank will be a custom tank 72" x 24" x 24" so roughly 170g + 70g sump = 240g full system.

The 2 bubble king skimmers i am looking at getting are the,

BUBBLE KING SUPERMARIN 250 + RD3 SPEEDY rated for 264 - 792 gallons
Bubble King Supermarin 200 Skimmer W/ RD3 Speedy DC Pump rated for 210 G Light - 530 G Heavy

My main question is right now its a 240g system and the supermarin 200 will work great, but down the road when i move i would like to get a bigger tank and then i would prob be over the 530g mark would it be worth getting the supermarin 250 instead i have heard from 2 people tho its not good going under the recommend G's with these skimmers.

Any help would be great from people that have used them before or have them now.

 

[slief]

The 250 would be way too large for your current setup and would be inconsistent. These skimmers are very conservatively rated and should not be oversized. The SM200 could handle a higher load than it’s rating too. I run an SM250 on a 500 gallon display (700 gallon total system volume) and have around 70 fish. Many are over 10” long and the SM250 still could handle much more.

I’d recommend either the SM200 or Deluxe 200. The Deluxe 200 would be my first choice since it will dry skim as well as it will wet skim where as the SM’s are better suited for wet skimming making them a little less flexible with lighter loads.

 

[Thoax]

Hey Slief, Looks like the sump i got they changed and never updated the specs on it and its a bit smaller then i posted about as the system now will be 185-190g.

I have already purchested the Bubble King DeLuxe 200 internal + RD3 Speedy that you recommend is this going to still be ok with the system?

 

[slief]

Hey Slief, Looks like the sump i got they changed and never updated the specs on it and its a bit smaller then i posted about as the system now will be 185-190g.

I have already purchested the Bubble King DeLuxe 200 internal + RD3 Speedy that you recommend is this going to still be ok with the system?

We normally rate our skimmers by display volume and not system volume. My recommendations were based on your original display volume and the Deluxe will be the most flexible in terms of load for your display size. That said, it will be able to handle as many fish as you could ever want to put in the display so you should be just fine.