over skimming

saltwaternoobie

New member
Have narrowed my skimmer selection down to an aqua maxx the have a co-1 rated to 175 gallons light bio load and a co-2 rated to 300 gallons light bio load.

my tank is a 75 gallon and will have a 40 gallon sump , if i went with a skimmer of the co-2 rated up to 300 gallons with a light bio load would that be too much overkill ?or would i be better off with the smaller one ? pricing is a bit of a difference but i dont have an issue spending more if i would be better off or would a larger skimmer be a bad decision ?
 
I would go with the CO-2, it would give you the ability to upsize in the future and it would still work well in your 75.
 
You certainly can have to large of a skimmer. If a skimmer is to big it won't skim right. It will either just idle because it can not produce a stable enough foam to rise up past the neck or it will produce foam for a bit and stop.

First off skimmer ratings by the manufacturer most of the time mean nothing and most rate them way to high. The Aqua Maxx cones skimmers skimm very well but also rate theirs way too high. Personally I would say the CO 1 is good for a 75 medium loaded to a 90 lightly loaded at best. Basically the CO 2 would be a better fit also it is not a space saver like the CO 1 which will increase contact time.
 
You certainly can have to large of a skimmer. If a skimmer is to big it won't skim right. It will either just idle because it can not produce a stable enough foam to rise up past the neck or it will produce foam for a bit and stop.

First off skimmer ratings by the manufacturer most of the time mean nothing and most rate them way to high. The Aqua Maxx cones skimmers skimm very well but also rate theirs way too high. Personally I would say the CO 1 is good for a 75 medium loaded to a 90 lightly loaded at best. Basically the CO 2 would be a better fit also it is not a space saver like the CO 1 which will increase contact time.

Thanks for the input helps will go with the co2, I liked the c02 as it has more contact time with the pump being outside of the skimmer , does make for a larger foot print however it should work in my sump
 
Thanks for the input helps will go with the co2, I liked the c02 as it has more contact time with the pump being outside of the skimmer , does make for a larger foot print however it should work in my sump

Yea I have a CO-1 on my frag tanks which is only about a total of 55 gallons. It does a really nice job for such a low priced skimmer. Aquamaxx skimmers are not built the best but they work and they work well. It does a far better job than the SCA skimmers for the price, not even a comparison.

Another skimmer it is a little more money but is dead silent is the RLSS R6-I, that is what I ran on my 75. The thing is a beast and is very well built but will cost a little more. If you need a silent skimmer this is your best bet for the money.

The CO-2 will be fine though and has a sicce pump which is a more reliable than the pump on the RLSS but it does not perform as well and is not as quiet..
 
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Yea I have a CO-1 on my frag tanks which is only about a total of 55 gallons. It does a really nice job for such a low priced skimmer. Aquamaxx skimmers are not built the best but they work and they work well. It does a far better job than the SCA skimmers for the price, not even a comparison.

Another skimmer it is a little more money but is dead silent is the RLSS R6-I, that is what I ran on my 75. The thing is a beast and is very well built but will cost a little more. If you need a silent skimmer this is your best bet for the money.

The CO-2 will be fine though and has a sicce pump which is a more reliable than the pump on the RLSS but it does not perform as well and is not as quiet..

Thanks for the suggestion as well , honestly I found the Rlss as well , but read pumps aren't as good like you've mentioned supposed to be a great skimmer !
 
Yea I have a CO-1 on my frag tanks which is only about a total of 55 gallons. It does a really nice job for such a low priced skimmer. Aquamaxx skimmers are not built the best but they work and they work well. It does a far better job than the SCA skimmers for the price, not even a comparison.

Another skimmer it is a little more money but is dead silent is the RLSS R6-I, that is what I ran on my 75. The thing is a beast and is very well built but will cost a little more. If you need a silent skimmer this is your best bet for the money.

The CO-2 will be fine though and has a sicce pump which is a more reliable than the pump on the RLSS but it does not perform as well and is not as quiet..

Hey shred5,

What water depth do you run your RLSS R6-I? I also have this skimmer on my 75 gallon, but I think it is a little oversized in my case. Was looking at getting the CO-1 instead. What are your thoughts?

Thanks
 
Hey shred5,

What water depth do you run your RLSS R6-I? I also have this skimmer on my 75 gallon, but I think it is a little oversized in my case. Was looking at getting the CO-1 instead. What are your thoughts?

Thanks


I just replaced my RLSS with a ATB skimmer and went up to a 90 gallon reef, that is a pretty big jump in skimmer capacity. I am thinking of trying the RLSS in place of the CO-1. Right now I am holding on to it as a spare.
A R6-I should be fine for a 75 unless you have a real light load. The RLSS is way bigger than a C0-1 and pushes way more air. If your load is real light it is possible it could be over-sized. I think MY RLSS was in like 6.5" of water.
The CO-1 is not nearly the build quality of the RLSS and needs to be pretty deep , I think like 9 inches of water. I think RLSS is like Bubble King and actually rate their skimmer pretty close to their actual capacity..

Whats your load on your tank?
 
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I just replaced my RLSS with a ATB skimmer and went up to a 90 gallon reef, that is a pretty big jump in skimmer capacity. I am thinking of trying the RLSS in place of the CO-1. Right now I am holding on to it as a spare.
A R6-I should be fine for a 75 unless you have a real light load. The RLSS is way bigger than a C0-1 and pushes way more air. If your load is real light it is possible it could be over-sized. I think MY RLSS was in like 6.5" of water.
The CO-1 is not nearly the build quality of the RLSS and needs to be pretty deep , I think like 9 inches of water. I think RLSS is like Bubble King and actually rate their skimmer pretty close to their actual capacity..

Whats your load on your tank?

I have a pretty light load I would say. I have a leopard wrasse, coral beauty, firefish, pair of percula clowns, and yellow assessor who will soon be taken out.

Yeah, the RLSS pushes like 3 times the amount of air than the CO-1.

I have heard people run there CO-1 in 9.5" of water, which is something I can't do. I've just been reading a lot of good things about it, but the water depth is just to deep.

I'm thinking of raising the RLSS up to 7" inches and seeing if that helps. I also might just leave it off every now and then to let nutrients build up.

Thanks for your reply.
 
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