Should I use a smaller skimmer?

[McPuff]

I've got a 120 gal (4x2x2') sps dominant reef with a relatively light bioload (10 small fish). My skimmer is a Warner Marine AS200 (rated for 250 gal) with 8' body/collection cup. It is certainly overkill for my tank... because of this it will skim intermittently. So, I'm wondering if it would actually be better to have a smaller skimmer that is constantly skimming (likely easier to dial in) or if I should just keep going with the current method (maybe just get more fish?). Don't get me wrong, the corals are all doing great so it's not an issue of "help me fix this tank." I'm just looking to get more efficient and it's fun to tinker. Plus, a new skimmer sounds like fun. If your answer is "get a smaller skimmer" then please also share your suggestions for new model.

Just having some fun with the process. Thanks in advance for the comments!

 

[Webmanny]

I can tell you from personal experience that my skimmer is much larger than my tank needs. My solution is to only run it at night. I programmed my ReefKeeper to turn it on at 2:00am and turn it off at 8:00am and that seems to do the trick just fine. The moment it turns on it starts skimming and by the time I get up at 6:00am, it is almost skimming dry.

This also helps keep the neck of my skimmer clean longer.

 

[moondoggy4]

If it is not broken don't fix it, there is a thread here were a guy had a great SPS tank and started to fixeate on one paramater and he lost the tank.

If you one of the best skimmer for that tank I would get the ATB 840v-2.

 

[nuxx]

We have a 500 gallon rated skimmer on a 150 gallon frag tank...

I'm downsizing... just too overkill and takes up too much room in the sump...

 

[McPuff]

If it is not broken don't fix it, there is a thread here were a guy had a great SPS tank and started to fixeate on one paramater and he lost the tank.

If you one of the best skimmer for that tank I would get the ATB 840v-2.

I agree... and I'm not a parameter chaser at all. Just strive to be as efficient as possible. So I figured if I could/should go with a smaller skimmer to get there, why not give it a shot. Unless this led to underskimming, I don't see any issue with the corals. But for now, I'm going to keep it as-is, maybe try to wet skim a bit more. There are some other changes I can make in the meantime to make the system more efficient and I will focus on those instead. Thanks for the input so far everyone!