Include the entire system volume...... The following is a PM that a RC member sent to me. I ended up calling the aquarium tech listed. He's a great guy and was willing to talk with me for almost an hour. I went with what he recommended and couldnt be happier.>>>>>>>>>>>here you go>>>>>>>>>
UCanDoIt wrote on 01/22/2007 09:36 AM:
My aquarium technician has a certain formula that he uses when making recommendations to his clients on the correct size skimmer to buy to protect their systems. He's been in business maintaining aquariums for over 15 years and his partner has over 20 years experience. From my own experience as well as theirs, we've discovered that a skimmer undersize or severely oversized never performs as well as one that is correctly sized. What is so confusing about the skimmer ballgame is that manufacturers are sometimes overly optimistic about the capacity of their skimmers, then you don't end up what you need.
Recirculating Skimmer Calculation
Total Water Volume x 1.5 Multiplier
120g x 1.5 = 180g, so the closest to this calc is:
H&S A150 $649.99 up to 225g capacity
Non-Recirculating Skimmer Calculation
Total Water Volume x 2 Multiplier
120g x 2 = 240g, so the closest to this calc is:
H&S 200-1260 $899.99 up to 300g capacity
ATi Bubblemaster 200 $529 up to 250g capacity
The reason why a larger multiplier is used on non-recirculating skimmers is because they do not perform as well as the recirculating, so the ratings are a little optimistic when manufacturers rate them the same as the recirculating skimmers, using the same pump and same body size. I believe that recirculating skimmers perform around 15%-20% better than non-recirculating.
The ATi Bubblemaster was thrown into the mixed because it is a great performer and a newcomer to the skimmer ballgame. They are really a great value with this new meshwheel technology that has blown all the medium end skimmers away. They compete with the high end skimmers, but at half the price.
If you need a dealer to make your ATi or H&S skimmer purchase and want to take advantage of FREE s/h/i, I highly recommend my aquarium technician, who is West Coast biggest authorized dealer for Fins Reef and just started his dealership with ReefGeek. Shipping & handling on these big skimmers can be quite expensive because of the oversize boxes used to protect the skimmer from potential shipping abuse. My local dealer is great to work with and he is currently offering RC members a promo of FREE s/h/i through the end of January as his next order needs to get then. His contact info is below if you want to go that direction.
Here's webpage for KMA Int'l, owner is Ed:
http://home.wwdb.org/kmaintl
They are also listed as authorized dealers for Deltec USA and H&S/Fins Reef.
http://www.deltecusa.us/dealers.php
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...threadid=902403
Here's what other RC members have commented about working with Ed:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...threadid=865055
Hope this information if helpful. The above PM was developed as I've gotten many questions on what size and where to buy. So, not everything may apply, but you get the jest of the calculation. Christine
