Skimmer Q&A Thread

[KJoFan]

The best way to size a skimmer is to state your size of the DT and then ask people what they use on that size tank and start to research there. Try to set a realistic budget, look for a used one if you can.

Except it's been stated that people tend to oversize their skimmers. So...likely I would get oversized responses. Which prompted me to ask how to properly size a skimmer, not just follow the masses.

Plus, I'm not clueless, I have several in mind. It was just that my interest was piqued by that statement and wanted to know more.

 

[Drae]

Except it's been stated that people tend to oversize their skimmers. So...likely I would get oversized responses. Which prompted me to ask how to properly size a skimmer, not just follow the masses.

Plus, I'm not clueless, I have several in mind. It was just that my interest was piqued by that statement and wanted to know more.

6" skimmers with around 700+ lph of air should be good for about a 135+/- gallon tank. An 8" skimmer with 1000 lph of air should be good for up to 200 +/- gallons. Etc... To a certain extent. I've skimmed a 150 with a 6" aquamaxx before and it would idle at first when the tank was in its infancy. I don't really upsize my skimmers. I wouldn't slap an 8" diameter skimmer on a 100 gallon tank. Skimmers vary as do pumps and air/water draw but for the most part they all run similar specs on certain size models. Your not going to see an 8" skimmer pulling 1600lph of air because it would be unbalanced and probably wouldn't skim s#1t.

 

[Scubazaru]

252 pages just for skimmer Q&A, , , I'm overwhelmed to say the least. Just started my project of a 75 main with a 40 sump. I was brainstorming an equipment list and started with the skimmer but oh my lawd the selection is vast. $300 range give or take a hundred is my budget range. I will keep reading, it seems I have a lot to do.

 

[ksed]

i had a BK Supermarin 200 it pulled 1900l/h air in a 8 inch. I was tricky running it at that air flow. When I turned the nozzle in front of the venturi in i got it down to about 1600L/H. Even at that it was finicky. But it pulled things out quick. With the AquaMaxx it pulls 800L/H and is very stable you can't get that to over flow if you wanted to. Another thing I noticed with the EM300 is that after feeding it recovered faster than the Supermarin. For obvious reasons though such as the larger neck and far more air flow the Supermarin would be suited for a larger tank but also I believe a bit to much air flow for a 8 inch diameter skimmer. As yo said the sweet spot seem anywhere between 700-1200L/H.

6" skimmers with around 700+ lph of air should be good for about a 135+/- gallon tank. An 8" skimmer with 1000 lph of air should be good for up to 200 +/- gallons. Etc... To a certain extent. I've skimmed a 150 with a 6" aquamaxx before and it would idle at first when the tank was in its infancy. I don't really upsize my skimmers. I wouldn't slap an 8" diameter skimmer on a 100 gallon tank. Skimmers vary as do pumps and air/water draw but for the most part they all run similar specs on certain size models. Your not going to see an 8" skimmer pulling 1600lph of air because it would be unbalanced and probably wouldn't skim s#1t.

 

[swcc]

Curious how you would suggest going about doing this? Most say manufacturer gallon ratings for skimmers are over done, so how would you know how to size your skimmer correctly to your system?

Or are you suggesting to actually follow the manufacturer recommendation?

I'm just curious as I'm looking for a new skimmer myself, and don't want to oversize.

my experience is that reef dynamics(euro reef) is the best at proper sizing of a skimmer... now Jeff(the owner) seems to suggest bigger than their sizing recommendations at times... but... I have yet to come across a scenario where their recommended sizes were not up to task or even 'oversized' actually.. now comes the dilemma ... as skimmers trend to smaller chambers and more air... well.. sizing gets iffy... in reality the air draw is more the factor cause too much air to water(exceed the 3:4 air to water LPH balance) and the air will not react to organics as consistently. so .. a balanced skimmer can be bigger and still kick azz on a smaller tank... but one with too much air to water and it will be an annoying finicky skimmer. so, some skimmers are rated well by the mfg and some are way off. size your air draw to reef dynamics of comparable size and you should be right on...
the real kicker comes when the fact is organics in the water effect the volume/size and rate of bubble as well...

 

[swcc]

i had a BK Supermarin 200 it pulled 1900l/h air in a 8 inch. I was tricky running it at that air flow. When I turned the nozzle in front of the venturi in i got it down to about 1600L/H. Even at that it was finicky. But it pulled things out quick. With the AquaMaxx it pulls 800L/H and is very stable you can't get that to over flow if you wanted to. Another thing I noticed with the EM300 is that after feeding it recovered faster than the Supermarin. For obvious reasons though such as the larger neck and far more air flow the Supermarin would be suited for a larger tank but also I believe a bit to much air flow for a 8 inch diameter skimmer. As yo said the sweet spot seem anywhere between 700-1200L/H.

simple enough... way too much air to the organics in your tank.. more air is not better...

 

[azjohnny]

my experience is that reef dynamics(euro reef) is the best at proper sizing of a skimmer... now Jeff(the owner) seems to suggest bigger than their sizing recommendations at times... but... I have yet to come across a scenario where their recommended sizes were not up to task or even 'oversized' actually.. now comes the dilemma ... as skimmers trend to smaller chambers and more air... well.. sizing gets iffy... in reality the air draw is more the factor cause too much air to water(exceed the 3:4 air to water LPH balance) and the air will not react to organics as consistently. so .. a balanced skimmer can be bigger and still kick azz on a smaller tank... but one with too much air to water and it will be an annoying finicky skimmer. so, some skimmers are rated well by the mfg and some are way off. size your air draw to reef dynamics of comparable size and you should be right on...
the real kicker comes when the fact is organics in the water effect the volume/size and rate of bubble as well...

Agree with how RD rates their skimmers, most of the other companies when they rate their skimmers is generally with a light bioload, which is basically just live rock and a CUC

 

[azjohnny]

For a 180-220 gal tank my favorite skimmer is a Reef Dynamics INS250, good height and well balanced

 

[KJoFan]

Well based on the info you've all provided it seems my considerations may not be far off. I'm working with a 120g display mixed reef, and consider that close to total system volume as well after I factor sump and displacement. My top consideration at the moment is a SeaSide Aquatics CS1.

Right now I'm running a RO XS200 and I feel it's oversized for my application. It idles more often than not, and it's kind of noisy. So I'm looking for something more appropriately sized and quieter.

Am I headed in the right direction?

 

[mojo~]

Ill second hat as well.
Mojo~[/QUOTE


Mojo is back:bounce1::celeb3:

my 16yr old daughter got a job at local pet store and wants a reef tank. I just drilled here 20g yesterday... she asked what a skimmer was? ... smh is she really my kid? lol yea Ive been lurking... glad to see you all here.

 

[wcharon]

Heyyyy Mojo....

You recommended me a SRO 1000-SSS when i started in theis hobby for my 80gal. Now i have a 125 SPS highy stocked and still using it. I think i need an upgrade due to a filmy green algae in the back of the tank but my 30 gal. long sump and 26" of height is a limiting factor. I also do 10% bi-wekly water change but it seems to not export the nutrients.

Was looking at the EM-200 / 300 or the CO-S-2 with the pump underneath the skimmer.

What are your choice or if you have a better recommendation? Also the SRO 100-SSS has 540lhp and the EM-200 / 300 or the CO-2 has 740lph so for me it is not much difference. Do you think this difference is considered a improvement in exporting nutrients?

Thanks in advance...

 

[overexposed]

I just recently got a JNS ConeS CO2 skimmer, and so far it's performing pretty decent, but I've got to say the pump is quite loud!! When people say these pumps are'dead silent,' I have to wonder if this is an over exaggeration? I run a Magdrive 18 as my return and I always thought the hum on that thing was loud. The only thing louder than this Shark 2.0 pump is my BRS 50ml/h peristaltic topoff pump. And my LED fans when they kick into full gear.

I haven't pulled the pump out to tear it down yet, with hopes that it would quiet down over time. But it's been almost a week and no dice... so I'm getting ready to do that. Wanted to check here first and see if anyone has had similar issues, but the search is turning up nothing but praise and one guy who got a new impeller.

 

[msderganc]

Hi,

I'm starting initial planning for a ~1000 gallon tank to be built in a few years. Regarding skimming, is there any advantage or disadvantage to have two separate skimmers?

I've been leaning that way for redundancy and, on that sized tank, it seems to be overall less expensive.

 

[swcc]

I just recently got a JNS ConeS CO2 skimmer, and so far it's performing pretty decent, but I've got to say the pump is quite loud!! When people say these pumps are'dead silent,' I have to wonder if this is an over exaggeration? I run a Magdrive 18 as my return and I always thought the hum on that thing was loud. The only thing louder than this Shark 2.0 pump is my BRS 50ml/h peristaltic topoff pump. And my LED fans when they kick into full gear.

I haven't pulled the pump out to tear it down yet, with hopes that it would quiet down over time. But it's been almost a week and no dice... so I'm getting ready to do that. Wanted to check here first and see if anyone has had similar issues, but the search is turning up nothing but praise and one guy who got a new impeller.

Try this. Finger over the air line ..block the air for a couple seconds and it may quiet it down(possible cavitation issue). Next would be check the impeller for damage.

 

[swcc]

Hi,

I'm starting initial planning for a ~1000 gallon tank to be built in a few years. Regarding skimming, is there any advantage or disadvantage to have two separate skimmers?

I've been leaning that way for redundancy and, on that sized tank, it seems to be overall less expensive.

Feed each skimmer individual and in their own separate chambers.

 

[overexposed]

Try this. Finger over the air line ..block the air for a couple seconds and it may quiet it down(possible cavitation issue). Next would be check the impeller for damage.

It gets louder when I do that. I'm likely going to disassemble and reassemble it later tonight.

 

[JR8999]

OK...after much discussion I need to make a decision. Bottom line is I need a small footprint skimmer 5"x5" or less. Due to stand height restrictions I would like the shorter the better...Ideally 12-15" high..and oh yeah it has to be overkill for a 56g tower DT. "Tall order I know"...Does such a skimmer exist? Anyone have one they have a good experience with?
I know I have the option to do an HOB but I'd rather not.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Drae]

OK...after much discussion I need to make a decision. Bottom line is I need a small footprint skimmer 5"x5" or less. Due to stand height restrictions I would like the shorter the better...Ideally 12-15" high..and oh yeah it has to be overkill for a 56g tower DT. "Tall order I know"...Does such a skimmer exist? Anyone have one they have a good experience with?
I know I have the option to do an HOB but I'd rather not.
Thanks in advance.

Your in luck. Tunze doc 9005.

 

[ericsch333]

OCT-NWB150 i am just about to order one but I am build my sump out of a 40b and want to get the glass cut to the right height it say recommended sump water level: 6-8 so can I go high or do i need to stay at 8 ? I was going with 12 in glass but now I am not sure.

 

[msderganc]

OCT-NWB150 i am just about to order one but I am build my sump out of a 40b and want to get the glass cut to the right height it say recommended sump water level: 6-8 so can I go high or do i need to stay at 8 ? I was going with 12 in glass but now I am not sure.

You could always just put the skimmer on a stand.