Skimmer ratings

[tweetyfish]

I am slowly getting back into salt water and trying to figure out what size skimmer I really need.
I have a 180 gal display with about 150 lbs of dry rock to use. I was thinking with the displacement of water with that much rock, wouldn't the actual volume of water to be skimmed be around 150 gallons?
Also, can I base the skimmer selection on the published ratings for each manufacturer?

Thanks
Tony

 

[ali1]

Generally, you want a stronger skimmer than what its rated for. I would look for a skimmer rated for 300g for your setup. Hard to be overkill with skimmers

 

[ca1ore]

Skimmer ratings are useless. Get suggestions from folks with a similar sized system. Reality is precision isn't all that important. Try asking skimmer manufacturers how they size their skimmers - their answers won't fill you with great confidence :lol:

 

[tweetyfish]

Skimmer ratings are useless. Get suggestions from folks with a similar sized system. Reality is precision isn't all that important. Try asking skimmer manufacturers how they size their skimmers - their answers won't fill you with great confidence :lol:

I had a feeling that published ratings weren't all that accurate.
Looking at needle wheel skimmers in the $300 to $450 range. Thanks

 

[ali1]

If you go to bRS, they give you realistic expectations for each skimmer. Its a better guideline than the manufacturer ratings