Protein Skimmer Rule of Thumb?

[ReefMadScientist]

Hello R2R,

I thought the rule of thumb was to always get a skimmer that is two times powerful for your tank. For example, a 75g tank would get a Reef Octopus NWB150 (rated 150g); 150g tank would be going with a Bubble Magus Curve 9 (rated 300-400g).

Any thoughts?

 

[Reefing Madness]

My thoughts exactly. Thats what I advise anyways. To many people get normal sized skimmers and run into water quality issues. The idea of a skimmer is to remove the nutrients before they become and issue, not after the fact, and have to run chasing water changes every other day.

 

[PaulKreider]

I run a 65g rated skimmer on my 55 and have no problems with water quality, It is possible to over-skim and that could lead to more problems then not skimming enough. I think if you get a skimmer rated for your tank size or just a little over you should be fine with consistent water changes.

 

[tyler1503]

With filtration I always thought bigger is better. You can always dial it back if is too much. You can't exactly make something more powerful if it's not enough to start with. Plus I believe if you want some nutrients in the tank, it's best to add them to the tank by feeding more or something. Not slack on the filtration letting them naturally build up. It's too difficult to bring them down unless you want to enter the completely avoidable water change marathon.

I run a 65g rated skimmer on my 55 and have no problems with water quality, It is possible to over-skim and that could lead to more problems then not skimming enough. I think if you get a skimmer rated for your tank size or just a little over you should be fine with consistent water changes.

Could you elaborate on the over skimming part please? I haven't heard that before. I'm running a 210gal skimmer on my 24gal fowlr.

 

[NanaReefer]

With filtration I always thought bigger is better. You can always dial it back if is too much. You can't exactly make something more powerful if it's not enough to start with. Plus I believe if you want some nutrients in the tank, it's best to add them to the tank by feeding more or something. Not slack on the filtration letting them naturally build up. It's too difficult to bring them down unless you want to enter the completely avoidable water change marathon.



Could you elaborate on the over skimming part please? I haven't heard that before. I'm running a 210gal skimmer on my 24gal fowlr.

What are the benefits of running such a large skimmer on your tank?

 

[PaulKreider]

A 210g skimmer wouldn't be able to run efficiently on a 24g tank, not enough waste is produced to efficiently produce a consistent amount of skimmate. Bigger is better in a way, Go one up so on a 120gal tank, get a skimmer rated for 150 or 170gal, but getting a 300gal rated skimmer for a 150 is a bit over kill.

 

[Jlobes]

ReefMadScientist: What would be the reasoning for such a large skimmer?

im not much for drastically oversizing my equipment, unless a given piece is known to under perform, in which case I wouldnt buy it!!

While I agree, that buying a skimmer rated for a capacity larger than your total gallons is a good idea. realistically, you shouldnt "need" to double the size of your skimmer. If you "choose" to, then go for it.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

My thoughts exactly. Thats what I advise anyways. To many people get normal sized skimmers and run into water quality issues. The idea of a skimmer is to remove the nutrients before they become and issue, not after the fact, and have to run chasing water changes every other day.

Yeah I also went with this method as I researched a few sources in literature stating the same things.

A 210g skimmer wouldn't be able to run efficiently on a 24g tank, not enough waste is produced to efficiently produce a consistent amount of skimmate. Bigger is better in a way, Go one up so on a 120gal tank, get a skimmer rated for 150 or 170gal, but getting a 300gal rated skimmer for a 150 is a bit over kill.

Yeah...so for referencing, would you recommend the Curve 7 for a 200g (tank/sump). Right now I have a 75g tank with a NWB150 which is double rated over what I have. I pull lots of skim mate.

 

[PaulKreider]

Personally yeah I'd run a curve 7 compared to curve 9, But also take into account what kind of system plans to be run heavy sps, or lps ect, or if you plan to throw twenty tangs in a tank you might want to up your skimmer lol.

 

[tyler1503]

What are the benefits of running such a large skimmer on your tank?

I'm not one to pass up on a good deal and it half price lol. Other than that, they are no obvious benefits over a skimmer rated for say a 40 or 50gal on that tank. Plus I was always planning on going up to a 120, so now I don't have to upgrade skimmers

A 210g skimmer wouldn't be able to run efficiently on a 24g tank, not enough waste is produced to efficiently produce a consistent amount of skimmate. Bigger is better in a way, Go one up so on a 120gal tank, get a skimmer rated for 150 or 170gal, but getting a 300gal rated skimmer for a 150 is a bit over kill.

True, it's not the most efficient way to skim, but I only run mine 2-3 days a week at most and I still pull out a lot of muck. I still empty about a quarter of an inch of skimmate every week.

 

[Reefing Madness]

People with phosphate issues and nitrates isues don't run a big enough skimmer.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

People with phosphate issues and nitrates isues don't run a big enough skimmer.

I found this to be very true. Some people are scared with having too clean of water but a little healthier feeding also helps . BTW, I am stable with 5ppm's of No4 thanks to MB7...and my double rated skimmer.

 

[Jlobes]

I found this to be very true. Some people are scared with having too clean of water but a little healthier feeding also helps . BTW, I am stable with 5ppm's of No4 thanks to MB7...and my double rated skimmer.

You seem to be convinced, that doubling your skimmer is the only way to have a healthy tank. Have you attempted or tried to use a skimmer rated close to your capacity? Have you done any experiments, or conducted any trials, to prove that a double size skimmer is necessary?

Not trying to stir the pot, just trying to push the discussion.

 

[Reefing Madness]

The proof is in the pudding. When yoe have a larger skimmer, the nutrients are removed from the system, far better than one rated for the sized tank its being run on, thus the aparent cleaner water longer. Not saying its a must, but in the long run, its better than doing water changes at a certain % every week. Most can't say what it will do or not do for a system, they are afraid to run them, or spend that kind of money to get it.
Skimmer and Live Rock are supposed to be all thats needed in a SW tank. If that the case, shouldn't you spend the time and money on the most important piece of equipment you need to have?

 

[Jlobes]

It's actually, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!!

And so, you're answer is no, and you are basing this on anecdotal personal experience. Many people have great/ healthy systems using "appropriately" sized skimmers, as well.

 

[PaulKreider]

If It were such a solid fact that skimmers need to be rated for larger than the tank, don't you think the companys that produce the skimmers would adjust their tank size ratings?

 

[Jlobes]

If It were such a solid fact that skimmers need to be rated for larger than the tank, don't you think the companys that produce the skimmers would adjust their tank size ratings?

+1. this

 

[Reefing Madness]

Im not bashing anything. Youve not tried it in a test, or you would not be on the other side of the fence.
Forgot to add, some skimmer companies do rate their skimmer based off of bio load, and youll note that the high bio load is half of what the original tank size is based off of.
With a skimmer rated at twice the volume, theres no need to worry about the bio load, it would handle it.

 

[Jlobes]

so, basically what you are saying, is to size the skimmer appropriate to the bioload!? because, that makes sense. But to just double up for no known reason is just silly and expensive. I agree, if you have an excessively large bioload for your tank, probably a good idea to upgrade the skimmer. dont think I would recommend doubling it, but like I said, more power to ya.

also, who said anything about "bashing"?

ReefingMadness: do you have a skimmer, rated for 480 gallons, on your tank??

 

[zesty]

If It were such a solid fact that skimmers need to be rated for larger than the tank, don't you think the companys that produce the skimmers would adjust their tank size ratings?

This too has came across my mind. I even found on BRS and Mr SWT that they recommend the go one size bigger with a skimmer. This has been the "rule of thumb" I've read over and over again.
now, to the other side. It would be hard for a company to say this skimmer X will skim a 100 g tank perfectly when you can have a FOWL, reef, SPS, LPS, mixed reef or like a lot of fish in your reef. However, it's a stigma that is just rolling on down the hill getting bigger and bigger. There doesn't seem to be anything clear that says you need this skimmer because you have a 100 g tank. I am caught up in the same thing. I bought a bigger skimmer, I just kept reading the bigger is better mantra and it got to me.