Over skimming?

[wakeboardgeek]

Is it possible to over skim a SPS tank?

I'm in the process of a SPS build that will have about 70 gallons of water volume. Is it OK to use a skimmer rated 3x+ that?

 

[WesF]

Personally I don't think you can "over skim" but if you get a skimmer that is too large it may not perform properly (get proper foam head, etc)

 

[ritter6788]

I have a skimmer rated for 250 gallons on my 75. I don't think you can over skim. I try to get the biggest skimmer that will fit in my sump.

 

[Me z]

I run two skimmers on my 125. I run a vertex IN100 with a bubble blaster 1000 pump. And an run an eshopps cone skimmer 120. Havnt had a problem with over skimming. I tried an oversized skimmer and it barely pulled out the gunk. As it was said the oversized skimmers I tried just couldnt pull gunk out.

 

[Reefing8EZ]

I have a BK Mini 200 rated for up to 265gal on my 40 breeder and 30gal shallow setup.

 

[Chameleon]

I have a BK Mini 200 rated for up to 265gal on my 40 breeder and 30gal shallow setup.

Uses the Ferrari to pull the the trailer...lol

 

[Reefing8EZ]

Uses the Ferrari to pull the the trailer...lol

Lol! It does the job and then some! Its a beast of a skimmer!

 

[metrokat]

Yes you can over skim. It won't remove excess nutrients to the point of starvation however. If you dose phyto, it will end up there for example. Skimming also has a lowering effect on carbonates per some articles I read by Randy Holmes Farley.

If your purpose is an ULNS, you are better off with bio-pellets, and carbon dosing.

 

[bmarkus]

you cannot over skim. most skimmers are rated for max size anyway with little load. I size my skimmers at 35% of what it is rated for. example I have 2000 gallon per hour skimmer on a 600 gallon system which is very heavly stocked.

 

[sleeri]

Is it possible to over skim a SPS tank?

I'm in the process of a SPS build that will have about 70 gallons of water volume. Is it OK to use a skimmer rated 3x+ that?

I think the other question that needs to be asked when discussing "over skimming" is bioload. How many fish do you have? If this is a heavily stocked system and you feed a lot, an oversized skimmer makes a lot of sense.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

I think the other question that needs to be asked when discussing "over skimming" is bioload. How many fish do you have? If this is a heavily stocked system and you feed a lot, an oversized skimmer makes a lot of sense.

The system doesn't have any fish yet. A smaller/medium bio load is being planned to avoid over feeding and jeapordizing water quality.


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[Justdrew]

As stated earlier it is posible to have too big of a skimmer on a system. The skimmer will simply not work if there is not enough organics in the water. I had an MSX 250 Extreme on a 100 gallon tank with a very light bioload. I was lucky to get an hour fo foam head every couple of days once the organics built up enough to form a head. The majority of the time it would just sit there and fizz like soda. A properly sized skimmer will perform much better than a grossly oversized skimmer.