Sizing a protein Skimmer

[David Mc]

Since the BM G-7 was mentioned I'll throw out this one. Slightly larger body , larger Siccie pump for slightly more money but still meeting all your parameters. I suspect this is the same company as BM?

SSA TS-9

 

[Bpb]

SSA isn't the same company but they do purchase BM skimmers and simply replace the pump mounting plate and the pump with a sicce. No shiftyness about it either they're pretty candid and forward about what they do. It's basically just a cheap upgrade to a slightly better pump

 

[Vince57]

You have almost zero bioload for how large your tank is. And that's a pretty big skimmer footprint. Your options are wide open but with such a small bioload, if you oversize your skimmer you'll find it just won't really produce anything.

That being said I have a 90 gallon tank and my previous and current skimmers were rated for 250 gallons and I get a lot of skimmate. I also dump food in the tank like you wouldn't believe, and have a very large bioload of 14 mature adult fish. Even if/when I move up to a 120-180 gallon I'll just keep the same skimmer and not significantly increase my bioload. I upsided to handle a large bioload and eventually handle a larger tank

My question is, since I'm getting back in the hobby, after being out for 15 years, everything has changed. I'm looking at getting The Waterbox 135.4g Tank. With that in mind, how do you go about choosing a skimmer, since it'll be awhile before, I reach a max bioload?

 

[Bpb]

Get the biggest one you'll need. Better than buying over and over. Just buy something that has a track record of lasting a long time

 

[Vince57]

Get the biggest one you'll need. Better than buying over and over. Just buy something that has a track record of lasting a long time

Ok! Thanks
Sometimes these treads can be confusing, but I've learned a lot from fellow Reefers on R2R!

 

[MT_is_a_Pisces]

Great information. I've narrowed my selection down to 4 choices Simplicity 120; IceCap K120; Eshopp X120; BM Curve 5. Plenty room in sump for larger but stand height is issue

 

[hart24601]

I generally recommend skimmers based on the rated air intake capacity rather than the manufacturer specified tank size. Of course, you can always opt for more, but if matching the skimmer to the water volume of the tank I usually suggest about a 1:1 ratio of air draw to gallons of tank volume. For instance a skimmer that pulls 400lph (106gph) of air would be suited to a tank in the 90 -110g range.

I agree and use this same method. The ratings are totally rubbish from manufacturers.

I really don't recommend getting the biggest one can afford/fit. If neck size is too large in a drastically oversized skimmer the performance is really spotty. It will sit and do nothing as the organics build up and then overflow the cup when the organic level hit a certain level and then just die back down.

 

[NinjaSushi]

dang. This thread saved my wallet. Thank you to @rockskimmerflow for the advice regarding the LPH rating. I was choosing between two skimmers for my 125 FOWLR tank. One with a pump rating of 1500 L/H and the other 2500 L/H. They're rated for 135 and 180 respectively but according to the formula probably oversized like some have suggested. I'll go with the smaller one and upgrade later if I have to.

Y'all may never read this but thanks for the advice!! ♥