Skimmer Size

[c4haskett]

I have a 200 gallon system, after displacement from rock and sand I'm at roughly 150-160 gallons. I would say mine is stocked medium with plans to add more fish. I'm torn between these two:

Regal 150 INT:
Heavy-100
Medium-160
Light-210

Regal 200 INT:
Heavy-200
Medium-300
Light-400

Which would you add?

 

[edsbeaker]

If it fits in the sump, I would opt for the 200-INT. The 150 for a medium load is ranked only up to the 160 gallons that you have. To me that’s cutting it a bit close. If it were me, I would figure the possibility that your bioload may increase to heavy in the future.

You can’t make the skimmer work any harder than it is intended to, but a skimmer that can handle more, can also be run 12 hours a day instead of 24.

 

[KrisReef]

I like larger skimmers.
The footprint on the 200, if it fit in my sump is what I would use. R.O. skimmers are reliable, the larger one should give you better control over skimmate production/ control of dry to wet skimming while in use.

If you can only fit the 150, I wouldn't stress going with it. I am using their older skimmers that do not have the DC motor control, and I have never had a problem. I have replaced the bubble blaster pump, it's a great brand.

 

[748S911]

Have you looked at Deltec 1000i?

 

[MegabiteOG]

I'd definitely go with the 200 for that size tank.

 

[DaJMasta]

Agreed on the 200. If it ends up being overkill, a simple timer can scale it back, but generally keep high bioload tanks and having the headroom could be useful.

 

[me & my baby]

I agree with the other if you can fit the 200 go with it . I have about 260-300 total water volume and a local guy was giving away BK supermariner 250 because the pump went bad . Way over kill for my systems and only have 6 fish and a cuc . I put a big dc pump in it with a printed needle wheel and I can skim wet or dry and get about a gallon of skim mate a week . So being able to adjust between dry and wet give me the ability to adjust it to work on my system and grow with me when I go bigger .

 

[c4haskett]

Have you looked at Deltec 1000i?

I have. I may even go that route.

 

[c4haskett]

Thanks everyone. For some reason I was not getting notifications on this post.

 

[me & my baby]

Have you looked at Deltec 1000i?

I have. I may even go that route.

Deltec are nice but if your in the US parts for the pumps are hard to get and there metric so if you tried to swap a bad pump it’s a pain in the butt ask me how I know .

 

[areefer01]

Few things that may help you:

Skimmers are not something you need to buy or upgrade. You find one you want, buy it once, and it will last your entire stay in the hobby. Run away if a vendor tells you otherwise.

Due to the longevity of skimmers consider allocating more reefing budget for the one time purchase.

Installation space, access, is probably going to be your biggest hurdle. Empty the cup, installation, pump maintenance, intake, outlet/return, internal, external. Factor in, consider, your age. No disrespect but maintenance such as emptying the collection cup for cleaning or the pump one needs to be aware. Fine today, 5 years later a knee or hip replace, etc. Not only you but those who may help or maintain while you are away on travel.

Size or recommended gallon(s). As noted above you can alternate days of the week it runs, or hours, or even reduce power to control nutrient export. On the other hand if you undersize you will upgrade because you can't do anything. Another reason for mentioning this is the upgrade factor and buying once. There is no reason why you can't carry forward the skimmer should you upgrade the display.

As to your choice list - that is the hobbyist to decide. I will say that I followed my notes above and using the same skimmer I purchased back in 2000. Best reefing investment/purchase ever. All the best.

 

[748S911]

Deltec are nice but if your in the US parts for the pumps are hard to get and there metric so if you tried to swap a bad pump it’s a pain in the butt ask me how I know .

Next time let me know, I'll get part for you!

 

[c4haskett]

Few things that may help you:

Excellent advice. Thank you. When I bought my skimmer I underestimated what size I needed. I'm all in favor of the buy once cry once mentality. I also like to try out several different brands lol. I actually purchased a budget skimmer and got a Simplicity and absolutely love it. It's been rock solid but just too small for my system. I've never had a RO so I figured id give it a go. Thanks again.

 

[me & my baby]

Deltec are nice but if your in the US parts for the pumps are hard to get and there metric so if you tried to swap a bad pump it’s a pain in the butt ask me how I know .

Next time let me know, I'll get part for you!

That would have been nice to have had help years ago . I loved my old Deltec back in the day . The skimmer I have now should be the last one I will even need . If not I will build me another one .

 

[me & my baby]

Few things that may help you:

Skimmers are not something you need to buy or upgrade. You find one you want, buy it once, and it will last your entire stay in the hobby. Run away if a vendor tells you otherwise.

Due to the longevity of skimmers consider allocating more reefing budget for the one time purchase.

Installation space, access, is probably going to be your biggest hurdle. Empty the cup, installation, pump maintenance, intake, outlet/return, internal, external. Factor in, consider, your age. No disrespect but maintenance such as emptying the collection cup for cleaning or the pump one needs to be aware. Fine today, 5 years later a knee or hip replace, etc. Not only you but those who may help or maintain while you are away on travel.

Size or recommended gallon(s). As noted above you can alternate days of the week it runs, or hours, or even reduce power to control nutrient export. On the other hand if you undersize you will upgrade because you can't do anything. Another reason for mentioning this is the upgrade factor and buying once. There is no reason why you can't carry forward the skimmer should you upgrade the display.

As to your choice list - that is the hobbyist to decide. I will say that I followed my notes above and using the same skimmer I purchased back in 2000. Best reefing investment/purchase ever. All the best.

That is good advice but the one and done is not always the best . Say the OP had a 120g then 2 years down the road he uogrades to a 240 . The skimmer for the 120 will not work for that large of tank . I am all for spending money once on good equipment but as we all know things change , bioloads change there are a lot of different variables. For me I would pick one that that is the right size for your tank or a little bigger and tune accordingly. I have had used
Deltec
Bubble King
Reef Octopus
ATI
Life Reef
MTC
Euro Reef
Avast
ATB
And have built several Custom skimmers over the last 30 plus years in the hobby . Pick a skimmer thats in your budget and has good build quality . That way it will last you for along time . Keep up your maintenance and if you do upgrade your tank you can sell it and put that toward a new tank . That’s my 2 cents

 

[areefer01]

That is good advice but the one and done is not always the best . Say the OP had a 120g then 2 years down the road he uogrades to a 240 . The skimmer for the 120 will not work for that large of tank .

I would argue that was an incorrect purchase. There is no reason why a skimmer when properly sized can't handle both a 120 gallon system and a later upgrade to 240 - 300 gallons.

Don't tell my skimmer that please because I purchased it for a 100 gallon, later upgraded to a 210 gallon which it is currently running, and planning an upgrade to a 450. The same skimmer will follow.

 

[me & my baby]

That is good advice but the one and done is not always the best . Say the OP had a 120g then 2 years down the road he uogrades to a 240 . The skimmer for the 120 will not work for that large of tank .

So your telling me your going to put your skimmer that’s on your 100g on a 450 . What skimmer are you running .Are you using a roller mat as well ?

 

[748S911]

Few things that may help you:

Skimmers are not something you need to buy or upgrade. You find one you want, buy it once, and it will last your entire stay in the hobby. Run away if a vendor tells you otherwise.

Due to the longevity of skimmers consider allocating more reefing budget for the one time purchase.

Installation space, access, is probably going to be your biggest hurdle. Empty the cup, installation, pump maintenance, intake, outlet/return, internal, external. Factor in, consider, your age. No disrespect but maintenance such as emptying the collection cup for cleaning or the pump one needs to be aware. Fine today, 5 years later a knee or hip replace, etc. Not only you but those who may help or maintain while you are away on travel.

Size or recommended gallon(s). As noted above you can alternate days of the week it runs, or hours, or even reduce power to control nutrient export. On the other hand if you undersize you will upgrade because you can't do anything. Another reason for mentioning this is the upgrade factor and buying once. There is no reason why you can't carry forward the skimmer should you upgrade the display.

As to your choice list - that is the hobbyist to decide. I will say that I followed my notes above and using the same skimmer I purchased back in 2000. Best reefing investment/purchase ever. All the best.

What skimmer?

 

[areefer01]

@me & my baby - for some reason I can't reply to the post, my apologies. But yes. I am running a Lifereef. No, to roller mats or any other filter media/pads. I run a high nutrient system. My phosphates can be as high as 1.8 ppm with nitrates as high as 50 ppm.

My reef is almost 9 years old. Medium bio load. 3 pink square anthias, gold line rabbit, pyramid butterfly, zoster butterfly, milletseed butterfly, copperband butterfly, 11 lyretail damsels, yellow assessor, upside down goby, neon blue goby, scopas tang, blue tang, and a matted filefish. The rabbitfish is driving the upgrade due to its size.

I am not promoting the skimmer or the brand only my reasoning for my post and how I view a skimmer purchase. My opinion is that our hobby focus on numbers rather than designs, quality, and efficiency. What makes a skimmer tied to a gallon number? How do you test that? Is it bubbles per inch? Is it bubble size? Is it determined by neck size, type, contact time?

You have used a couple different skimmers including a Lifereef so this isn't anything new to you. I am not talking about buying a CPR Bak Pak and attaching it to a 500 gallon system (not that you said that). If you think about our two replies we are more or less saying the same thing. Buy something that will work today and an upgrade. I think the difference, in my opinion, is me going a bit beyond what you may consider an upgrade. I'm cool with that.

Oversize to allow future upgrades just gets back to running it alternate days or something along those lines.

 

[me & my baby]

@me & my baby - for some reason I can't reply to the post, my apologies. But yes. I am running a Lifereef. No, to roller mats or any other filter media/pads. I run a high nutrient system. My phosphates can be as high as 1.8 ppm with nitrates as high as 50 ppm.

My reef is almost 9 years old. Medium bio load. 3 pink square anthias, gold line rabbit, pyramid butterfly, zoster butterfly, milletseed butterfly, copperband butterfly, 11 lyretail damsels, yellow assessor, upside down goby, neon blue goby, scopas tang, blue tang, and a matted filefish. The rabbitfish is driving the upgrade due to its size.

I am not promoting the skimmer or the brand only my reasoning for my post and how I view a skimmer purchase. My opinion is that our hobby focus on numbers rather than designs, quality, and efficiency. What makes a skimmer tied to a gallon number? How do you test that? Is it bubbles per inch? Is it bubble size? Is it determined by neck size, type, contact time?

You have used a couple different skimmers including a Lifereef so this isn't anything new to you. I am not talking about buying a CPR Bak Pak and attaching it to a 500 gallon system (not that you said that). If you think about our two replies we are more or less saying the same thing. Buy something that will work today and an upgrade. I think the difference, in my opinion, is me going a bit beyond what you may consider an upgrade. I'm cool with that.

Oversize to allow future upgrades just gets back to running it alternate days or something along those lines.

I can agree with you on something , but I still don’t agree with you on a skimmer sizing .
For me
1 how much contact time does my water going in have to mix with the air to bind with organics .
2 a skimmer to big , meaning neck size you will have a hard time getting a steady head of foam . Life reefs are a different breed of skimmer but even they have different sizes .
3 if you have a skimmer to small for you system yes it will constantly be producing skim mate but you will be leaving a lot of organics in the water .
4 the start and stopping of the pump to vary days , times on and off leads to premature pump failure. Skim mate drying in the next ( hurts performance)
5 There is a thing of to big of a skimmer either no foam head or strip the system of all nutrients and to small of a skimmer not taking out enough .

The OP should take in to count what type of system he wants , high nutrient, low nutrient, size of he is Bioload , what are his feeding hobbits . Is he going skimmer only or is he running filter socks , roller mat , auto water change and what is his water changing habit. There are so many more variables to picking a skimmer .