Skimmers Being "Too Powerful"

[His Coral Highness]

I'm moving in the next few weeks and will use that as a good excuse to upgrade my 75 gallon tank from a canister filter to a sump system. I've got a 29 gallon tank and a few other pieces of equipment and now I'm looking into in-sump skimmers. I read somewhere that you can get a skimmer that is "too powerful" for your system. I was thinking of picking up one a little over-sized just to make sure I have enough horsepower, or if I want to ever upgrade my system in the future. I read somewhere that you can overdo it though, and get a skimmer that is too powerful for your tank size and have it actually be ineffective. I was leaning towards possible a BM Curve 7, Reef Octopus 150 (might have too big of a footprint), or an Aquamaxx skimmer...

Would a skimmer rated for 120-150 gallons be too much for my system and a bad idea? Can someone explain why that is? Just want to be as informed as I can before I cough up any cash. Thanks!

 

[jkcoral]

A skimmer that size sounds perfectly fine, and you could even consider going larger. With a 75g display and 29g sump you’re at 104g system volume, so the 120-150g rated skimmer would be nearly a “perfect” fit on paper, but you should consider going larger especially if you plan to/currently have a high bio load.

I’ve always gone with a reasonably “oversized”skimmer. If over-stripping the tank of nutrients is a concern, you can just work on dialing the skimmer in to fit the needs by adjusting the frequency and amount of time the skimmer is running.

Edit: when shopping, a lot of listings for skimmers have different “ratings” recommendations based on tank size and bio load. I would just be sure to look for one that “fits” your tank and is suited for ~100g with high bio load.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I'm of the opinion that there is no such thing as a skimmer being too powerful. I've always run over-sized skimmers. First off they are terribly inefficient and second, if there is nothing there to skim, they don't skim. But don't worry, there is always something to skim.

 

[His Coral Highness]

I'm of the opinion that there is no such thing as a skimmer being too powerful. I've always run over-sized skimmers. First off they are terribly inefficient and second, if there is nothing there to skim, they don't skim. But don't worry, there is always something to skim.

Appreciate it! I actually grew up in Sayreville, over in Morgan!

 

[His Coral Highness]

A skimmer that size sounds perfectly fine, and you could even consider going larger. With a 75g display and 29g sump you’re at 104g system volume, so the 120-150g rated skimmer would be nearly a “perfect” fit on paper, but you should consider going larger especially if you plan to/currently have a high bio load.

I’ve always gone with a reasonably “oversized”skimmer. If over-stripping the tank of nutrients is a concern, you can just work on dialing the skimmer in to fit the needs by adjusting the frequency and amount of time the skimmer is running.

Edit: when shopping, a lot of listings for skimmers have different “ratings” recommendations based on tank size and bio load. I would just be sure to look for one that “fits” your tank and is suited for ~100g with high bio load.

Ok, so you go with the volume of the system, not just the display. I'd figure the sump would be about half filled, so around 90 gallons total, but like I said, I could also see myself upgrading some day.

And yeah I always look at the "high" bioload. I'm planning on going with a more predator-oriented tank, and I can have a bit of a heavy hand when feeding.

Thanks!

 

[PeterC99]

Recommend an adjustable DC skimmer over AC. I’ve had both and find that you are better able to fine tune the DC skimmer. AC skimmer runs full speed only and therefore has periods when it skims and other periods where it doesn’t.

 

[DaJMasta]

Too powerful of a skimmer can give you problems getting good skimmate consistency, which I think is the big argument against them, but DC controllable flow pumps go a long way in widening the usable area a skimmer can be used in - much more difficult to do with an off/on AC pump and just adjusting air input levels. I wouldn't go with a skimmer rated like triple your system's capacity, but double wouldn't be a problem, imo, and while system size counts, it's really about stocking and the amount of dissolved organics that your livestock put into the water column. If you're heavily stocked, double the normal tank size rating is probably the right baseline and triple probably isn't pushing it. If you've got relatively few fish and feed lightly, maybe you'll have to turn down a skimmer with the 'right' tank size rating.