Will this be too much of a skimmer

rolikesfish · 10/20/2010, 06:00 PM

I will be getting a 50 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump, about 65-70 gallons of water in total, if not less. I want to get an Eshopps 150, which is recommended for 100-150 gallons of water. So will it do me good if I get a way more powerful protein skimmer then is needed?

isildursbane · 10/20/2010, 06:04 PM

It never hurts to have too much skimmer. Most people say to get the best one you can afford. It also will help if you ever end up upgrading to a 90 or 120 gallon tank down the road.

steamman · 10/20/2010, 06:06 PM

Companies always overate their skimmers. I don't know if your skimmer is on here. You will get the idea from the chart. Most people say you can't over skim.

http://aquariumcontrollers.com/files/skimmers.html

Mylilreef · 10/20/2010, 09:09 PM

+1 on the larger skimmer. wish i could do it all over. now i am having to buy a new skimmer. just think how cheap it would be less the cost of the smaller one.

scubasteve06 · 10/20/2010, 09:12 PM

It is fine to have a skimmer overrated for your tank size, but just remember that the bigger the reaction chamber(body) the skimmer has the more bio-load it takes for it to really skim the nasty dry stuff out of there. I'd also recommend a different skimmer, to my knowledge there isn't anything wrong with the Eshopps, but others would recommend a different brand. Some cheaper options than a 1k skimmer would be octopus, swc, msx, asm, and there are a some others also out there. Do some looking around in the lighting and filtration section and you'll get an idea of what everyone likes and dislikes.

lordofthereef · 10/20/2010, 09:34 PM

While I don't think that skimmer would be overkill, I must disagree with the age-old statement that it doesn't hurt to have too much of a skimmer. If you vastly over size your skimmer it is simply not going to pull anything out of the water, simple as that. I don't think most people oversize a skimmer this way (usually it is maybe 25%), but it is worth noting. IMO oversizing it TOO much is worse than undersizing it.

Sk8r · 10/20/2010, 09:36 PM

best advice is 2x the skimmer for your water volume. There are situations in which your skimmer is life-and-death for your tank, and when you want to haul nasty stuff out asap, as in dieoff from cyanobacteria, it will save you.

scubasteve06 · 10/20/2010, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordofthereef

While I don't think that skimmer would be overkill, I must disagree with the age-old statement that it doesn't hurt to have too much of a skimmer. If you vastly over size your skimmer it is simply not going to pull anything out of the water, simple as that. I don't think most people oversize a skimmer this way (usually it is maybe 25%), but it is worth noting. IMO oversizing it TOO much is worse than undersizing it.

This x2...as I said in my post before lord of the reefs it takes a bigger bio load to make a bigger skimmer skim as efficiently as a smaller skimmer would on the same size tank. As lordofthereef said 25%-50% max is the biggest I would upsize from your total water volume. I have a skimmer rated to 200g on my tank which is about 25%-30% more than what I have in total water volume and it does the job.

SwampyBill · 10/20/2010, 09:52 PM

+1 on larger skimmer for your tank, esp. if you may upgrade tank at later date. I have the Eshopps PSK100 on my 65gal & love it.

DC_40gallon · 10/20/2010, 10:13 PM

+1 get a big skimmer. I'm running a super reef octopus rated for 125 and I'd easily put it on a 125.

Mine is on a 40 gal breeder lol.

10/20/2010, 06:00 PM	#1
rolikesfish Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 137	Will this be too much of a skimmer I will be getting a 50 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump, about 65-70 gallons of water in total, if not less. I want to get an Eshopps 150, which is recommended for 100-150 gallons of water. So will it do me good if I get a way more powerful protein skimmer then is needed?

10/20/2010, 09:09 PM	#4
Mylilreef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 304	+1 on the larger skimmer. wish i could do it all over. now i am having to buy a new skimmer. just think how cheap it would be less the cost of the smaller one. __________________ -Cory Current Tank Info: 55g mixed reef (upgrading to 150g Tall), 30g Long w/softies(soon to be a sump for the 150g), 20g Tall mixed, 5g w/softies, 10g quarantine that somehow turned into another softy tank

10/20/2010, 09:34 PM	#6
lordofthereef One reef to rule them all Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Leominster, MA Posts: 5,299	While I don't think that skimmer would be overkill, I must disagree with the age-old statement that it doesn't hurt to have too much of a skimmer. If you vastly over size your skimmer it is simply not going to pull anything out of the water, simple as that. I don't think most people oversize a skimmer this way (usually it is maybe 25%), but it is worth noting. IMO oversizing it TOO much is worse than undersizing it. __________________ "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself" ~ Josh Billings Visit My Home page for current build thread (click my user name and select "Visit LordoftheReef's Homepage" in the drop down menu!

10/20/2010, 09:36 PM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	best advice is 2x the skimmer for your water volume. There are situations in which your skimmer is life-and-death for your tank, and when you want to haul nasty stuff out asap, as in dieoff from cyanobacteria, it will save you. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

10/20/2010, 09:52 PM	#9
SwampyBill Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: St. Pete, FL. Posts: 2,369	+1 on larger skimmer for your tank, esp. if you may upgrade tank at later date. I have the Eshopps PSK100 on my 65gal & love it. __________________ I love me some wrasse... & laissez les bon temps rouler! Current Tank Info: 120 gal Vizio

10/20/2010, 06:04 PM	#2
isildursbane Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 219	It never hurts to have too much skimmer. Most people say to get the best one you can afford. It also will help if you ever end up upgrading to a 90 or 120 gallon tank down the road.

10/20/2010, 06:06 PM	#3
steamman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 253	Companies always overate their skimmers. I don't know if your skimmer is on here. You will get the idea from the chart. Most people say you can't over skim. http://aquariumcontrollers.com/files/skimmers.html

10/20/2010, 09:12 PM	#5
scubasteve06 Jeeper Reefer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 1,171	It is fine to have a skimmer overrated for your tank size, but just remember that the bigger the reaction chamber(body) the skimmer has the more bio-load it takes for it to really skim the nasty dry stuff out of there. I'd also recommend a different skimmer, to my knowledge there isn't anything wrong with the Eshopps, but others would recommend a different brand. Some cheaper options than a 1k skimmer would be octopus, swc, msx, asm, and there are a some others also out there. Do some looking around in the lighting and filtration section and you'll get an idea of what everyone likes and dislikes.

10/20/2010, 10:13 PM	#10
DC_40gallon Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1,474	+1 get a big skimmer. I'm running a super reef octopus rated for 125 and I'd easily put it on a 125. Mine is on a 40 gal breeder lol.

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