Protein Skimmer Sizing

Patrick Cox · 02/12/2011, 08:03 AM

Question - How do I know I have an adequate skimmer for my tank? I am running a Tunze 9002 in the sump of my 57G reef aquarium. It is pulling out dark liquid that I am emptying every few days. But as I add more fish and corals to my tank, I am worried that this skimmer will not be large enough to keep my water quality in check - but how will I know? Would it be worth it to replace this skimmer with an SWC 120?

Here is what I have..

http://www.marinedepot.com/Tunze_Nan...ISVSUH-vi.html

Thanks!
Pat

skh · 02/12/2011, 01:58 PM

The Tunze is a great skimmer by all accounts, but this model only pulls 150 lph of air, which seems a bit low. I'm not sure what kind of air draw is necessary for a 60 gallon tank, but one oft-cited rule of thumb is 600-800 lph (air, not water) per 100 gallons for heavily stocked tanks. Based on this, I'd probably look for something in the 300-400 lph range. Some good options in this range are (1) Vertex IN-80 or IN-100 (420 lph); (2) Reef Octopus SRO 1000 (400-500 lph); (3) SWC xtreme 120 (300 lph); (4) BubbleMagus NAC6 (450 lph).

There are a lot of good options in this range.

Midnightsun · 02/12/2011, 02:25 PM

The Tunze 9002 is a real fine skimmer but if you did not notice it is called a nano which means small as in maybe 30g. Yes they do rate it "up to" 52 but you now how that goes. Personally I would go bigger. I had the very same skimmer in my Nano 28 which worked fairly well. I am soon upgrading to a 50 gallon and will be using the same stand and sump. I am now operating a SWC 160 while I wait for a few items before I start the 50g. Here it is in action.

[IMG]http://i51.*******.com/23ml9uo.jpg[/IMG]

skimmy · 02/12/2011, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skh

The Tunze is a great skimmer by all accounts, but this model only pulls 150 lph of air, which seems a bit low. I'm not sure what kind of air draw is necessary for a 60 gallon tank, but one oft-cited rule of thumb is 600-800 lph (air, not water) per 100 gallons for heavily stocked tanks. Based on this, I'd probably look for something in the 300-400 lph range. Some good options in this range are (1) Vertex IN-80 or IN-100 (420 lph); (2) Reef Octopus SRO 1000 (400-500 lph); (3) SWC xtreme 120 (300 lph); (4) BubbleMagus NAC6 (450 lph).

There are a lot of good options in this range.

+1, you hit it on the head with your rating...
although i would avoid the vertex skimmer because of the resun pump,
my fav you listed would be the SWC 120 cone, i have it on a 20g and it's awesome!!

Patrick Cox · 02/12/2011, 10:14 PM

Thanks all. I will probably upgrade to the SWC 120 soon. I bought the Tunze for a 36G tank and then I upgraded before I even got it setup! LOL. Maybe I should buy a skimmer for a 100 just in case

Thanks again.
Pat

02/12/2011, 08:03 AM	#1
Patrick Cox Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 1,697	Protein Skimmer Sizing Question - How do I know I have an adequate skimmer for my tank? I am running a Tunze 9002 in the sump of my 57G reef aquarium. It is pulling out dark liquid that I am emptying every few days. But as I add more fish and corals to my tank, I am worried that this skimmer will not be large enough to keep my water quality in check - but how will I know? Would it be worth it to replace this skimmer with an SWC 120? Here is what I have.. http://www.marinedepot.com/Tunze_Nan...ISVSUH-vi.html Thanks! Pat

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02/12/2011, 01:58 PM	#2
skh Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 312	The Tunze is a great skimmer by all accounts, but this model only pulls 150 lph of air, which seems a bit low. I'm not sure what kind of air draw is necessary for a 60 gallon tank, but one oft-cited rule of thumb is 600-800 lph (air, not water) per 100 gallons for heavily stocked tanks. Based on this, I'd probably look for something in the 300-400 lph range. Some good options in this range are (1) Vertex IN-80 or IN-100 (420 lph); (2) Reef Octopus SRO 1000 (400-500 lph); (3) SWC xtreme 120 (300 lph); (4) BubbleMagus NAC6 (450 lph). There are a lot of good options in this range.

02/12/2011, 02:25 PM	#3
Midnightsun Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 311	The Tunze 9002 is a real fine skimmer but if you did not notice it is called a nano which means small as in maybe 30g. Yes they do rate it "up to" 52 but you now how that goes. Personally I would go bigger. I had the very same skimmer in my Nano 28 which worked fairly well. I am soon upgrading to a 50 gallon and will be using the same stand and sump. I am now operating a SWC 160 while I wait for a few items before I start the 50g. Here it is in action. [IMG]http://i51.*******.com/23ml9uo.jpg[/IMG]

02/12/2011, 10:14 PM	#5
Patrick Cox Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 1,697	Thanks all. I will probably upgrade to the SWC 120 soon. I bought the Tunze for a 36G tank and then I upgraded before I even got it setup! LOL. Maybe I should buy a skimmer for a 100 just in case Thanks again. Pat