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#1 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 221
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thinking my skimmer is to big?
so i have a 25 gallon tank with a 10 gallon actual water volume in the sump and am currently running a swc 180, but after reading it seems a smaller skimmer might be more effective.
would like some thoughts, i am considering down sizing to the 160 and upgrading the pump to something, just dont know which. its rated at 100 gal heavily stocked but not sure if i should just go with the swc 120, which is rated at 55 heavily stocked, so i think thats to small. i can tell you its going to be super heavily loaded, so that was my thinking with the swc 180, but its for sure incosistent for me, and after some reading it would be due to the neck size. right now im only feeding every other day and only 3 small fish and montis, and after feeding it freaks out just dumps water into the cup so i.turn it off and after some time i turn.it.on and it skims well!!!! and then dies down im guessing becasue of not a ton of organics in the water and thus the neck factor size coming into play. so should i down size? and if so is there a bubble blaster pump i can upgrade too? (was thinking of upgrading the 180 with a bubble blaster 3000) any help and insight would be stellar. Sent from my SPH-P100 using Tapatalk |
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#2 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Toronto
Posts: 270
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25g tank with only 10g actual water - is this a typo? Did you mean a 125g tank with 100g water? If it isn't a typo, your SWC 180 is WAY too big. I would imagine it would have a hard time maintaining enough foam to filter properly. For that size tank, if you want to stick with SWC, use the 120 (and keep the pump it comes with - it will be more than enough for your tank IMO).
Edit - also, upgrading your SWC 180 cone with a bubble blaster 3000 pump would be such overkill, it wouldn't even be funny. That would be for over a 125g tank, not a 25g tank. If you actually had a 125g tank, I would either stick to your SWC 180 with the sicce pump it comes with, or else get a different skimmer if you want to upgrade. You see, I think that the bubble blaster 3000 would be too much for the body of the SWC 180 cone skimmer, and the overall result would not be well-balanced.
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90g with 30g sump, Sea Side Aquatics CS2 skimmer, eheim 5000 return,1 MP40w ES + 1 Tunze 6095. Lighting - ATI 4x54W Sunpower, 1 BML strip, 1 Reefbrite strip. Current Tank Info: 90g mixed reef |
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#3 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 221
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not a typo....25gallon tank with 10gallon sump...
So the 120? Its not even double my water volume on a heavily stocked tank... Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk |
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#4 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 325
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i think the swc120 is too big, you only have 35g water volume, probably less when you factor in rock and sand. Go find a used asm g1 or something small like that, you will play helll adjusting that skimmer properly for your tank. even if you heavily stocked that tank ten times over that skimmer would be too big or your tank. Also think about crowding issues with the fish. If you want that many fish then get a bigger tank, remember fish are for our viewing pleasure but you still have to give them a good home.
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#5 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 221
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so here is where my confusion lies, i was checking out skimz skimmers and was looking at the kone 181, its rated from 53 gallons to 320 gallons thats a serious spread if you do have a 50 gallon tank, thats 6x as much. so im still perplexed.
Sent from my SPH-P100 using Tapatalk |
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#6 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 221
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Quote:
i understand the point for viewing pleasure and being responsible, but the 3 fish i have now take up zero space, the fairy wrasse is the only one that uses the water column. so more fish will be introduced. as for bigger, im limited in what my apartments will let me.have and that is 25 gallons. but this is not a fish stocking thread. Sent from my SPH-P100 using Tapatalk |
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#7 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 325
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dont know what to say about there rating, indeed very broad. i run a swc300 skimmer on my 220g tank and it is a touch too big, still is stable but really doesnt skim much throughout the day, however i still get about 5 gals of skimmate every two weeks from it.
So with that skimmz skimmer, you can looks at rating like this, find a skimmer that put your system volume in the middle of its ratings. An octopus needle wheel 110 would work well for you. I look at skimmer pump gph rating when looking for a skimmer, you dont want 3000gph skimmer pump when you only have 50gph going through your sump. Look at it like this, if you have 3000gph going through your skimme and 50gph through your sump then the skimmer will be seeing very little DOC to work with. You want your skimmer body to be full of bubbles but dont want it to be turbulent. Ask around and look at other people setups to see what they run for a skimmer any similar sized tanks as yours. Honestly i would run a skimmer that is rated double your tank volume, my skimmer is rated for 350g heavily stocked, so find one that is good for 50gph heavily stocked at max. Good luck as skimmer selection can be very tricky, had i had the time i would have built my own skimmer as i would know exactly what i am getting. |
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#8 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 325
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I agree its not a fish stocking thread, just had to say something. Sounds like you know how to pick fish.
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#9 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 221
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Quote:
Thanks for the info...looks like it might be the 120, as skimz doesn't have anything really small. Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk |
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