ASM 3 going to be enough?

[jade2122]

Hey, I am in the process of building my new 90 gallon barebottom I will be upgrading my 65 to. My question is, will a ASM 3 skimmer be sufficient for a 90 gallon BB sps tank? I would do any mods to it I could find. Thanks so much for helping me out.

[dadonoflaw]

depends on what yu keep and how you feed. need that kind of info to answer

[dvanacker]

I have an ASM G3 on my 90g BB w/ 40g breeder sump. I did recirc and meshmod and it works way better then stock. I seems like it should handle the tank but still I struggle with nitrates....dont know why I have 10-20ppm. My tank has 100lbs live rock. strong flow and I do an 8% water change weekly.

So I have one and and not sure if I got a bigger one if my nitrate would clear up. This probably doesnt help you much. sorry. The skimmer does seem to skim quite good for its size though.

[plyle02]

As stated above, and additionally, it depends really on whether or not you employ a RDSB or RDSB refugium to assist in export. Most bb enthusiasts will suggest at least 3 times the total tank volume, as far as the rating on the skimmer. Most of the successful ones usually devote this piece of equipment as their largest investment. I used a recirculating, mesh modded, out of sump skimmer on my 28 gallon bb tank that was rated for a heavily stocked 135 gallon tank(Euro-reef cs6-3), and had no detectable readings. That same skimmer had a hard time keeping nitrates below 10ppm on my old 75 gallon bb setup. I had to eventually add a RDSB fuge with a 5" sand bed in a 20 gallon tank, then watched nitrates reduce to undetectable. I am not familiar with the skimmer, but would have a back up plan just in case.... Good luck!

[Serioussnaps]

It is enough as long as you maintain your BB appropriately with lots of flow and weekly siphoning of deititrus from the bottom.

Also, there are mods than dvan mentioned may help.

Not to mention the RDSB mentioned, refugia, GFO, carbon dosing etc, husbandry, not overfeeding which all play a huge role in nutrient removal so don't get too bogged down on skimmers or the folks that will come in here and tell you to buy a 5 grand skimmer for your 90.

[twon8]

ive been running one on my 90 for a few years, 160 total in the system; works great, though i would recirc mod it and feed directly from the overflow.