H&S skimmer ratings

[skippyreef]

I am wondering how close to reality these skimmers are rated. The one I have is 32.5 inches tall and has twin Eheim 1260's and says it is rated for up to 700 gallons. I have it on a tank that hasa total; system volum of around 320 gal.

[Runfrumu]

Eric at finsreef has said they are rated for a heavily stroked tank. You can double check with him in the H&S forum though.

[FinsReef]

They will handle a tank that has a moderate to heavy bio load with the rated volumes on the skimmer. H&S is conservative in their ratings.


Eric

[skippyreef]

SO MY H&S A-250 rated at 700 gallons will actually more than handle the tank it is on :)

[Paulairduck]

I would never put a dual eheim on a 700 gallon fully loaded.

I would say a fair rating would be 400 gallon nicely stocked.

I have also used almost every skimmer except for a couple

H&S skimmers are very nice, but after using the Laguna based pumps, the eheims have their shortfalls.

[FinsReef]

As stated above it will handle 700 gal with no problems what so ever.


Eric

[skippyreef]

I have it on a 270 gallon main tank with a 70 gallon sump that has about 35 gallons of water in it so with the rock displacement accounted in I think I have roughly 300 gallons of water in the tank. I had contemplated an ATI to run in tandem with this skimmer or an OCto pro series.

[FinsReef]

The A250 is overkill in that size of tank. You will need to make sure you feed the proper rate thru the skimmer 450 to 500 gph. Once the initial break in period is over you will pull a lot of skimmate and then it will decrease over time as there is less and less for it to pull out. When this happens adjust the wedge pipe to continue producing skimmate. I would not recommend running a second skimmer as there is no point.

Eric

[skippyreef]

I have it direct fed through a 1 inch line from the overflow. It is a beast and I ahve owned it for three years now and have been really happy with it. It is still producing skimmate very well as I skim wet. I get a cup depending on what I feed every few days or less. Thanks for the input. Now I can spend that money on something else for Christmas for the tank :) and save the sump space for frags.

[FinsReef]

Great.

Eric