skimmer diamter effects

[orcafood]

Why would a 10in diamter skimmer be better then a 6in diamter skimmer at the same height, with each having a 4in neck?

[troylee]

more water volume and longer contact time and less turbulence......:)

[orcafood]

so in that sense, the taller a skimmer is, the better? I have a space under my sump that is 14in by 22in by 36in high. What size skimmer (I plan to make it myself) would be most efficient for that space?

[One Dumm Hikk]

Height, to a certain point, is good. But the taller the skimmer is you run into head pressure issues where the pump can't overcome the head pressure so you have to go to a larger pump. But taller definitely is better for skimming. For that footprint, I would try to design it with a 12" body and have all the fittings into and out of the skimmer on the same side or opposite of one another to get it a linear setup as opposed to having the fittings at 90 degrees to one another.

[orcafood]

I have noticed the bk skimmers are only about 21in tall. Would that height be good enough for a 200g tank?

[shelburn61]

Reducing turbulence is the key. A lot of the newer, high-end skimmers are shorter, but use wider body diameters or conical bodies with a bubble plate to reduce turbulence.

Skimmer height also works to reduce tubulence, but as stated you have to balance this with reduction in pump air intake from head pressure...