two quick skimmer questions

[kylie d]

I have a 20g setup and recently my BakPak skimmer stopped working but coworker managed to get it going again. Unfortunately, I don't think its working as well as before. I've had a bunch of cyano grow back and its close to drowning some of my small corals if I don't keep them clean. Will this level of skimming be ok for the next 5 months until I can upgrade to my 40g with sump (don't have one now) when I will buy a new skimmer? Or do I need to get one now to use for the next five months until I get an insump skimmer?

Second question/topic: as I'm planning my 40g upgrade, I've been told that double your gallons is a good general rule to go buy for skimmers. I'm curious though, is it ok to go way over that? I'm going to have a 40g tank with 29g sump and I was debating between going with a 110g capable skimmer or a 150g.. Opinions?

Thanks,

Kylie D

[rbnice1]

what was wrong with the bakpak?

If it has the rio junk pump go out and get a maxijet1200. You can use it to replace the pump. Just stick the air line into the water intake.

[kylie d]

I'm not sure what exaclty was wrong and we're not sure how we 'fixed' it. It randomly stopped skimming as efficiently and then moved on to shooting half the bubbles straight into my tank and half into the HOB container. Yes, it says its a Rio 100 pump. Would it be the pump causing the problem? Is it really that easy of a fix? That would be awesome!

[rkb]

To amp up the CPR run airline tubing into the skimmer side and a use a limewood airstone. This really increased the production on my CPR, as for the new skimmer go as big as you can within reason.

[kylie d]

What's within reason mean though. I'm just curious what the cap is on skimmers.

[kyrin01]

just go as big as u can afford... you cant really "over do it" so dont worry about it. go big or go home!!

[_88]

There is no real "cap." At a certain point you're just wasting money and electricity by running a skimmer that's just way too big for your system but it wan't do any harm beyond that. Buying a skimmer that is rated at twice you're actual gallons is just a rule of thumb and, as with any rule of thumb, there are many exceptions. IMHO the less expensive the skimmer is the more likely it is that they are (vastly) overstating the ability of the skimmer. Better brands are generally more conservative or will even list recommended volumes based on stocking and useage. I doubt that a 150 gallon rated slimmer would be excessive, but the 110 may be more than adequate, depending on the brand. If you're buying the larger skimmer because you want to upgrade later then go ahead and get it.

[rbnice1]

well obiously you sont want a skimemr designed to run a heavily stocked 200 gallon system on a 40 breeder. lol

I also disagree about go as big as you can with in reason comment.

All skimmers are different and some do a very very good job and some are really bad. Get a great skimmer that is designed to work on your system volume.

What skimmers were you looking at? Some skimmers that say up to a 150 gallons I wouldnt use on anything more then a 20 gallon tank and there are a few that say 150 gallons that I wouldnt use on anything less then 120 gallons.

[rbnice1]

There is no real "cap." At a certain point you're just wasting money and electricity by running a skimmer that's just way too big for your system but it wan't do any harm beyond that. Buying a skimmer that is rated at twice you're actual gallons is just a rule of thumb and, as with any rule of thumb, there are many exceptions. IMHO the less expensive the skimmer is the more likely it is that they are (vastly) overstating the ability of the skimmer. Better brands are generally more conservative or will even list recommended volumes based on stocking and useage. I doubt that a 150 gallon rated slimmer would be excessive, but the 110 may be more than adequate, depending on the brand. If you're buying the larger skimmer because you want to upgrade later then go ahead and get it.

Again sorry but I disagree. If the skimemr is sized to big you will not be able to maintain a foam head. There will not be enough protiens in the water column to maintain it.


55 gallon and below are really hard to p;ick skimmers. There just isnt a lot of really good skimmers for those sized systems.

[kylie d]

The kind I'm looking at are Reef Octopus NBW 110 or 150. I've had a lot of people suggest this brand. What is your opinion on this brand and what size would I want? Again, I'm planning an upgrade to a 40g breeder with a 20 or 29g sump (not sure which will be available yet).

[rbnice1]

Reef Octopus NBW 110 would not be a bad choice. I think the 150 would be too big unless you are going to be adding a frag tank or some other volume of water.

[kylie d]

Thanks for the advice. The 110 will save me a good $30-40 so thank you