What are a few problems with an over-sized skimmer?

[Western_reefer]

What are a few problems with an over-sized skimmer? Say, 4 times the size rating?

[Drae]

Performance. If the skimmer is too large it just plain and simply won't produce any skimmate. Put a 12" diameter skimmer on a 40b and you'll never get any skimmate. You don't want your skimmer to idle for too long imo. It's okay for it to stop producing on occasion but not for a day or two. A properly sized skimmer is best imo. Becketts and tall skimmers are kinda another story though. Most are tall and skinny ( 8" diameter 36" tall beckett extends contact time) and actually work well on a variety of tank sizes but short and stubby needle wheels can easy pass a lot of water through without creating a stable foam head if they're too large for your tanks bio load.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Likely to be louder than desired.

[d2mini]

performance. If the skimmer is too large it just plain and simply won't produce any skimmate. Put a 12" diameter skimmer on a 40b and you'll never get any skimmate. You don't want your skimmer to idle for too long imo. It's okay for it to stop producing on occasion but not for a day or two. A properly sized skimmer is best imo. Becketts and tall skimmers are kinda another story though. Most are tall and skinny ( 8" diameter 36" tall beckett extends contact time) and actually work well on a variety of tank sizes but short and stubby needle wheels can easy pass a lot of water through without creating a stable foam head if they're too large for your tanks bio load.

+1

[Western_reefer]

So, at what point would a skimmer be too large? Say, I'm setting up a 75 gallon SPS tank with a very high fish bioload, very very heavy daily feedings(the fish im going to keep will most likely be fed 5-6 times a day, so pretty much small amounts dosed throughout the day), and very very heavy nightly feedings(sun corals, and other non-photosynthetic corals). Would a skimmer rated for 300 gallons be way too large for my 75 gallon crazy bioload tank?

[d2mini]

It might be, but it's hard to say. You can't really trust ANY of the skimmer ratings out there as they are all different and there is no industry standard. So if someone tells you that they are using skimmer A on their tank with really heavy feedings, you have no idea if skimmer B will perform the same way. The best you can do is find someone with the same skimmer running on a very similar tank/bioload, or call and talk to the manufacturer and explain you situation and see what they recommend. I'd probably go with the latter. Find a skimmer you are interested in and then call and talk to someone.

When i bought my LifeReef skimmer, i called and talked to the owner who talked to me for like 30-40 minutes. He was able to recommend the correct size skimmer for my particular setup and I couldn't be happier. I also called and talked to the nice guys at ReefDynamics.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Any skimmer that has a hose (most newer ones don't) between the pump and reaction chamber can be "dialed in" by adjusting the flow of water and air.

[Western_reefer]

Performance. If the skimmer is too large it just plain and simply won't produce any skimmate. Put a 12" diameter skimmer on a 40b and you'll never get any skimmate. You don't want your skimmer to idle for too long imo. It's okay for it to stop producing on occasion but not for a day or two. A properly sized skimmer is best imo. Becketts and tall skimmers are kinda another story though. Most are tall and skinny ( 8" diameter 36" tall beckett extends contact time) and actually work well on a variety of tank sizes but short and stubby needle wheels can easy pass a lot of water through without creating a stable foam head if they're too large for your tanks bio load.

It might be, but it's hard to say. You can't really trust ANY of the skimmer ratings out there as they are all different and there is no industry standard. So if someone tells you that they are using skimmer A on their tank with really heavy feedings, you have no idea if skimmer B will perform the same way. The best you can do is find someone with the same skimmer running on a very similar tank/bioload, or call and talk to the manufacturer and explain you situation and see what they recommend. I'd probably go with the latter. Find a skimmer you are interested in and then call and talk to someone.

When i bought my LifeReef skimmer, i called and talked to the owner who talked to me for like 30-40 minutes. He was able to recommend the correct size skimmer for my particular setup and I couldn't be happier. I also called and talked to the nice guys at ReefDynamics.

So, when it comes to going with much higher rated skimmers, narrow and taller skimmers would work better? Say a narrow/tall skimmer rated for 300 gallons would work better than a wide/short skimmer rated for 300 gallons?

[ridetheducati]

So, when it comes to going with much higher rated skimmers, narrow and taller skimmers would work better? Say a narrow/tall skimmer rated for 300 gallons would work better than a wide/short skimmer rated for 300 gallons?

Taller is always better than shorter.

No, that is not what she said.

[Drae]

So, when it comes to going with much higher rated skimmers, narrow and taller skimmers would work better? Say a narrow/tall skimmer rated for 300 gallons would work better than a wide/short skimmer rated for 300 gallons?

The taller skimmers have more contact time thus making them skimmate producing beasts. There is a con for every pro though... Power consumption, space hogs, noise, maintenance associated with beckett injectors or downdrafts ( excluding life reefs mazzi venturi). Your not getting one of these under a stand so the shorter needle wheel skimmers are designed to be in sump units that work pretty well IF BALANCED WELL.

[Pokerman11]

a lot of factors in play here.

Noise, size and price are the two biggest downsides to over-skimming.

Also as mentioned if you WAY over skim then the skimmer will not produce enough skimmate to work. Lots of skimmers need enough skimmate to push the foam out the top of the cup. If you are WAY over skimming this will not
happen.

However, heavy bio-load and a 300g rates skimmer on your 75G - that should still be okay. Look at the design of the skimmer and determine for yourself.

I run a 300G rated skimmer on my 90g.

[AcroporAddict]

A person with an immense amount of experience with skimmers of all types and Brands is Jeremy from Premium Aquatics. Inconsistent performance is the main issue, taken from his many threads and posts on the topic.

One thing to note is that skimmer ratings are not standardized or anything, and you have to take manufacturer's rating with a grain of salt. I would rather have a skimmer that is evenly matched to my system than one that is too large or too small.

One brand of skimmer that seem to be realistically, if not a bit underrated as to the volume they can handle is the Bubble King line and the Vertex Alpha cone line.

I was going to order a BK SuperMarin 300 internal for my 465 gallon SPS system, and Jeremy steered me towards the smaller, less expensive SuperMarin 250 because he said it is better matched to my system volume than the 300.

I took his advice and changed my order, because, quite frankly, there is probably no one with more hands on experience with protein skimmers than him.

Also, oversized skimmers generally have more powerful pumps, draw more electricity, and have long idle times where they are using electricity but not producing any skimmate. Waste of money vs a properly sized skimmer that always has a foam head on it and uses less electricity.

[rappyfly]

I have H&S A200 1260x2 skimmer which rate 550G on my 50G tank before and 40G tank now. Because it is an external skimmer, I can dial in the skimmer easier than internal skimmer and I just use one pump to produce air/water mixture.

Over rate skimmer might remove benefit trace elements faster, but it reduces waste faster which cause algae boom. As of now, I have 20 fishes (include a purple and blue tang) in my 40G than 50G 10 years ago. Big skimmer and nutrition export help on the high load.

[Western_reefer]

A person with an immense amount of experience with skimmers of all types and Brands is Jeremy from Premium Aquatics. Inconsistent performance is the main issue, taken from his many threads and posts on the topic.

One thing to note is that skimmer ratings are not standardized or anything, and you have to take manufacturer's rating with a grain of salt. I would rather have a skimmer that is evenly matched to my system than one that is too large or too small.

One brand of skimmer that seem to be realistically, if not a bit underrated as to the volume they can handle is the Bubble King line and the Vertex Alpha cone line.

I was going to order a BK SuperMarin 300 internal for my 465 gallon SPS system, and Jeremy steered me towards the smaller, less expensive SuperMarin 250 because he said it is better matched to my system volume than the 300.

I took his advice and changed my order, because, quite frankly, there is probably no one with more hands on experience with protein skimmers than him.

Also, oversized skimmers generally have more powerful pumps, draw more electricity, and have long idle times where they are using electricity but not producing any skimmate. Waste of money vs a properly sized skimmer that always has a foam head on it and uses less electricity.


Do you think you can give me Jeremys contact information please?

[Western_reefer]

The taller skimmers have more contact time thus making them skimmate producing beasts. There is a con for every pro though... Power consumption, space hogs, noise, maintenance associated with beckett injectors or downdrafts ( excluding life reefs mazzi venturi). Your not getting one of these under a stand so the shorter needle wheel skimmers are designed to be in sump units that work pretty well IF BALANCED WELL.

I have about 34"-35" of clearance in my stand, so I think I can fit a 32"-33" tall skimmer.. (i have a very tall stand.. lol)

[AcroporAddict]

Do you think you can give me Jeremys contact information please?

Jeremy is one of the main guys at Premium Aquatics, A Reef Central Sponsor. His screen name is Jeremy B. You can PM him through Reef Central.

They have a Forum in the Sponsor section. Here is a long thread regarding BK skimmers, but there is a lot of general skimmer info in there as well. I am not trying to push you to BK skimmers. There are other good brands as well, but Jeremy will not steer you to something to make money. If you tell him adequate info about your system and stocking levels, he can give you some skimmer options well suited to your reef.

BK Skimmer Club thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1524677

Many other threads about different brands of skimmers on there as well in the Premium Sponsor forum.

[Western_reefer]

Jeremy is one of the main guys at Premium Aquatics, A Reef Central Sponsor. His screen name is Jeremy B. You can PM him through Reef Central.

They have a Forum in the Sponsor section. Here is a long thread regarding BK skimmers, but there is a lot of general skimmer info in there as well. I am not trying to push you to BK skimmers. There are other good brands as well, but Jeremy will not steer you to something to make money. If you tell him adequate info about your system and stocking levels, he can give you some skimmer options well suited to your reef.

BK Skimmer Club thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1524677

Many other threads about different brands of skimmers on there as well in the Premium Sponsor forum.

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE a BK skimmer, I just don't have $1,500 to shed on just a skimmer... If I did, I'd get a BK skimmer... lol

Thanks!! :)

[AcroporAddict]

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE a BK skimmer, I just don't have $1,500 to shed on just a skimmer... If I did, I'd get a BK skimmer... lol

Thanks!! :)

Like I said, Jeremy will steer you to a Brand that is good for your system and budget. Just PM him. He has experience with many Brands besides BK.

Use the BK thread as a great information source for sizing and general operation of a skimmer, regardless of the Brand.

[Timber77]

I tend to run oversized skimmers and don't have any of the above issues. I run a 6 foot aquamedic t5000 8 inch on a 200 gallon tank a h&s 300 (3 pump 12 inch) on 250 gallon and a bigger atb on a 200 gallon predator tank. I also can feed heavily and rarely lose fish or corals. External skimmers are easier to adjust would go that route imo