Downsizing reef tank and may be looking to trade BK DC-180 for a mini 160

[jporter]

Looking for some sound advice here and totally expect it given the track record from Scott and Marco. My current tank is a 150G reef and will be upgrading/downsizing in the next couple months to a 126G. The DC-180 has been the best skimmer I've owned but I think it will be too much for the new tank. I'm going to focus more on corals with the new tank and won't have near the fish load as the current. I like the idea of being able to just lift off the mini skimmate cup as opposed to the screw off one now. The new sump will be smaller compartment wise and I think it might be better off just to bite the bullet and go smaller. Has anyone done this? I know it might sound weird but I'm calling this an upgrade even though it's a smaller gallon wise. To be fair the new tank has better dimensions, and is basically much more shallow.
I'll be interested in feedback, especially from those who have done this type of change. Thanks in advance. Jeff

[slief]

You really could go either way. With a 126 gallon display, the Double Cone 180 is still very well suited for that. Even if you have a light fish load, you will likely need to feed your corals so there will still be DOC's in the water to keep that skimmer reasonably consistent. If you did downsize, the Mini 160 would be well suited for that display size. It's true that the lift off cup is a nice feature but the downside to the Mini's is the fact that you have to take the skimmer apart to service the pump and the pump should be serviced (cleaned) every 3-4 months or so. If you do that, these pumps will last forever. As for the screw off cup, why not just add a valve such as the Magnum quick disconnect valves to the Double Cone 180's collection cup drain line and extend it to a container or just use the valve to drain the collection cup into some sort of container that you can carry to the toilet. If your concerned about cleaning the neck, then get your self a good neck cleaner and between that and a valve on the drain line, you will virtually never have to remove the collection cup. I have the neck cleaner and the valve on my drain line and the cup on my Supermarin 250 comes off once every 6 or so months and even then, it's not really needed. I just drain my collection cup every week or so and let the neck cleaner run once a day for 15 seconds and the skimmer chugs along like a fine tuned sewing machine.