Bbk Double cone 130 or 150 for 55 gallons

[frenchreef]

Hi all

I am à Frenchreefer and i read all the Time the forum without participating but this time i need some help.
I’m setting a new tank (elos system 70 - 55 gallons tank + 10 gallons for the sump) with sps population and 5/6 small fishs and i can’t choose between the bbk double cone 130 and 150.

Wich would ne suitable for my project and the futur population ?

Thanks for the help .

[slief]

Originally Posted by frenchreef

Hi all

I am à Frenchreefer and i read all the Time the forum without participating but this time i need some help.
I’m setting a new tank (elos system 70 - 55 gallons tank + 10 gallons for the sump) with sps population and 5/6 small fishs and i can’t choose between the bbk double cone 130 and 150.

Wich would ne suitable for my project and the futur population ?

Thanks for the help .

I would suggest the Double Cone 130. That is a very small display with a very low load.

[frenchreef]

Thank you for your answer
what are the differences with the 150? the 130 is given up to 80 gallons and the 150 to 90 gallons.

In my last tank (elos 120) i have the mini 160 but he was too powerful and I had a very oligotrophic water

[slief]

Originally Posted by frenchreef

Thank you for your answer
what are the differences with the 150? the 130 is given up to 80 gallons and the 150 to 90 gallons.

In my last tank (elos 120) i have the mini 160 but he was too powerful and I had a very oligotrophic water

Body size is smaller on the 130 as is the neck diameter. The pumps are the same and both have the adjustable nozzle.

[frenchreef]

Thanks a lot slief

You say the pump are the same but in the technical data for:

the 130 the pump was a Mini Red Dragon 300 ( Delivery rate: 200-400 l/h Air inlet ~ 300-600 l/h Water inlet)
for the 150 the pump was a Mini Red Dragon 600 (Delivery rate: 625 l/h Air inlet ~ 800 l/h Water inlet)

you confirm that?

I'm in doubt and I do not know which one I bought. On one side I tell myself that the 130 will be too weak and on the other side the 150 too powerful

[slief]

Originally Posted by frenchreef

Thanks a lot slief

You say the pump are the same but in the technical data for:

the 130 the pump was a Mini Red Dragon 300 ( Delivery rate: 200-400 l/h Air inlet ~ 300-600 l/h Water inlet)
for the 150 the pump was a Mini Red Dragon 600 (Delivery rate: 625 l/h Air inlet ~ 800 l/h Water inlet)

you confirm that?

I'm in doubt and I do not know which one I bought. On one side I tell myself that the 130 will be too weak and on the other side the 150 too powerful

The motors are essentially the same physically. It’s the impeller/volute that differs as the 130 requires lower flow rates than the 150.

Your tank is small and the load is small. The 130 would work just fine. The larger skimmer will work too but you will likely need to run it wetter to maintain consistency. Also keep in mind that 5 to 6 small fish and the food they consume is going to generate very little dissolved organics so there won’t be much for either skimmer to skim out.

[frenchreef]

thanks slief

I just talked to my dealer and for the difference, I will buy the 150. This will allow me to feed the animals of the tank without restraint. What do you think?

the population will be essentially sps corals and the fish was

1 small angel bande (multifaciatus angel)
1 couple of gobies ( stronogobiops yasha) with the randalli shrimp
1 Pseudocheilinus hexataenia
3/4 other small fishs (clown or other)

[slief]

Originally Posted by frenchreef

thanks slief

I just talked to my dealer and for the difference, I will buy the 150. This will allow me to feed the animals of the tank without restraint. What do you think?

the population will be essentially sps corals and the fish was

1 small angel bande (multifaciatus angel)
1 couple of gobies ( stronogobiops yasha) with the randalli shrimp
1 Pseudocheilinus hexataenia
3/4 other small fishs (clown or other)

As I said above, you don’t really have much load (6-7 small fish) so there won’t be much to skim out regardless of which skimmer you choose. Proper foam fractioning requires dissolved organics (DOC’s) to create foam. Without DOC’s, you get bubbles that burst at the surface instead of thick foam. It’s the DOC’s that cause the bubbles to stick together into chains creating foam. The bigger the skimmer, the larger the neck volume and the greater amount of dissolved organics needed to create enough foam to fill the neck. When a skimmer is oversized, the skimmer will produce foam and skimmate for a short period of time until there isn’t enough DOC’s in the water to fill the neck with foam. Then the skimmer idles along for days or longer not producing skimmate until the DOC’s build up in the water and the skimmer can again generate good foam. The cycle then repeats. Meanwhile, instead of maintaining consistently low levels of DOC’s in the water, the dissolved organic levels go up and down. The only way around that is to run the skimmer really wet meaning raising the level where bubbles turn to foam up high into the neck. This creates tea colored skimmate but also makes the skimmer very sensitive to overflows. The 130 would be more consistent because it has a smaller neck volume than the 150. If you had 20 fish, I might suggest otherwise but if you choose the 150 and run it wet, it will work but it’s going to be more difficult to tune.

Keep in mind that the 130 is rated to 80 gallons (300 liters) but our ratings conservative and based on theoretical loads which means they should be sized on display volume and load and not total volume since our sumps don’t contribute to the load but instead, our sumps are part of the load reduction. The load you will have (6-7 small fish) wouldn’t even be a heavy load in a 30 gallon tank. A heavy load is roughly 1/2” of fish per display gallon. My experience has taught me that it isn’t so much about the volume but more about the load. You could have a 200 gallon display with 7 fish and a skimmer rated for 100 gallons wouldn’t work well because there isn’t enough dissolve organics for the skimmer to generate consistent foam to fill the neck.

The 150 is rated 95 gallons (350l) which is nearly double the volume of your tank but it can actually handle an even bigger display depending on the load. Because you don’t have much load, you won’t have enough waste in the system to fill the neck with foam consistently which is my concern and why you will need to run the skimmer wet to maintain consistency. In the end, as I have said above, I think the 130 is the better choice for your size display and fish stocking plans. If you plan on upgrading to a larger display down the line or adding a lot more fish, then I might suggest the 150.

[frenchreef]

Thanks slief

I have order the 130

[slief]

Originally Posted by frenchreef

Thanks slief

I have order the 130

I think that was a good choice. Sometimes, “less is more”!

[Germanwerks]

Originally Posted by slief

Body size is smaller on the 130 as is the neck diameter. The pumps are the same and both have the adjustable nozzle.

Adjustable nozzle?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[slief]

Originally Posted by Germanwerks

Adjustable nozzle?


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Yes. You can adjust the air to water ratio by turning the intake nozzle in or out. Turning it out increases the air flow and decreases the water flow where as turning it in decreases the air and increases the water flow into the skimmer.