Do I need a bigger skimmer?

[daftwazzock]

I'm using a NYOS Quantum 160 and I've grown to hate this thing. I can't complain about its performance, it's working quite well and every day I have to empty a cup of very dark waste from my skimmer. Which is great, except the part where I have to empty it every day.

I've adjusted the air flow as low as I can go without making a lot of noise. Unfortunately, the NYOS is not as quiet as I was led to believe and if you restrict airflow too much the pump starts to make a ton of noise as it struggles to draw air. So I got it set just above that point, but every day it fills the cup.

Anyways, I've heard that having a skimmer that's too large can actually be less effective at removing waste, so that's why I'm making this thread. Ideally, I'd like a larger skimmer that has an easy way to empty the skimmer cup without having to physically unscrew it and potentially slosh fish waste everywhere.

 

[vetteguy53081]

It may be the case but try to fine tune current unit to see if you can get it to pull waste before making change to a smaller unit. I have used Undersized and although I had the need to clean more frequently - it worked

 

[Shep]

So my understanding is that having an over sized skimmer is just a waste of money. Water can only be so clean and having something that can handle a 1000g tank is rather pointless for your 40g because it will still remove the same amount of waste but just cost more money. I don't think its any less effective, just less efficient/$

 

[Silent]

You should just put a drain line on the skimmer cup and have the skimmate drain into a waste collector.

 

[Shep]

You should just put a drain line on the skimmer cup and have the skimmate drain into a waste collector.

This would be the easiest and cheapest solution to the issue. Also, you said that the waste you empty is very dark, this usually means that its fairly concentrated, which is what you want. You might be filling the cup up everyday because your tank is producing that much waste. How large is the tank, how much do you feed and how heavily stocked is it?

 

[SuncrestReef]

I have the same Nyos Quantum 160 on my Reefer XL 425. I connected it to an Avast Marine skimmate locker which also communicates with my Apex, so when the locker is full it turns off the skimmer and sends me an alert. It takes about 11 - 14 days before filling up. I also added the Avast Swabbie automated neck cleaner on the skimmer cup.

See https://www.avastmarine.com/collections/avast-built/products/djsl

 

[daftwazzock]

This would be the easiest and cheapest solution to the issue. Also, you said that the waste you empty is very dark, this usually means that its fairly concentrated, which is what you want. You might be filling the cup up everyday because your tank is producing that much waste. How large is the tank, how much do you feed and how heavily stocked is it?

It's a Red Sea 350 (so 350 litres). Very lightly stocked with CUC, some LPS frags and four small fish (2x wrasse/goby/clownfish). I'm giving them a cube of mysis/brine/etc every day... probably need to cut back on feeding.

I have the same Nyos Quantum 160 on my Reefer XL 425. I connected it to an Avast Marine skimmate locker which also communicates with my Apex, so when the locker is full it turns off the skimmer and sends me an alert. It takes about 11 - 14 days before filling up. I also added the Avast Swabbie automated neck cleaner on the skimmer cup.

See https://www.avastmarine.com/collections/avast-built/products/djsl

Your skimmer looks so beefy and upgraded compared to mine it could be used in a "you vs the guy she tells you not to worry about" meme. Gonna look into getting this skimmer locker myself!

 

[SuncrestReef]

It's a Red Sea 350 (so 350 litres). Very lightly stocked with CUC, some LPS frags and four small fish (2x wrasse/goby/clownfish). I'm giving them a cube of mysis/brine/etc every day... probably need to cut back on feeding.



Your skimmer looks so beefy and upgraded compared to mine it could be used in a "you vs the guy she tells you not to worry about" meme. Gonna look into getting this skimmer locker myself!

"It's not the size of the skimmer...It's how you use it!"

You won't regret getting a skimmate locker. It's a game changer.