looking at skimmers. opinions?

[Texas Reefer]

I'm looking at the RO NWB 150, but the footprint is 12.4", and I have 12". Is there any wiggle room in these things?

 

[gtbarsi]

Is the water level stable in there or does it flux?
What is the normal running level?

 

[Texas Reefer]

I have 12" wide. My water level is stable at 9.75".

 

[Diesel]

Hey Dude, If I might ask who's your LFS guru?
You can PM if you like.

You have a small footprint for a good skimmer in your tank.
It all depends for the future livestock and corals you going to use for what your expectations are from a skimmer.
I tried a lot a good skimmers over the years and really there aren't bad skimmer out there, they do all a good job.
Some are a little noisier than others but looking at your sump foot print go with a space saver skimmer.
I run a Lifereef and in my opinion it works wonders but this isn't the first thread about skimmers here and everyone has his own opinion.
Your more than welcome to drop by sometimes when you come down to Katy.
As long you don't come next week, I'll be in Dallas as the best HS football team "KATY TIGERS" will go for another STATE.
GO TIGERS!

 

[Texas Reefer]

Hey Diesel, it's all about fish! Good luck Tigers!

 

[Texas Reefer]

I think I want to go with the RO NWB SSS 150 which is 2.5" smaller. Now to find a good price.

 

[Diesel]

AAF, that explains..........

They run you about $225 retail.
I can check in the shop if we have something like that or if you want I can check on pricing tomorrow, a Christmas special for a local reef buddy.

 

[Texas Reefer]

Cool, thanks! I've seen them for $259 everywhere on the Web.

 

[gtbarsi]

Interesting skimmer it should skim the hell out of the water that goes through it, however I am concerned about the water flow rate as it is only 140 GPH. What is your approximate flow rate through your sump? If it is 2x or more I personally would not pick this skimmer...

IMO, Sump flow should be 2-3x total system volume, and the skimmer should be matched as close as possible to this. If not then you are going to have a lot of "dirty" water passing by the skimmer mixing with the skimmed water resulting in a less than ideal situation. I currently have that issue and I am going to be building a new sump after Christmas so I can run a bigger skimmer that is capable of matching the flows and skimming the system much better.

 

[Texas Reefer]

Well, I've never taken the time to figure out how to figure flow rate. Is it sump pump rate?

 

[Diesel]

Flow rate In your sump is important but has nothing to do with skimmer pump flow rate or vice versa.
My tank is 200 gallon and I have a ATB 1500 running that put out after the drop rate of 6' about 1300 gallons and that is 6x the volume of my tank.
Flow rate need to gentle in your sump and the 1300 gallon true my 140 gallon sump is as gentle it can be.
My skimmer has a 1200 gallon pump on it and is rated for 350 gallons.
There is no way that your skimmer can skim all your water in once that come back in the sump.
There is always the biological system in your tank/sump that will take care of a lot that your skimmer can't, part of the balance.

 

[gtbarsi]

Disel,

I'm not saying there are not other ways to do things.

IMO ideal sump flow is 2-3x system volume.
At those flow rates it is possible to get a skimmer that has a water flow through that is close to matching.
I personally want a skimmer that can process at least 1/2 the flow through the sump.
This is the same as saying I want a overall setup able to skim the entire system volume at least once per hour.

With that along with other good water maintenance all creatures in a system should be able to thrive, and I should be able to feed them with little fear of nutrient buildup issues.