Over skimming?

wakeboardgeek · Feb 1, 2013

Is it possible to over skim a SPS tank?

I'm in the process of a SPS build that will have about 70 gallons of water volume. Is it OK to use a skimmer rated 3x+ that?

WesF · Feb 1, 2013

Personally I don't think you can "over skim" but if you get a skimmer that is too large it may not perform properly (get proper foam head, etc)

ritter6788 · Feb 1, 2013

I have a skimmer rated for 250 gallons on my 75. I don't think you can over skim. I try to get the biggest skimmer that will fit in my sump.

Me z · Feb 1, 2013

I run two skimmers on my 125. I run a vertex IN100 with a bubble blaster 1000 pump. And an run an eshopps cone skimmer 120. Havnt had a problem with over skimming. I tried an oversized skimmer and it barely pulled out the gunk. As it was said the oversized skimmers I tried just couldnt pull gunk out.

Reefing8EZ · Feb 1, 2013

I have a BK Mini 200 rated for up to 265gal on my 40 breeder and 30gal shallow setup.

Chameleon · Feb 1, 2013

Reefing8EZ said:
I have a BK Mini 200 rated for up to 265gal on my 40 breeder and 30gal shallow setup.

Uses the Ferrari to pull the the trailer...lol

Reefing8EZ · Feb 1, 2013

Chameleon said:
Uses the Ferrari to pull the the trailer...lol

Lol! It does the job and then some! Its a beast of a skimmer!

metrokat · Feb 1, 2013

Yes you can over skim. It won't remove excess nutrients to the point of starvation however. If you dose phyto, it will end up there for example. Skimming also has a lowering effect on carbonates per some articles I read by Randy Holmes Farley.

If your purpose is an ULNS, you are better off with bio-pellets, and carbon dosing.

bmarkus · Feb 3, 2013

you cannot over skim. most skimmers are rated for max size anyway with little load. I size my skimmers at 35% of what it is rated for. example I have 2000 gallon per hour skimmer on a 600 gallon system which is very heavly stocked.

sleeri · Feb 3, 2013

wakeboardgeek said:
Is it possible to over skim a SPS tank?

I'm in the process of a SPS build that will have about 70 gallons of water volume. Is it OK to use a skimmer rated 3x+ that?

I think the other question that needs to be asked when discussing "over skimming" is bioload. How many fish do you have? If this is a heavily stocked system and you feed a lot, an oversized skimmer makes a lot of sense.

wakeboardgeek · Feb 3, 2013

sleeri said:
I think the other question that needs to be asked when discussing "over skimming" is bioload. How many fish do you have? If this is a heavily stocked system and you feed a lot, an oversized skimmer makes a lot of sense.

The system doesn't have any fish yet. A smaller/medium bio load is being planned to avoid over feeding and jeapordizing water quality.

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Justdrew · Feb 4, 2013

As stated earlier it is posible to have too big of a skimmer on a system. The skimmer will simply not work if there is not enough organics in the water. I had an MSX 250 Extreme on a 100 gallon tank with a very light bioload. I was lucky to get an hour fo foam head every couple of days once the organics built up enough to form a head. The majority of the time it would just sit there and fizz like soda. A properly sized skimmer will perform much better than a grossly oversized skimmer.