Overskimming on a reefer 170 ?

[Zevulos]

Hey,
In the process of getting a skimmer and was wondering if an octopus 152-s would be too big for my tank ? (Red sea reefer170)
It’s a cracking skimmer but I don’t want it to be too overrated for my tank.
A lot of people seem to run a BM curve 5 on the 170 tanks and the octopus is rated around the same tank volume.
Would I be better off getting a curve 5 or a curve 3.5 over the 152-s ? (The 152-s is cheaper than the bubble magus at the moment)

 

[Dan_P]

Hey,
In the process of getting a skimmer and was wondering if an octopus 152-s would be too big for my tank ? (Red sea reefer170)
It’s a cracking skimmer but I don’t want it to be too overrated for my tank.
A lot of people seem to run a BM curve 5 on the 170 tanks and the octopus is rated around the same tank volume.
Would I be better off getting a curve 5 or a curve 3.5 over the 152-s ? (The 152-s is cheaper than the bubble magus at the moment)

The skimmer rating relates to 99% of the tank water being treated in a certain amount time, like gallons per day. What the skimmer removes is limited. Once it hits a certain level of organic matter, the foam rate diminishes no matter the size of the skimmer. It can’t “strip” the water if everything. Pick a skimmer that approximately matches your system size. Definitely no rocket science here.

 

[Zevulos]

So you’re saying that if I overrate the skimmer it will still do as good of a job as a lower rated skimmer just quicker ?

The skimmer rating relates to 99% of the tank water being treated in a certain amount time, like gallons per day. What the skimmer removes is limited. Once it hits a certain level of organic matter, the foam rate diminishes no matter the size of the skimmer. It can’t “strip” the water if everything. Pick a skimmer that approximately matches your system size. Definitely no rocket science here.

 

[ryanjohn1]

Best rule is match rating of skimmer to the size tank you have. Too big or too small can cause a problem. If you have 100 gallon tank get skimmer for 100 gallon tank etc…

 

[FUNGI]

and remember your bio-load.......

 

[Zevulos]

Best rule is match rating of skimmer to the size tank you have. Too big or too small can cause a problem. If you have 100 gallon tank get skimmer for 100 gallon tank etc…

So you’d recommend going for the bubble magus 3.5 which is rated from 100-300l and my tank is 170 ?
Even if it’s the same price as the reef octopus ?

 

[hart24601]

So you’re saying that if I overrate the skimmer it will still do as good of a job as a lower rated skimmer just quicker ?

Within some extent. However it’s all about neck size. If you drastically oversize a skimmer it will cause issues. All skimmers require a certain amount of organics to produce a stable foam head. If one gets a gigantic skimmer the neck is so large it requires a lot of organics to make foam.

What tends to happen there is one will make a decent foam head for a bit then the skimmer dies down because there are not enough organics to make foam with the large neck size. If you adjust it then when organics build back up it then overflows then dies back down.

It’s not common for someone to over size that much but you do see it. However if others report a skimmer working well in similar size stocked tank then you will be fine.

Interestingly enough in these situations the larger skimmer performs worse than smaller skimmers due to it not removing low levels of organics as well.

 

[ryanjohn1]

So you’d recommend going for the bubble magus 3.5 which is rated from 100-300l and my tank is 170 ?
Even if it’s the same price as the reef octopus ?

Whichever has best reviews and customer service

 

[Dan_P]

So you’re saying that if I overrate the skimmer it will still do as good of a job as a lower rated skimmer just quicker ?

Yes.

 

[Zevulos]

Whichever has best reviews and customer service

The 152-s has loads of really good reviews and the curve 5 has some too but the 3.5 doesn’t seem to have many at all. The 152-s is rated for 600l

 

[Pod_01]

Oversized skimmers will be inconsistent at skimming. When there is enough organics they will produce the proper foam and skim, once done it will sit there bubble and act like overpriced air stone. You can skim wet but at that point you are just removing water to make it seem like it is skimming.

Also skimmer should be picked based on your display size, not system size. Sump is really a big filter and adds no organics to the system.
Most of the things you skim come from fish so if your system is overstocked larger skimmer will work. On that note a huge reef with one fish can use small skimmer.

Last corals help with filtration, they consume lot of the bits before they get to the skimmer. On the same note filter socks or fleece roller remove organics so smaller skimmer or one size down skimmer works best.

Anyways that how skimmer selection was explained to me and so far it has worked out well for me.

 

[Zevulos]

Oversized skimmers will be inconsistent at skimming. When there is enough organics they will produce the proper foam and skim, once done it will sit there bubble and act like overpriced air stone. You can skim wet but at that point you are just removing water to make it seem like it is skimming.

Also skimmer should be picked based on your display size, not system size. Sump is really a big filter and adds no organics to the system.
Most of the things you skim come from fish so if your system is overstocked larger skimmer will work. On that note a huge reef with one fish can use small skimmer.

Last corals help with filtration, they consume lot of the bits before they get to the skimmer. On the same note filter socks or fleece roller remove organics so smaller skimmer or one size down skimmer works best.

Anyways that how skimmer selection was explained to me and so far it has worked out well for me.

Ahh ok thank you, I’m planning on a mixed reef with a heavy bio load in my 170l, do you think the curve 3.5 rated at 100-300l would be enough for a heavy load or would I be best to go with the curve 5 or 152-s which is rated to 500l

 

[RedReefer]

A 152-s is probably too large for the 170. I'm running the same skimmer on my 100 gal. I have to feed three times daily with 5 fish.

 

[Ziggy17]

I had a bubble magus 3.5 on my RS Reefer 300XL, and it worked great. Nice foam 24/7 and pulled great skim. Total work horse. One day when I was cleaning it, one of the impeller rings went down the drain, causing it to be a bit too noisy for my liking, so I bought a new model. Otherwise id still be using it. My tank is stocked with plenty of fish, inverts and mixed corals.
IMO, the BM 5 on your system will be way too big. Hope that helps in some way.

 

[Pod_01]

Ahh ok thank you, I’m planning on a mixed reef with a heavy bio load in my 170l, do you think the curve 3.5 rated at 100-300l would be enough for a heavy load or would I be best to go with the curve 5 or 152-s which is rated to 500l

I have Reefer250, I have 7 fish and feed 3 /4 times a day and the skimmer I use is the Bubble King Double Cone 130. I feel the skimmer is still too big.
The skimmer is the only filtration that I use, I have no fuge, socks, roller etc…

Some pics:

Good luck,

 

[Zevulos]

I have Reefer250, I have 7 fish and feed 3 /4 times a day and the skimmer I use is the Bubble King Double Cone 130. I feel the skimmer is still too big.
The skimmer is the only filtration that I use, I have no fuge, socks, roller etc…

Some pics:

Good luck,

That thing must be a beast ! It does 3x the air per hour and nearly 12x the water volume per hour of the BM 3.5 but it’s still rated for the same size tank ?

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

As others have stated, an oversized skimmer will give inconsistent results.
It can't remove what isn't there.
Aim for correct rating & consistency of skim.
The BM curve 5 is a decent skimmer at a price point that's hard to deny.
I only upgraded to NYOS 120 for my reefer170 as I'm heavy handed and broke the BM.
Both good but the NYOS is an absolute horse of a skimmer!
Highly recommend

 

[Zevulos]

As others have stated, an oversized skimmer will give inconsistent results.
It can't remove what isn't there.
Aim for correct rating & consistency of skim.
The BM curve 5 is a decent skimmer at a price point that's hard to deny.
I only upgraded to NYOS 120 for my reefer170 as I'm heavy handed and broke the BM.
Both good but the NYOS is an absolute horse of a skimmer!
Highly recommend

So you’d go for the curve 5 over the 3.5 ?
The nyos 120 is rated the same as the BM 5 at 500l but interestingly it says from 100l the 152-s is 600l so it’s still a bit bigger than that but it’s cheaper than both the curve 5 and nyos 120 at the moment

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

So you’d go for the curve 5 over the 3.5 ?
The nyos 120 is rated the same as the BM 5 at 500l but interestingly it says from 100l the 152-s is 600l so it’s still a bit bigger than that but it’s cheaper than both the curve 5 and nyos 120 at the moment

I liked the BM.very good skimmer.not the greatest build quality but hey it's cheap.
The NYOS is a totally different league but as you say a very different price point

 

[Pod_01]

That thing must be a beast ! It does 3x the air per hour and nearly 12x the water volume per hour of the BM 3.5 but it’s still rated for the same size tank ?

Yes it works very well and best part, it is so quiet. My MP40 pumps are louder in comparison to the skimmer. The BK skimmer is build like a tank, indestructible.

The general rating is only part of the equation, for example the BK Double Cone 150 has the same pump, yet that skimmer will not work in my tank. The neck and body is designed for larger tank/ fish load.

Unfortunately there is no standard for skimmer ratings.
In the end you may end up buying few and getting rid of some...

From my experience with skimmers they either work or you replace them due to frustration.
Frustration as in noise, pain to clean, unstable skimming, things just break etc…