Skimmer question

[Calireefer92]

hey reefer looking at getting the REGAL 250int 10in. I have a Red Sea 425 total system is 112 gallons. My question is. Is this skimmer to big for this tank will it be over kill or will it be okay if not would it be best to get the 150 or the 200 int?

 

[landlubber]

in most cases it seems the best course of action with a skimmer is to buy double the capacity of your tank as many of them are overrated.

 

[Calireefer92]

in most cases it seems the best course of action with a skimmer is to buy double the capacity of your tank as many of them are overrated.

So what would you go with the 250int or the 150? Because right now I have a aquamaxx fc-80 and it just seems not to do the job. Nothing really being picked up

 

[vetteguy53081]

A little big but will assure ability to keep up with load and if you expand to a larger system, one less component to invest in.

 

[landlubber]

So what would you go with the 250int or the 150? Because right now I have a aquamaxx fc-80 and it just seems not to do the job. Nothing really being picked up

Personally I think you would be fine with either but before you buy, first cross off some possible causes.
Skimmers can be finicky and NEED to be in tune to perform properly. this means the depth of the water it sits in needs to be right (7.8" is what your current skimmer is spec'd to run in) and the water level adjustment inside the skimmer needs to be right. These are mandatory.
Also, your skimmer is going to produce a lot less if your tank is very lean on nutrients. To collect waste you first need to produce it and if your fish load is small, your feeding schedule is stringent and your coral is pulling the last of the organics from the system its going to struggle to perform regardless of size or brand.
Do you test your phosphate and nitrate? Is there a nutrient problem building or is everything at rock bottom and the tank nearly sterile?
Reefing is pretty much a big game of deductive reasoning and if you don't rule out the possible causes of problems it becomes an even greater expense before you succeed.

 

[jduong916]

I think its too big. I had a xro-5000 on a 120 and it would barely ever build a foam head except for maybe once a week. I'd size down. I wouldn't get a skimmer over an 8" body for your sized tank.

I switched from reefoctopus to Aquamaxx. The skimmers are a bit cheap (quality and price), but they skim consistently well and come with decent pumps.

 

[landlubber]

I think its too big. I had a xro-5000 on a 120 and it would barely ever build a foam head except for maybe once a week. I'd size down. I wouldn't get a skimmer over an 8" body for your sized tank.

yea I have to agree not to go ridiculously huge. I missed seeing the biggest unit in his options but my opinion still stands to double the capacity of your system... in your situation the pro-5000 in a 120g is almost 4 times the tank volume which is not a suitable option for anything less than a system with 250g total system volume.

 

[jduong916]

yea I have to agree not to go ridiculously huge. I missed seeing the biggest unit in his options but my opinion still stands to double the capacity of your system... in your situation the pro-5000 in a 120g is almost 4 times the tank volume which is not a suitable option for anything less than a system with 250g total system volume.

I typically don't go by the rating they give, It varies too much. Heavy load can be double, lightload can be quadruple your tank size. I tend to go with the body size of the skimmer then the pump air draw. 120 to 180 gallons I'd stick with an 8" skimmer body.

My aquamaxx q-3 has the same rating as the xro-5000 but I know it's not the same. The XRO had a 10" body and the air draw of the bubble blaster pump was almost double the sicce on the Aquamaxx