Skimmer size?

[Jon Fishman]

Upgrading my tank yet again (3rd one this calendar year...... sheesh) Using a Bubble Mag. Curve 5 Elite for my 75g with 30g Sump and I'm pretty happy with it.

Upgrading to a 120-ish tank and probably eventually using the 75g as a sump, so figure 45g of water in it.

Will my current skimmer be sufficient? I run it 24/7 now. I get pretty nice skim from it/overall happy. If it's not going to cut it long term, will it be fine for awhile? I see pretty beefy ones for sale used locally all the time, but new tank means I obviously have a lot on my 'need to upgrade' list, like lights etc!

 

[PatW]

Like everything... it depends. It depends on your fish load. It depends on how much you feed. It depends on whether you rely on the skimmer to do most of the work or whether you use other tank maintenance techniques like water changes, filter socks regularly cleaned and so on. It also depends on whether you have SPS and need pretty pristine water or whether you run a system with corals that like things a bit messy.


It is rated at 140 gallon max. So you figure that would be for a tank with a very light fish load. So if you have decent husbandry and don’t have a high fish load, you should be ok.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Thanks for the reply. I have 3 fish, I don't plan on more, although I may add one. (2 clowns and a small puffer variant) I may even give away the puffer to get a different fish since I know they're swimming dump-trucks. I do water changes etc.... and my load is certainly "low" I would say, but I do want SPS, and would like to do water-changes every couple of weeks vs. every week if possible, so I do plan on an upgraded skimmer..... just want to get by for awhile at least on what I have, and it sounds like I can do that.

 

[Billdogg]

I try to aim for a skimmer rated by the manufacturer for 2x whatever the water volume is. Because they tend to be somewhat overrated by the makers, this gives plenty of margin for error. That will give you room for growth when you add mare inhabitants to your system, and for those times when something happens and all of a sudden you need to overskim for awhile.