Tunze 9012 oversized for a 75 gallon tank?

[Jorda320]

Hi,
Im setting up a sumpless 75 gallon tank and I have been looking at Nano protein skimmer and filter and have noticed that the Tunze brand look pretty decent. I like how they resemble corner overflows when put in the back of the tank. I'm pretty sold on the Tunze multifilter (I believe the model number is 3168) as this has enough room for my carbon bag, a spot for a small heater, and a place to hook up the optical sensor for the tunze ATO I know it's $150 but with Black Friday coming up in a few weeks I'm hoping to get it for a little cheaper. Plus I'd much rather stock up on filter floss and throw some of that out everyday as opposed to washing filter socks in my washing machine as the wife is really not a fan of that. As far as protein skimmers go I'm torn between the 9004 model and the 9012 model. I usually stock quite heavily and the 9004 model is rated from 20 to 60 gallons whereas the 9012 is rated for something like 50 to 200 gallons. I'm thinking with the DC version I could always turn it down at first and then crank it up when I get more fish in there, but I'm wondering if this is a dumb move on my part? I hear it's a great skimmer but I'm wondering if this is not the best decision? Or if anyone has better alternatives? The big hold up here is I cannot have a sump or any plumbing due to spacing and my wife just not feeling comfortable with it. I think as far as in tank skimmers go this is probably my best option. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[BlennyTime]

The bigger one would be better especially in a sumpless setup, I’d go for one rated 2x-3x your tank volume.

 

[Jorda320]

The bigger one would be better especially in a sumpless setup, I’d go for one rated 2x-3x your tank volume.

Sounds good to me. I don't plan on running a refugium or anything like that so maybe two or three times larger would be best.

 

[newfly]

i went the opposite route. 9012 won't fit nicely in my AIO tank. I'm going to try 9004 DC. My tank is 65G total, 55G in the main display. I don't want HOB. I read that its easier to tuned an undersize skimmer versus oversize. I don't have experience. Still trying to figure things out.

I read a few reviews that 9004DC works very well @50 speed, for 40G tank. In the end of the day, skimmer is just one nutrient export tool. I don't have a skimmer at all for my other 15G tank, its been stable for over 15 yrs.

 

[MeanGull]

I personally love Tunze products, and have quite a few of them.

While I'm unfamiliar with the 9004, the 9012 DC is pretty solid, for the most part. However, do note that you won't be able to "crank" it as you add more fish. For me, anything over 30% power just overflows the cup, regardless of the bioload.

It will skim wet, despite how you set it up. There's also a good chance you'll get a lot of microbubbles coming out of it. Mine is fairly quiet but quite far from silent. So don't count on not hearing it because you will.

Truth be told, I have a love / hate relationship with this thing. There are days I'm tempted to smash it to pieces, as well as days I'm impressed with it. Taking it apart to clean isn't the easiest either; I managed to snap one of the clips off the side of the body while doing so. It works regardless, but it leaks more little bubbles than it should. Though, in all fairness, the micro bubbles were there since day one.

One thing I've noticed, it's never been consistent for me in the 18 months I've had it. Sometimes it will just foam at the base of the neck for days on end, other times it works just fine.

Despite all that, I am considering adding another and running two. Simply because of it's small footprint and the ability to be hidden in the sump. All in all, it will pull what looks like coffee out of your tank when it wants to.

As for your tank size, who knows, I'm running about 210 gallons of total water with seven fish.

As for the 3155, you can't go wrong. It's been rock solid for me for years now. Just make sure you install it properly - meaning, keep the hose outlet out of the water and above the waterline of your ATO reservoir. Just in case you get a sump one day.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

P.S. Tunze stands behind their products. I'm in Canada, and I've had @rvitko help me on numerous occasions (questions, not problems). Even though in reality I should have been bugging the Canadian distributor. Roger really cares, and is one of the reasons I'll stick with Tunze for as long as I'm in this hobby.