Skimmers?

crt81

crt81

Member
I am going to be purchasing a 65 gallon tank tomorrow and I'm looking at the equiptment and I will be ordering the equiptment in the next upcoming weeks.
So my question is this- should I get a skimmer rated for the 65 gallon or a skimmer with a larger rating?
Which size do you recommend and which one do you like the best?
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
A little larger is fine, most of the manufacturers fib and sometimes stretch the real optimum ability of a skimmer to make it seem all the more powerful.
But any decent model shouldnt have an issue for a 65g. its a nice size tank, most of the small equipment models fit it wonderfully.
I will be crucified if someone else sees this, many know I run a modded SeaClone on my little 65 and I love it. Dirt cheap and more than capable to do the job.
poke around in the classifieds, I wouldnt say to nessessarily seek out a SeaClone brand skimmer but I am sure you can find a good one for cheap.
No need to over equip your tank with a larger than needed skimmer. Most likley you will have to put whatever you get on a timer anyhow.
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Why would you have to put a skimmer on a timer?
Bigger is better IME. I run an ETSS Reef Devil on my 54 gallon corner.
 
crt81

crt81

Member
Thanks for the responses!
Anyone else out there with suggestions to give?
Also do you really need a timer on a skimmer?
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member

Originally Posted by crt81
Thanks for the responses!
Anyone else out there with suggestions to give?
Also do you really need a timer on a skimmer?

No, you do not need a timer for a skimmer.....
 
laredo300c

laredo300c

Member
i'm happy with my seaclone 150 on my 55g reef....see they say it is rated at 150g but even thought i am extremely happy with it in my 55g there is no way in
that this skimmer would be good enough for a 150g so always buy maybe one rated at double the size you will be getting...just my 2cents
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
IMHO it is almost impossible to have too much skimming. If you are looking for a hang on skimmer a Remora Pro would do a nice job. If you will be running a sump consider an ASM 2 or 3. If you want best dollar to skim ratio consider coralife SS.
It is not a good idea to skimp on a skimmer. Consider the Remora or ASM.
IMHO there is no benefit for a timer.
 
hifi

hifi

Member
I dont think you can over skim. I ran a bullet 3 ratted for 400g on a 60g tank for about a year with great results. I didn't run it on a timer, it ran 24-7. Now I have that same skimmer on my 230 & its great!!!
 
baloo6969

baloo6969

Member
hummm...
it all depends on what type of system you have.
if you have a FOWLR then skim24/7.
if you have a loaded reef with VERY few fish...you may want to skim for 1/2 of the day...skimming takes alot of "good stuff" out of your water, and if your pouring in lots of Expencive additives for your corals/inverts, you dont want to have them pulled out.
If you have a loaded reef with LOTS of fish...get a good skimmer and skim 24/7
finding the balance is crucial...me i just run 24/7...not alot of corals any more, and have WAY too high of a bio load.
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by baloo6969
hummm...
it all depends on what type of system you have.
if you have a FOWLR then skim24/7.
if you have a loaded reef with VERY few fish...you may want to skim for 1/2 of the day...skimming takes alot of "good stuff" out of your water, and if your pouring in lots of Expencive additives for your corals/inverts, you dont want to have them pulled out.
If you have a loaded reef with LOTS of fish...get a good skimmer and skim 24/7
finding the balance is crucial...me i just run 24/7...not alot of corals any more, and have WAY too high of a bio load.

Do you honestly think that a little cup full of skimmate is pulling out a significant amount of trace elements?
9 times out of 10, people on this board are just repeating something they saw someone else write, whether it is true or not.
I have an SPS reef and don't have to add hardly any additives to my tank in between water changes.
Skimmers should not be on timers. To be effective, they need to run constantly.
 
baloo6969

baloo6969

Member
Originally Posted by TX Reef
Do you honestly think that a little cup full of skimmate is pulling out a significant amount of trace elements?.
yes, in college we took a cup of skimmate and ran a sample through a MS, we did this over 1 month, noting when Additives were added, and when there were spikes of various elements being removed. It was interesting to see how "much" was actually being removed.
Originally Posted by TX Reef
9 times out of 10, people on this board are just repeating something they saw someone else write, whether it is true or not.
Yes. So where are you going with this?
Originally Posted by TX Reef
I have an SPS reef and don't have to add hardly any additives to my tank in between water changes.
Skimmers should not be on timers. To be effective, they need to run constantly.
Yes. as i said before, it all depend on the system. and even though you may have a SPS reef, i may have the EXACT pieces you have, but still my tank will be totally different than your's.
 
joncat24

joncat24

Active Member
Seeing that most skimmers require a stable foam head and column of microbubbles to operate effectively, I don't see how turning it on and off could possibly be effective for the skimming. It would be almost impossible to dial the skimmer in to an appropriate level.
Also turning pumps on and off, especially pressure pumps for bigger skimmers is inherently damaging to the pumps themselves.
The small amount of trace elements removed by skimming are replaced automatically if you are doing your weekly or bi-weekly water changes, and I doubt very seriously that the amount removed will be greater than the amount replaced by using this procedure.
I have never even heard of people turning off their skimmers unless the tank is in a bedroom and they need to for the noise factor, which in that case, I would either move the tank or get a quieter skimmer.
all in all get your skimmer, set it up, and leave it alone is my recommendation
HTH
 
crt81

crt81

Member
Originally Posted by TX Reef
Do you honestly think that a little cup full of skimmate is pulling out a significant amount of trace elements?
9 times out of 10, people on this board are just repeating something they saw someone else write, whether it is true or not.
I have an SPS reef and don't have to add hardly any additives to my tank in between water changes.
Skimmers should not be on timers. To be effective, they need to run constantly.

TX Reef could could tell me alittle more about your tank. I looked at your user info that was given and you said you had a 55 gallon tank. And that the tank was an SPS tank.
Sps corals are one of the reasons I'm getting a MH lighting setup and also so that I can house a clam or two!
I'd like to know- what's your equiptment, lighting, fish, sump size, lighting for your sump, etc.
Please let me know- this could help me out tremendously(Sp.) !!!!
 
crt81

crt81

Member
I think I'm going to go with the coralife SS 125 for my 65! That way it's a little more powerful!
What do you guys think?Anyone with this specific size/ brand- input needed!!
 
joncat24

joncat24

Active Member
did you ever answer if you are gonna have a sump or not???
if you are going to have a sump Iwould second TXreef and go with the reef devil deluxe....if not the coralife would be good for a hang on.
The reef devil is way more powerful that a coralife. But it can't be used as a hang on.
If you have decided on coralife for sure, then I would get the 125 instead of the 65 for sure.
HTH
 
crt81

crt81

Member
Originally Posted by joncat24
did you ever answer if you are gonna have a sump or not???
if you are going to have a sump Iwould second TXreef and go with the reef devil deluxe....if not the coralife would be good for a hang on.
The reef devil is way more powerful that a coralife. But it can't be used as a hang on.
If you have decided on coralife for sure, then I would get the 125 instead of the 65 for sure.
HTH
Yes, I am going to have a 20 gallon sump underneath my 65 gallon tank!
So really the coralife is only good as a hang-on skimmer?
And the reef devil is the better choice? What size reef devil would you suggest?
 
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