skimmer ratings?

[grouper therapy]

When manuefactors rate their skimmers are they referring to the total volume of the system or just the display tank? Anyone ever asked them?
Will handle heavily stocked 200 gallon. Is that A 200 a 50 gallon or 150 gallon sump?

 

[glxtrix]

I always took it as total water volume. I also try to double the rating of my system for a skimmer....just in case their numbers are a little off

 

[clay4au]

i think it depends a lot more on bioload than water volume, but water volume is easier for them to measure.

 

[bruce 1]

Total. I asked CoralVue.

 

[eagle9252]

<span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px">When I was searching for a protein skimmer I found a lot of different sights that did not say the same thing bout the same skimmer. I have the nwb150 ro and it just took 6 sites for me to find the info that I found when I bought mine. Some said for tanks up to 120g and one said max 180g. but I found one that list 3 options to let you know what it could do.</span></span>

http://coralvue.com/dnwb150/"><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="font-size: 13px"><span style="color: #800080">http://coralvue.com/dnwb150/</span></span></span></a>
[B]<span style="color: white"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Rated for aquariums up to:</span></span>[/B]

<p style="text-align:center">[B]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">- 180 gallon</span>[/B]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman"> &#8211; </span>

<p style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Light </span>

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Filtration Demand</span>






<p style="text-align:center">[B]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">- 150 gallon &#8211; </span>[/B]

<p style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Medium </span>

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Filtration Demand</span>






<p style="text-align:center">[B]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">- 120 gallon &#8211; </span>[/B]

<p style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Heavy </span>

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Filtration Demand</span>





[B]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Powered by:</span>[/B]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman"> Hailea OTP 2000 Pinwheel Pump</span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">[B]Wattage:[/B] 21w | [B]Water processing:[/B] 190gph*</span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">[B]Air suction:[/B] 420 lph / 14 SCFH*</span>
[I]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">*Measurements are approximate and can vary. </span></em>
[I]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">** Requires 1/2 min. Clearance to remove the collection cup</span></em>

 

[ichthyoid]

I take what a manufacturer says, cut it in half, and work from there.

 

[seth the wine guy]

Good topic as skimmer threads always produce some good lively discussion. All my inquiries to manufacturers are referring to TWV. In the end, what relevancy is the DT size if you only have one fish? Is it not more about the skimmers ability to turn the system over and catch free floating organics before they go into advanced stages of breakdown? (ie ammonia-NO2-NO3)

 

[rhyerob]

It really all depends on how often you wanna clean your collection cup. Bigger skimmers have bigger cups & a higher price tag. If the sump is properly designed, smaller skimmers can provide the same performance as the larger ones. At some point you a diminished rate of return because you can only skim what is present to be skimmed. Just my opinion. I UNDER skim as a practice. Always have. I have an asm g3, on a 330 plus gallon system, that runs 4-5 days a week. I turn it of to feed my filter feeders. I'm able to keep sponges (including an Australian spider sponge), LPS, SPS, a myriad of zoas, basically just about everything I've put in the tank thrives...if I were a proponent of heavy skimming I would say buy bigger...as I do with all freshwater filtration...but in a reef, the bio-diversity I create by under skimming are a perceived benefit to me.

 

[merkywater]

I ask the manufaturer or the qualified salesman that is the expert persay on the particular brand. This is what I did when shopping for one. I actually wanted to make sure the specific skimmer would handle a large bio load at its specified rating.

 

[grouper therapy]

150 heavily stocked tank per manufacturer. What portion is display ? If it is 120 + 30 sumpwith heavy bio load then it would seem that a bigger skimmer would be needed than for a 55 +95 sump with a light bio load

 

[snowmansnow]

I've always counted it total water volume because thats what you're cleaning.. not the display tank.

I've NEVER trusted these ratings though... always bumped up what I would have needed at least one size..

B

 

[ichthyoid]

Skimmers can reduce both organic and inorganic substances. They are good at removing lipids (fatty substances) and especially surfactants (surface active compounds).

Even then, by the little research that's been done, they appear to reduce these by only around 30% or so.

The gas exchange benefit is huge, IMO.

 

[seth the wine guy]

ichthyoid;816842 wrote:

The gas exchange benefit is huge, IMO.

My tank PH average with no skimmer on for a a couple days is 8.0
With skimmer running 24/7 it's average is 8.33

 

[rjrgroup]

0-60mph in ??? sec. (unless you weigh 500lbs.)
2 ton A/C will cool ??? cubic feet (unless it's solid windows)
The actual temp. is ??? (but with windchill it feels -???)
Etc.
My point is, everything is subjective to the end use.

 

[grouper therapy]

Seth The Wine Guy;816845 wrote: My tank PH average with no skimmer on for a a couple days is 8.0
With skimmer running 24/7 it's average is 8.33

With all that co2 in your house I would have thought the opposite:yes:

Edit: I was really try to find the formula that they base it on. Dave said that bubble king had been pretty accurate on their claims of ratings and was wondering if anyone had asked them or others how they obtained that rating. I realize that we all have different systems and methods that we employ to remove waste, organics etc. . I think probably most of them use the rating as a baseline.

 

[rhyerob]

Amici;816826 wrote: The million dollar question is what other filtration do you have? I would beat a fuge or DSB. The other factor is height of the chamber and dwell time for the foam fractionation to take place. I've placed larger skimmers on tanks and had them pull more darker liquid than the small skimmer right after putting it on.

Not saying you are wrong by any means and would love to see DT and filtration system pics since it sounds like you're doing something right! The one thing I learned about this hobby is there are tons of right ways and no wrong ways of doing something.....unless you cause a system to crash.

Smart you are. If you look at the display the left overflow flows into a 30 gal sub-sump which houses Both a fuge and a 7" DSB. This flows into a 100+ gallon rubber-made horse trough with 150-200 lbs of rock. The right overflow flows into this tank as well, and to push more water around I have a powerhead in there. From the rubber made it flows to a 40 gallon breeder which houses my skimmer, my ATO, and my return. Return feeds one-two (depending on amount i can produce/sell) frag tanks and the display. Frag tanks flow directly to 40 gallon sump. So...you are right, many variables. I'll admit that my bare bottom frag tank can get dirty pretty quick sometimes...if I don't siphon it out I can have some algae blooms...but that's if I'm lazy.

 

[rhyerob]

Also dwell time is not long enough in the 40 because I over bought my return pump (1900 gph...backed off to probably 1500 in a 40; however the frag tank does create a micro bubbling effect as it flows into the sump in the baffle before the skimmer which I believe helps the skimmer...but creates a TINY micro bubbling issue in the display)... but the water column is at the optimal hight recommended as I custom made the sump.