mixed comments on skimmer size!!!!!!!

i have a 220ltr-58us gal-48.3 imp gal reef tank i am building up, ive built an 87 ltr sump that will probably only have 50-60 ltrs in it at any time but the next thing to go on would be my skimmer so i can add by baffles onto my sump.

now these are not cheap as we all know and i have a chance to aquire a v2 600 or a 500 at a fair price but speaking to a few lfs i am getting mixed emotions on skimmer sizes, one has told me that 600 would take too much nasties out and recomended a 200. from other sources i have been tried a sale of a 400 and speaking to some other people i have been told it doesnt really matter what size. my first thoughts were that a 300 would do the trick but some comments rom accross 3reef would be great

if i could do the 600 it would leave room in the future for a bigger tank ;D... aint got that far with the misses yet but im working on it

 

Welcome from where ever you are from. Here is the general rule.... There is no such thing as over skiming a tank. There is no such thing as taking too much stuff out. A skimmer will only take out what is there. Some corals can tolerate dirty water, some need it very clean, but that is a different discussion.

Skimmers operate within a range. If it is too big, then it does not have enough "dirt" to operate well and it will perform poorly. If it is too small, then obviously it will not clean out enough "dirt" from your system. The largest range a skimmer can span is from 1x-2x tank volume. So with your 220 ltr tank the largest skimmer you can place on it is one rated for 440 ltr.

Mind you, it will not operate "great" at 220 or at 440, but it will work OK. I am talking in heavy load numbers... don't bother looking at ratings of "light" load. Where you really want to be is 125%-150% of your actual tank volume. The sump you are adding won't count. Witha 220 ltr and a sump actual water volume will be about 200-220 ltr. Hope that helps.

 

+1 perfectly stated. Nice job Powerman !

 

lovely
thanks for that answer. so basically i could get a thousand litre skimmer but it will only take what it can. so getting a 600 wouldnt make a blind bit of difference other than if i were buying it new than i would probably be wasting needless money.

 

That's correct, it comes down to a large enough skimmer for your tank that fits your budget.

 

cheers bud

 

Agreed. I love deals and if you KNEW you were moving up in the near future... well maybe. But to buy a huge skimmer for a small tank is a waste of money, space, and power for no benefits.

 

+1. I would add people commonly suggest going 2x the rating of the skimmer. This may be reasonable, although, some companies rate their skimmers differently, some high, some low, so this turns out to be a bit arbitrary. I would say look at what others are using for a similar sized tank.
The one main benefit to a larger skimmer is if you plan to upgrade tanks at some point. Otherwise, a super-sized skimmer does not provide any benefit.