what size skimmer

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kdogg85

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Messages
506
time to order a skimmer. have a 75g tank and was wondering do i get one sized to my tank or get one bigger than required. Also i seen some on ebay that were 30-50 bucks, are they okay or should i get a name brand
 
IMO skimmers are not what you want to skimp on. You get what you pay for with skimmers.
 
I was curoius as to the get what you pay for concerning skimmers. To me they looked like a simple water and air mixer and nothing more. I've never had one so i couldn't tell a ferrari from a yugo when comes to them so thank you all for the advice. I don't have a sump, but is a sump no more than an extra tank with a water inlet and outlet and what are the benefits to having one besides increased water volume. I only ask because i say i'll only have a few things(fish, corals, etc.) but will wind up with a long list of life to look after. So if a sump is beneficial, i'd sure like to know why
 
I was curoius as to the get what you pay for concerning skimmers. To me they looked like a simple water and air mixer and nothing more. I've never had one so i couldn't tell a ferrari from a yugo when comes to them so thank you all for the advice. I don't have a sump, but is a sump no more than an extra tank with a water inlet and outlet and what are the benefits to having one besides increased water volume. I only ask because i say i'll only have a few things(fish, corals, etc.) but will wind up with a long list of life to look after. So if a sump is beneficial, i'd sure like to know why

Don't know about the difference in skimmers because I don't run one. I just do very frequent water changes. The sump does a couple of things. Increased water volume like you mentioned, gets heaters and equipment out of the main display and gives you more options as far as phosphate reactors, calicum reactors, protein skimmers etc. you have more options such as ATO with a sump as well.
 
well i've done a bunch of reading on making one yourself. Can you just stick a tube with valve to adjust flow over the top and down to the bottom of the display tank to get water to feed into the sump. I read an article on overflow boxes and it made sese(why filter only the top few inches of water) plus i want to turn the entire tank over(water flowing everywhere in the system. Should the pump be sized to outrun the siphon tube and just put a valve to regulate flow on the pump
 
Don't even attempt to "just stick a tube with valve to adjust flow over the top and down to the bottom of the display tank to get water to feed into the sump". That is a disaster waiting to happen. You will never be able to match the siphon rate with the pump rate, plus what would stop the siphon if the power went out and the pump stopped? You have the potential of draining too much water out of the tank and overflowing the sump.

If you want to setup a sump, buy an overflow box. They aren't that expensive and when properly setup, are pretty much failsafe.
Overflow Boxes | Wet/Dry Aquarium Filters | Filters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com
 
ok, wouldn't an overflow box just draw water from the top few inches of the tank, that seems the way it works to me. I'm assuming I'm wrong but don't know why
 
ok, wouldn't an overflow box just draw water from the top few inches of the tank, that seems the way it works to me. I'm assuming I'm wrong but don't know why

It is called surface skimming and it is the desired method. the powerheads in your tank should ripple the surface and keep everthing uniform from top
to bottom in the tank
 
That sounds logical, the powerheads i have have hookups on the bottom to connect hoses to so it will draw tankwater to the top from the bottom, duh. didn't even think about that. I got a 40 gallon long tank to use for a sump and can i put my emperor 400 in it to filter the water or would that be best in the tank. the skimmer and heater will be in there also
 
well, a disaster has happened. the 40 gallon tank i got just got smashed by my dad helping me put in a water heater so for now i will have to get a hang on back skimmer. The one that sticks out to me the most is the octopuss bh300 dual. have read reviews on it and everyone seems dramatically impressed. have also looked at skilter filters and wondered if i could get one of those and use it just for the skimmer.
 
my personal favorite is the 800s. I believe they both have a chamber in them for filter media and sponges so you will not need your other filter
 
I ordered a octopus bh-300f. Cost me 160 bucks but the reviews i read said it was better than the 300 and could handle a larger bioload. thanks for the input everyone
 
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