What makes a good skimmer good?

TomToro

TomToro

The Old Guy
Oct 21, 2006
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0
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Michigan
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I have a Berlin HOB skimmer w/mag 7. 100gal w/50gal sump/ref.

When I had it on the back of the tank, it barely skimmed at all. After installing a sump/ref and putting it in the overflow section and raising the pump inlet to skim the surface water of the overflow section, I'm getting 3/4 of a cup of very dark, smelly sludge per week (I clean once weekly).

I feed heavily every three days and have two good sized tangs, 2 clarkiis, 2 madarins and a lawnmower blennie.

Q:What will a more expensive/better skimmer get me? More skimmate, better skimmate? Just wondering if it's worth it to upgrade to something like an ASM G3 or G4x.
Thanks,
Tom
 
Qualities of a good skimmer are pulling a large volume of skimmate, ability to adjust between wet skimmate and dry skimmate output as desired by the user and large "sweet spot" that doesn't need to be re-adjusted over time once it is dialed in.

If you're current skimmer meets your expectations on these issues and is keeping up with your bio-load (meaning that you aren't having algae blooms or high nitrate problems) then I don't see a need to upgrade. If your skimmer is lacking in any of these areas then go out and get a better one.
 
It could be argued that a good skimmer is one that does it's job with the least amount of fiddling.

Some skimmers need to be messed with daily. Ugh. Who wants to do that? And then there's always the worry of it overflowing...
 
I do adjust this thing frequently, but not sure I really need to. But...I still can't get my nitrates to 0. It's usually 5 to 10. Maybe it's time.

Thanks for the help,
Tom
 
atnixon said:
The skimmer, alone, is not there to remove nitrates..That is also accomplished by good water changes, deep sand beds, macro algae and de-nitifiers..

Niko
Click to expand...

Hey Niko,
I do the water changes religiously every 20 days, have the macro algae in the sump, still have some crushed coral I've yet to dispose of and what's the de-nitrifiers? I have about 160lbs or so of LR too. How about if I use a skimmer rated for twice my water volume? Or three?
Thanks,
Tom
 
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