Skimmer for 40 gallon

[notenoughtanks]

Greetings, any opinions if a Double Cone 130 too large for a 40 breeder, 20 sump SPS setup with 6 fish?

[slief]

It would work but if you have a really low fish count, it may be inconsistent unless you run it wet.

[h3dgehog]

Originally Posted by slief

It would work but if you have a really low fish count, it may be inconsistent unless you run it wet.

What would you considered "enough" fish count / bio load for consistent performance on the 130 cone?

Realize that there are hundreds of fish combinations so perhaps I will give you a list of fish and you can illuminate on whether that is enough bioload to get good performance out of the 130 cone.

purple tang, clown pair, chromis, two wrasses and a cleaner shrimp.

[slief]

If you have 10-15 fish and feed daily, it would work great and be pretty consistent once you get it dialed in. Heck, it will work with less but keep in mind that a skimmer can only produce decent skimmate when there are sufficient dissolved organics in the water. With 6 fish, there won't be much in the way of organics in a 50 gallon total volume system but I think even with that low of a count, the 130 will be reasonably consistent. You will just need to fine tune it which the adjustable nozzle will allow for.

I have a Mini 160 on a 100 gallon system that is going to be an SPS tank. There is only 1 fish in there at the moment despite the tank being up and running for 5 months. Since the fish is a lawnmower goby that I rarely feed, the Mini 160 doesn't really produce much. My plan is to add some more fish down the line but given the load, I know what to expect.

[notenoughtanks]

Bummed I couldn't get a BK small enough. If it helps I went with a Deltec SCA1351 and with my 5 fish it is producing dark skimmate consistently although only about 6-8 oz/week.

[slief]

Originally Posted by notenoughtanks

Bummed I couldn't get a BK small enough. If it helps I went with a Deltec SCA1351 and with my 5 fish it is producing dark skimmate consistently although only about 6-8 oz/week.

The BK would have performed about the same. Their neck size and body diameter is about the same as the Double Cone 130 so the results would have been similar. That said, the Deltecs are good skimmers. My only gripe with Deltec is their support and service in the US as well as spare parts. That is something that has been historically lacking in the past and there has been a lot of change overs with the importers of their products. .