What BK skimmer for SPS 900L system and why?

[Mortie31]

Hello
As in the title, I have a maximum height of 620mm which has to include getting the lid off as well, your advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[slief]

Originally Posted by Mortie31

Hello
As in the title, I have a maximum height of 620mm which has to include getting the lid off as well, your advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Given your display size and more importantly, the height limits, I would suggest the Double Cone 200. It's appropriately sized for your display as it can handle up to 1000 liters heavily stocked and with it's 550mm height, it's one of the only skimmers that we offer for your size display that would fit under your tank and still leave you room to get the lid off. It's also very well made and includes the RD3 pump. It would perform very well on your sized display and would prove very consistent. The other alternative would be the Mini 200 as it's 555mm tall and also rated to 1000 liters. That said, I would lean towards the Double Cone due to the fact that the pump is located outside the body on the Double Cone which makes regular maintenance/pump cleaning much easier as you don't need to take the skimmer apart, let alone remove the skimmer from the sump to clean the pump.

[Mortie31]

Thank you for your reply, what about the supermarin 250? Would it be overkill?

[slief]

Originally Posted by Mortie31

Thank you for your reply, what about the supermarin 250? Would it be overkill?

That would be WAY too large for you system. I run an Supermarin 250 on my 480 gallon display/650 gallon system with over 60 fish in it of which many are large and my tank is very heavily fed. It also wouldn't fit under your stand and allow room to get the lid off the skimmer.

You don't want to oversize these skimmers. They are conservately rated and they are work horses. You are much better off with a properly sized skimmer that is always working "consistently" hard than an oversized skimmer that is hardly having to work and is inconsistent as a result. If you oversize your skimmer, it will not be consistent because you won't have enough dissolved organics to maintain enough foam to keep the neck consistently filled with foam. Instead, the skimmer will produce for a day or two and idle along without producing for several days will the dissolved organics build back up in your system. The only way around that with an oversized skimmer is to run it really wet and deal with occasional overflows and or difficulty getting it really dialed in.

The two choices I gave you are honestly the best choices for your system and will provide you great performance and much easier tuning given your system size. Of the two, I'd lean towards the Double Cone 200 over the Mini 200 for the reasons I mentioned previously. Most importantly, both are terrific skimmers that are very well made and by far better than any other brand skimmers. Their construction alone sets the apart from the competition and the RD3 is by far the best skimmer pump you can buy.

[Mortie31]

Thank you very much the double cone it is then..