Skimmer Questions
 

Hello everyone! I'm in the planning stages of setting up an 57gallon tank and was wondering if I need to worry about the flow rate of a skimmer in my sump. The Megaflow overflow on the tank is rated for 600gph and the Eheim 1260 pump I'm eyeing is roughly the same flow. Does my skimmer need to have the same flow through it? Thanks!

No so long as your skimmer is an in sump unit and is of the appropriate compacity to handle your tank

Like Mike stated, the short answer is no

Apparently, for an in-sump skimmer to work efficiently, the optimum flow-rate through your sump is 6.1x your total volume
Keep this in mind when you calculate your return pump head loss
The 1260 you mentioned may be a bit much for your tank, depending on your plumbing

The skimmer itself, if a $350-500 model ( just a guide ), should be rated for twice what you are building
57g tank, I'd buy a skimmer rated for 100-125g
If you buy a super expensive model, in most cases you can count on it's rating

Thanks for the info.

even an external (out of sump skimmer) will be ok, as long as it draws and returns to the sump.

Steve

I ended up buying the Eheim 1260 pump. From pump to top of the tank is just over 5' so it shouldn't over power the skimmers I'm looking at. I just saw the CAD Lights pipeless skimmer. Anyone have experience with it or with their cone skimmer? I like that its made in the USA. I've seen good reviews from Reefbuilders but I'm not sure how reliable they are...

I was looking at the Cad Lights 1150 I think, and decided they were a bit overpriced so i got myself a BM Curve 7 for a 75g display with a 17g refugium and 15g sump... this skimmer is rated 185-245g running on approximately 100g of water, so its a little overkill but I shall see how it goes. It was shipped to my door for $262

So far its been working great and its pulling out some smelly gunk, but I still somehow have to get it properly dialed in due to water fluctuations in sump :(

Thinking about purchasing a Elite Aquatics model 2 sump for $299 and replacing my entire sump/refugium which is currently running under my tank.

Edit: I was just looking at the Cad Light pipe-less skimmer and its listed at 174.99 vs 189.99 for the BM Curve5 and honestly I would much rather go with the curve 5 over the cad lights for an extra 15$... that's of-course if you have the space in the sump for a Curve 5

Those EA sumps look very nice. I got a used Ecosystems sump and will try to work with it. Huge 2nd chamber but the 1st and 3rd are very small. I can only put the skimmer and live rock rubble and maybe some chaeto in the 2nd chamber for now. if it doesn't work, and I decide I need to have room for a proper refugium, I'm considering the Trigger Systems CRY30. The design is very much like the EA but it's cheaper.