One large skimmer or 2 medium skimmers?

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by Bblinks

I say go big or go home. one large is my vote.

What if one large fails and you're on vacation? (this happen to me and I had cyano for a month an half)

Also you can't skim wet and dry at the same time

[Hustler]

My skimmer has been running 24 hrs and it looks like an old hippys bong.....LOL
mine is good for 300-1000 gallons.... and I dont think it will even need replacing
the go big or go home theory has always been my motto

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by Hustler

My skimmer has been running 24 hrs and it looks like an old hippys bong.....LOL
mine is good for 300-1000 gallons.... and I dont think it will even need replacing
the go big or go home theory has always been my motto

What skimmer is rated 300-1000 gallons? That's such a huge margin

[Vitaminz]

Well since you are playing the what if senario, what if while on vacation your 2 inexpensive pumps die??? Rather spend the money of the better pump.

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by Vitaminz

Well since you are playing the what if senario, what if while on vacation your 2 inexpensive pumps die??? Rather spend the money of the better pump.

Sorry I never said inexpensive. My question is based on size. I don't plan on using 2 shitty skimmers

[lastlight]

I know I've read a few times over the years that 2 skimmers can somehow limit each other and that a single appropriately rated one will out-perform them. I don't recall the rationale but my instinct is to run one.

Having said that I've run across a few amazing large tank builds over at RC running 2 although if I recall correctly they were both high-end skimmers each already rated to handle the user's load.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by lastlight

I know I've read a few times over the years that 2 skimmers can somehow limit each other and that a single appropriately rated one will out-perform them. I don't recall the rationale but my instinct is to run one.

Having said that I've run across a few amazing large tank builds over at RC running 2 although if I recall correctly they were both high-end skimmers each already rated to handle the user's load.

I'm running 2 skimmers on my system, I had wondered if they would limit each other but so far they don't seem to be and both work fairly well.

The reason I ended up with two is that I had a pump fail on my SWC 250 cone skimmer and I couldn't afford a new skimmer rated for over 700g. So I got a Skimz SM252 skimmer, to run in the mean time, and then eventually I replaced the SWC pump and now I'm running both.

[Vitaminz]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

Sorry I never said inexpensive. My question is based on size. I don't plan on using 2 shitty skimmers

I meant as you get up in size for pumps, they are made with better parts than the lower end pumps. That is what I meant by cheaper.

[TimT]

IMO one skimmer would be best. Less cost overall, less space taken up and less work to maintain and clean. Dwell time is also important in skimming so a larger skimmer would give you higher dwell time. If you use ozone it becomes even more important.

For example 2 x 4"dia skimmer = 25 sq in of area while 1 x 8" dia skimmer = 50.25 sq in of area.

I could always sell you my used "Big Bertha" skimmer, it is 33" diameter and 8' tall.

Cheers,
Tim

[Lampshade]

Most extra large systems i've seen use 2 large retail skimmers rather than one custom. Seems like a great system for redundancy, etc. Larger doesn't always mean better, I'd take 2 BK mini's over most 300 gallon skimmers. If you're planning on spending a bunch of money i'd go for 2 smaller ones. But, 250-300 gallon rating isn't a HUGE skimmer, so there's lots of available options that will skim damn near anything you have, unless you're going NPS :P.