Les, why would the supliers of protein skimmers state that products are rated for 400l, 500l, etc and then we would need one that is rated at double our tank volume? It doesn't make any business or logcal sense?! I don't have any SPS, but even if I did, and I have a 350l water volume, does this mean my Reefoctopus sss 1000 buble master is not sufficient (rated at 400l)? Eish, this hobby can really be a questionable one at times.
SPS is hard core reefing. Its the experienced reefer playground so to speak. Those who are successfully running a SPS dominated system generally have the knowledge and experience to know exactly what they need. A SPS system needs to be a low nutrient environment so the idea is to get your water as clean as possible, sometimes even to the point where LPS stops to thrive.
Companies rate skimmers for the average user. Mixed reef with a few fish.
SPS dominated systems are less in numbers so these companies don't target these users when marketing their products, they target the average user.
Now we can start looking at brands:
A "cheaper" or lower down the food chain company may rate their skimmers for say 500L, however they do not indicate weather their rating is for a a Fish only system a mixed reef system or a SPS dominated system. So easier to produce/build skimmers which are cheaper but less effective but can be rated higher.
A more recognized brand like skimz for instance will rate their skimmer at 500L as well. But now the difference between the cheapo and the more expensive skimz skimmer would probably be, build quality, a better pump, better design (Cone shape which makes a huge difference) etc. So now skimz rates their more expensive skimmer at 500L as well. But because of the design, quality ect, it will most probably be intended for a mixed reef system, and a more truthful rating compared to the not so well designed cheapo skimmer which probably wouldn't be able to handle a mixed reef so well.
The rule of thumb is to give you headroom. Everyone wants to try the SPS frag they got here or there. Maybe add a rare fish you found at the LFS but now you're bordering overstocking. Maybe you go away for the weekend and something dies in the tank, the skimmer can now handle that.
When a company rates a skimmer they don't think about "this guy may have something dead in his tank for a day or two". They stretch the rating to the max to make it more attractive sitting on the store shelf. A few extra bucks on a skimmer could save your whole system which costs allot more. And EVERYONE looses a fish or coral somewhere along the line.
To come to the TS range.
You'll find that some sites rate the TS1,2,3 etc higher than others.
There's 2 reasons for this.
1st. Reef Octo lowered the the ratings on their older skimmers to make the new ones look more attractive.
2nd. Different pumps. A bigger pump on the same skimmer increases its effectiveness in most cases and I have seen stores advertise the same skimmers with different pumps rated to handle different amounts of water.
This is the one piece of the tank you should not skim (no pun intended
) on, unless you plan on having a but-load of extra live rock and kg's to Rand, the live rock is more expensive.
Have a
) then add rocks and water. Then my light ( oh my hat am still confused with lighting) still also need to get my hydrometer, some more test kits and that's that