"all skimmers perform best in 8" to 10" of water" ???

yea its 12.5x 12 according to
Super Reef Octopus Cone Skimmer XP-2000 internal Reef Specialty

 

I don't know how they come up with the footprint size but on my octo extreme 300 it said the footprint was 13" x 17" and lucky for me I didn't put my baffles in my sump till I got my skimmer because the footprint was more like 19" x 14" so add a little extra to the stated footprint size.

 

For some strange reason I had the Octo 200 in my head not he 2000 he is looking at. I must be confused with another thread where we were talking about 200s

Anyway.... I don't think it would be the end of the world.... but a 2000 on a 65 would be overkill. Unnecessary if you do not see moving to a bigger tank in the future.

I have a 90g with a 60g sump.... yet my actual (calculated with all the rock and sand) is only 110 gallons.

A Octo 160 would be a good size.

I'm curious too.... you "calculated" what your overflow amount is or you know what it is? A return section of a 20 is not much room. I fill my skimmer/return section of my 60g 4 inches and my returns are drilled at the water line.

 

good to know

I didn't have a true value I just estimated how much water would be in the pluming. And you think that the xp-2000 on a 65 would be overkill. Possibly. I'll look at the 160, THERES JUST SOOOO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!!!!!!!!!

 

What about a Reef Octopus NWB 150 Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer Reef Octopus NWB 150 Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer* - AquaCave

 

Actually, I was speaking of this.

http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus-extreme-160-br-protein-skimmer-br-by-coralvue-2199.html

Even one of these by Vertex.

http://www.aquacave.com/vertex-in-100-in-sump-br-protein-skimmer-br-generation-2-2505.html

Solid skimmer, pump, features and price. Would be good for your deep sump.

Like I said, the 2000 would not be GIGANTIC, just a bit big if you are not going bigger.

I would strongly encourage you to rethink your baffling and sump size. My return are drilled an inch below the water, and my overflow is not standard, so I still back flow and inch of my tank and some of my overflow. So you might not back flow as much as me, but I can pretty much guarantee you it will be more that "just the plumbing".

No need to trip out. A 20g is good and you will have room for your stuff. Just be sure to do some test runs and allow for enough room for backflow when the pump is off.

 

Thanks for the info. A 20 G is about the biggest tank I could put under the stand. I haven't glued the baffles (just a blueprint of the design) so I will be able to get a better Idea once I test the system. Just want to get the most gallons out of it since it's such a small sump. BTW I like the 160 you linked for me. I noticed it's already on a stand to incorporate the pump.

 

BF I think you will be happy with either skimmer. The 160 will work on your sized system just fine. I'm an overskimmer and always have been

 

Do you have a reef ready or a siphon overflow? My return go over the wall. Before when I used the reef ready my return was an inch below the water line, so that is how much I back flowed. So you need to have siphon breaks near the water line to ensure you do not siphon as deep as the returns are. Plenty of folks use a 20g for a sump and you will be able to work it out.

 

It's "reef ready" drilled overflow. Not sure the pvc size at this moment but I do know it's rated for 600GPH flow