building a sump, how much room for skimmer?

Discussion in 'Protein Skimmers' started by dixiedog, Jan 20, 2009.

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  1. dixiedog

    dixiedog Coral Banded Shrimp

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    377
    Location:
    Gainesville, FL
    I'm building a sump out of a 40gal breeder for my 75 gal tank.

    I have not yet selected a skimmer, and I realize I may use several different ones over the life of the sump.

    How much room should I leave for the footprint of a protein skimmer for a 75 gal tank, to be on the safe side?

    I believe in going big BTW. ;)

    Thanks!!
     
    dixiedog, Jan 20, 2009
    dixiedog, Jan 20, 2009
    #1

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  2. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    Messages:
    3,153
    Location:
    St. Louis
    well you will want as much room as possible...as the newer skimmers have very big footprint. I could not get any that would fit into my new sump. The Red Sea C-skim was 16" at the bottom and then got bigger as it went up, hydor 500D was 18" ...so I would say at least 24" of room as you will end up with other things in there also..such as pumps for other things (sterilizer, etc)
     
    schackmel, Jan 20, 2009
    schackmel, Jan 20, 2009
    #2
  3. PharmrJohn

    PharmrJohn The Dude

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2008
    Messages:
    4,622
    Location:
    Shelton, Washington
    For a 75g tank, I would recommend the following skimmers....Go ahead and google to find the footprints for them. They are all good skimmers with a bit of room to upgrade.

    PM Bullet-1 (or 2 depending on how aggressive you want your skimming)
    ETSS 600XR
    AquaC EV-120 (or EV-180 depending on how aggressive you want your skimming)
     
    PharmrJohn, Jan 20, 2009
    PharmrJohn, Jan 20, 2009
    #3