Is it possible to over skim??

Im looking into buying a skimmer soon and after all the adivce from you guys on here I want a Reef Octopus, I found this one on marinedepot.com and after looking around a lot this price is a great deal. But its rated for 100 gallon tank and mine is only a 36 gallon. What do you think, should I keep looking?

Reef Octopus Needle/Pin Wheel Protein Skimmer

 

I have the same model in my tank, but the one rated for 150 gallons.

The Reef Octopus skimmer is very powerful, and I personally don't recommend you get that one. You should get one that's rated for your tank size, or it may be overkill.

I have talked to other hobbyists and they say that overpowered skimmers might not be good for the system. It might skim off some nutrients that you don't want gone.

 

That's a question with lots of debate. But...

General consensus is no, you cannot over-skim.

However, you can buy a skimmer that's too big and it won't produce consistently since it has nothing left to pull from the water column.

Getting something rated bigger than the tank you have is not a bad idea, but that does have it's limits.

I really can't comment beyond that, as I'm not a skimmer expert, so I won't begin to guess if that model has exceeded that limit for you or not.