Is a 100g skimmer ok for a 28g Nano tank?

[Afkomjorgen]

Hey,

I'm going to purchase the Instant Ocean SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer for 100g tanks and was wondering if there would be any repercussions to using it on an established 28g? Is too big an issue?

Thanks
Sierra

 

[Vwluv10338]

Yes. Too big is an issue because without the bio load it’s designed for it may not work efficiently.

 

[Gtinnel]

I'm not one to encourage people to go away from buying cheaper equipment but when I first got into the hobby many years ago my first skimmers were Seaclones and IME they're horrible, horrible skimmers. And there is absolutely no way a SeaClone 100 is anywhere near big enough for a 100g tank.

Ironically I do have one on my qt tank because I had the skimmer anyway and I'm pulling in outside air to raise my pH, not because I have any hopes of it skimming anything from the water

 

[Afkomjorgen]

Thank you for your help!

 

[Afkomjorgen]

Thank you for your help!

 

[Gtinnel]

Thank you for your help!

I realized I never fully answered the original question, which yes a protein skimmer will not function correctly if oversized for the aquarium bioload. If you insist on the SeaClone then I would say it probably isn't oversized for a 28g. The rating of 100g is not even close to realistic. Although again I suggest getting anything else.

 

[John08007]

Above posts are correct, without enough bioload there won't be enough protein in the water column to produce the bubbles needed for the waste to reach the collection cup. It will simply be aerating your water.

 

[Afkomjorgen]

I realized I never fully answered the original question, which yes a protein skimmer will not function correctly if oversized for the aquarium bioload. If you insist on the SeaClone then I would say it probably isn't oversized for a 28g. The rating of 100g is not even close to realistic. Although again I suggest getting anything else.

Thank you!
I’d love to upgrade to something better after but I just need something to fix the problem at hand right now so I can invest time on making a sump tank or something.

 

[Afkomjorgen]

Above posts are correct, without enough bioload there won't be enough protein in the water column to produce the bubbles needed for the waste to reach the collection cup. It will simply be aerating your water.

Well I do need some aeration in there. I guess I’ll see how it goes. We feed a lot so maybe it’ll be enough bio load.

 

[FTW-Reef]

Well I do need some aeration in there. I guess I’ll see how it goes. We feed a lot so maybe it’ll be enough bio load.

Looks like this post is a bit over a year old - did you end up getting it? How did it end up going?

 

[Afkomjorgen]

Looks like this post is a bit over a year old - did you end up getting it? How did it end up going?

My tank had zero filtration… so in some ways it helped by giving it aeration and some very small amt of filtration. Saved my tank from totally crashing so definitely a plus! BUT- I have upgraded to a larger tank with a sump and new skimmer and I can tell now that the cyclone never worked properly for my 28gal. I never had any gunk to clean out and it was often overfilling or just not lifting the bubbles high enough.