Protein Skimmers for Aquariums With Sumps

Welcome to Simple Reefs. This is a brand new website dedicated to taking the complexity out of Marine Aquarium Ownership. Our goal is to show you how you can own your very own slice of the ocean without spending a fortune. As well as giving you tons of easy to digest information on all things marine. Today we are going to be talking about protein skimmers for aquariums with sumps.

If you have missed any of our previous articles on protein skimmers, feel free to click on the links below. We are aiming to get you fully clued up on what protein skimmers are and how they work. As well as telling you whether you need one in your aquarium and what are the pros and cons.

If you have decided that a protein skimmer would be a good addition to your marine aquarium ownership journey. You are now left with one simple question. Which protein skimmer will be right for me? Well, that depends on a few things.

Table of Contents

If You Have a Sump

So let’s say your marine aquarium is fairly large and connected to a sump or you are about to design a sump for your aquarium as detailed in this article by Reef Stable. When it comes to which type of protein skimmer is right for your aquarium. You are, effectively, in the best case scenario and have an absolute abundance of options. Having a sump opens up the majority of the protein skimmer world to you.

A diagram showing the parts of a protein skimmer by simple reefs

Your sump will, almost certainly, have a centre chamber where you can place your protein skimmer. Hell, it may even have a dedicated chamber purely for the protein skimmer, alone. You are going to be able to have your pick of the bunch.

The only thing you will need to give serious consideration to is the capacity of your display and sump, your bioload, and the size available to you for physically fitting the protein skimmer into your sump. Being able to add a protein skimmer stand to raise your protein skimmer to the optimal height in the water means a ton of options are open to you.

I would hasten to add that there are options for other types of marine aquarium setups and we are covering all of those this week. Articles will be coming up very shortly so click here to take a look at all of our articles on skimmers. I should probably point out, as well, that we have a separate feature on Protein Skimmers for Nano Aquariums with Sumps as the needs are slightly different. Feel free to check that out if that applies to you.

Which Type of Protein Skimmer?

One thing you may have noticed when looking through aquarium equipment listings is the sheer number of different types of protein skimmer. There are an abundance of them ranging in prices from absurdly cheap to ridiculously expensive.

Incredibly basic protein skimmers that simply consist of a collection cup, a reaction chamber, and a piece of cedar wood can be as cheap as £10. While absolutely enormous things designed for huge tanks can be upwards of £500 a pop.

That’s without mentioning DC and AC pumps. All of these options can leave you feeling confused and wondering which type of protein skimmer is right for your aquarium. With this in mind, we need to answer a few different questions. Namely..

How big is your aquarium?
How many fish do you plan to own?
Do you plan to keep SPS Coral?

All of these things factor into your decision on which type of protein skimmer you will want to buy. There are two, ultimately, crucial factors in every scenario.

It Comes Down to Budget, Space, and Bioload

This decision will come down to, simply, your budget, the space in your sump, and your bioload. The first two things are obvious, right? How much can you afford to spend and do you have enough space in your sump to accommodate a protein skimmer that might be quite wide at the bottom and quite tall. Remember, we have to be able to access the collection cup and we need room around the skimmer for water to flow.

Protein skimmer capacity varies depending on your aquarium's bioload. — Bioload is an important factor in choosing a protein skimmer.

Get your tape measure out and jot down how much horizonal and vertical space you have in your sump’s skimmer chamber. The other factor is a little more complicated. When we talk about bioload we mean the amount of fish, and creatures, living in your aquarium. More fish means a greater bioload. A greater bioload means more need for waste removal.

Your required level of waste removal is going to depend, heavily, on whether, or not, you own coral. If you own coral, your aquarium’s needs begin to change a lot. Certain soft coral like mushrooms, Zoas, Kenya Tree and Toadstools aren’t going to kick up a fuss about your water being a bit dirty. In fact, some soft coral will thrive in these conditions. Absolutely loving the extra nutrients.

When you begin to add more delicate coral, however, you can start to encounter big problems. More complex stony corals like Acropora will absolutely demand low nutrient water and stability. If you have a bunch of fish crapping in there, things are going to get pretty upset pretty fast. That’s where our protein skimmer comes in.

Aquarium Size and is Bigger Always Better?

My protein skimmer is slightly oversized for my aquarium

Protein skimmers are rated for a specific size of aquarium. For example, the protein skimmer in my main aquarium is rated for 400-700 litres. This means that, when well tuned, it can efficiently skim the water of an aquarium up to 700 litres. The bigger the protein skimmer, the faster it can turn over the water.

So should we factor protein skimmer size into our purchasing decision? After all, the bigger the better, right? Well, that’s not always the case with protein skimmers. In fact, it can become difficult to tune a protein skimmer that is oversized for your aquarium. That’s without mentioning the issues that can come from too much skimming.

If the water is skimmed to the point of nutrient deficiency. You could encounter problems. That’s not to say that you should just buy a protein skimmer that is bang on the size range of your aquarium. It can never hurt, in marine fishkeeping, to buy bigger. Just don’t go crazy.

A bigger skimmer may mean you don’t need to upgrade if you change aquarium in the future. It will, also, process the water faster so should be more efficient. It’s worth remembering that you can make a larger protein skimmer skim slowly but you can’t make a smaller protein skimmer skim fast.

I would suggest a protein skimmer that is rated up to 25-50% larger than your aquarium. So, for example, if you have a 400 litre aquarium, buy a protein skimmer rated for between 400 litres to 600 litres. You should have far more flexibility, there, and should be able to avoid too many problems.

What About Bioload?

If you have a lot of fish or fairly delicate coral and require cleaner water. I would double down on the above statement and opt for a slightly oversized skimmer. Each protein skimmer should have a rated bioload. Meaning it will state how many litres of water it is capable of processing depending on whether your bioload is heavy, medium, or light.

It’s best to assume that, if you have a few fish, you have a medium bioload. Any more and you will be in the heavy range. If you go up in size. The protein skimmer may take longer to dial in but you will be worrying far less about your water being clean. It is always worth checking the rated bioload.

A diagram explaining how bioload works in a marine aquarium — More fish leads to more waste which leads to more nitrates in your water.

If you are a fish only, with live rock, aquarium. You may as well buy the biggest protein skimmer you can fit in the sump while still being within the range of your aquarium’s capacity. For example, if you have a 500l aquarium, buy one rated for 500-800l. You don’t need to worry about nutrients so a bigger protein skimmer will afford you less frequent water changes. That can only be a good thing, right?

Just be sure, when using large protein skimmers, to check your salinity fairly frequently. In theory, salt is hydrophilic so shouldn’t be skimmed out of the water but it can happen.

AC or DC?

This is another factor that is likely to pop up in your protein skimmer journey. Skimmers can come in AC or DC forms but what does that mean? Well, it is pretty simple. It refers to the water pump that is included with the skimmer.

An AC pump is a very basic water pump. They use a little more electricity and don’t tend to be adjustable. They do last a long time, though, and are designed to be ran into the ground. Your most basic of basic water pumps will be AC. For example, those All Pond Solutions range and the basic Fluval and Tunze pumps.

A DC pump will, often, feature a controller to allow you to adjust the speed of the pump and will be more energy efficient but, also, more prone to breakages. The vast majority of return pumps used in sumps are DC pumps, hence why they include a controller. A DC pump will allow you to tune your protein skimmer more easily but they tend to be more expensive.

Expensive Protein Skimmer Options?

There world is your oyster if you have a decent amount of money to spend. The options are extensive and you will, really, have to read into reviews, features, and user experiences to find one that you really love.

Red Sea DC 900 Protein Skimmer — Red Sea’s line of DC protein skimmers are very good but very expensive

High end protein skimmers offer a few perks that you just won’t find in the budget lines. Most tend to be more efficient, wireless control is a common option, some are maintenance free and most are extremely silent.

Red Sea offer an extensive range of protein skimmers that cost a lot of money but are very efficient and require limited maintenance. The Red Sea DC300, 600, and 900 are particularly nice examples that will set you back a fair chunk of change but will last a life time.

I am very partial to Maxspect’s line up. The Aeraqua Duo AD600 has a dual intake and dual needle wheel to skim like crazy. It also has wireless operation as well as an external controller like the ones you find on their gyres. Watching this thing in action feels like an evolution of the technology. Deltec also have a very well regarded line of pricey protein skimmers.

Tunze’s Comline DOC 9012 is a nice midrange option that comes with an external controller. Ultra Reef are knocking it out of the park with their Akula UKS series. Bubble Magus have a midrange line in the form of their Curve Extreme skimmers that are very well liked. You could also get into the subject of recirculating skimmers but that is an article for another day.

I Am On A Budget?

There are plenty of options to accommodate all needs. Again, research is important to making the correct choice. There are lots of personal, user, experiences on forums like Ultimate Reef and Reef 2 Reef so be sure to read up.

A Reef Octopus Classic 110 Protein Skimmer — Reef Octopus make great quality, affordable, protein skimmers

If you can’t afford to spend a great deal of money. There are certain brands that specialise in very economical solutions. Bubble Magus, for example, offer big savings for large aquariums with their Curve range while not compromising on quality. Reef Octopus are another brand that can be quite affordable. Their Classic range is very nice and offers options for all sizes of aquariums.

Simplicity have a nice range of good value protein skimmers that are very well liked but I struggle to find them here in the UK. If you would like to stick with British made, TMC (Tropical Marine Centre) have a range of options including the very affordable Reef Skim Pro.

Aqua One is an even more budget brand that I have heard pretty good things about. Aquavitro protein skimmers are affordable and look pretty futuristic but they, apparently, aren’t very good and are difficult to tune.

Buying a second hand protein skimmer is another potential economical option. If I head onto eBay right now, I can see a Maxspect SK400 for a third of its retail price. I am tempted to purchase that, myself (it sold about an hour later). There are loads of options. How about a Red Sea 600 or a Red Sea RSK 300? Both less than a third of their retail price. You will be surprised by how much money you can save on used marine fishkeeping equipment.

In Short

There are protein skimmer options for the vast majority of scenarios. Be it high bioload, minimal bioload, high budget, low budget, or somewhere in the middle. There is a protein skimmer out there that will suit your needs perfectly. Thanks for reading.