“Skimmer First” ?

Hello everyone,

New to the hobby and planning for a sump.

But I heard something interesting: *they advised placing the protein skimmer ahead of the filter socks/pad.

Would you prefer rotting material isolated in the collection cup... or rotting material caught in your filter sock, leaching nutrients into the passing water?

...but then you’ve got the skimmer pump exposed.

Is there a way to have my cake and eat it too?


*THEY: A scientific paper about keeping squids/cuttlefish in the lab... and a guy named Anthony Calfo.

In the case of a filter sock how would you run it after the skimmer? Some of the older skimmer ran there outlet into a filter sock but that was to help remove bubbles. Not sure I understand this setup

Ideally the point of mechanical filtration is that you clean it/toss it regularly so that it isn’t leaching into the water. Sure, if you never replace your filter socks it’s going to be an issue, but with regular maintenance I don’t really see why you wouldn’t use them before the skimmer so that it keeps the skimmer section of your sump cleaner.


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I like running the skimmer before the fuge. Helps in keeping micro bubbles from entering the display. I have found I get better performance running my fuge life 24/7. I know many people disagree with this but I have tried it both ways and 24/7 has produced better for me

Road warrior I might have the sump/skimmer you are looking for. LMK if you’re looking for a set up. ;)

But to answer your question, if I had to choose I would go refugium first, filter media, skimmer then another filter before the return pump.

Depends if you plan on pods in fuge and your return pump. I have fish that only eat pods so my set up is filter socks - skimmer - fuge. Small or baby pods can make it to display tank.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by russ13

In the case of a filter sock how would you run it after the skimmer? Some of the older skimmer ran there outlet into a filter sock but that was to help remove bubbles. Not sure I understand this setup

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Calfo:
"...any prefilter of water as with trickle filter pads (or filter socks, other mechanical media) not only robs the skimmer of solids that could otherwise be exported... but those trapped particles degrade in the system (burden water quality) rather than "rot" harmlessly in the skimmer cup. Always/only feed raw overflow water to your skimmer."

...so he might be ditching the sock altogether.

I’ve always worried about it “rotting in the sock” but every system has them. Idk how I feel about bigger matter going into the skimmer. Won’t it clog the holes? Will it actually skim into the collection cup or is it too big/heavy?

I like a system where you can replace filter media every few days easily.