Filters, Phosban/Charcoal & Protein Skimmers

[randoma]

Assuming you use some sort of mechanical filtration (filter sock, filter cartridge, floss..etc) do you filter before, after, or in parallel with your protein skimmer? Why?

Same question for Phosban/Charcoal... Also, how often do you run phosban/charcoal?

What is your total flow gph/tank volume for each?

 

[JayM]

Split between refugium and filter sock for particulates, then skimmer, then purigen to further clean the water......sump full of LR. Refugium water drains into sump so hopefully some pods, etc, make it back up into the display

 

[randoma]

Does all of the water go through the protein skimmer everytime around, or just part? Or am I reading that wrong and you have two water paths - refugium->sump AND filter sock->skimmer->purigen->sump?

 

[smcnally]

You would have very slow flow through your sump if all your water went through the skimmer before returning to the display. For the last year and a half I have had all my display water enter my sump through a filter sock. Then it goes through a refugium and into the next chamber that contains my skimmer. Next to the skimmer has been a phosban reactor running carbon. Recently, I've become tired of all the filter sock cleaning and carbon changing, so I turned up my skimmer some and removed everything else. It has been running for about a week this way so I haven't had much time to see a difference, but I'm hoping I can keep my water close to as clear as it was that way.

 

[JayM]

Does all of the water go through the protein skimmer everytime around, or just part? Or am I reading that wrong and you have two water paths - refugium->sump AND filter sock->skimmer->purigen->sump?

2 water paths......intentionally, as i was trying to cheap out and use gravity feed to have flow through the refugium.

 

[randoma]

smcnally - that would really depend on the size of the protein skimmer, and your total flow-through-sump, wouldn't it?

If you figure a "normal" size skimmer flows 1-200gph, if you had a 50-60 gallon tank, having everything flow through the skimmer wouldn't be unreasonable. (And yes, I realize that there's a certain level of idiocy in saying "normal" size.)