Mechanical Filtration and Skimmers

[danielcassar]

i need an advice....i have a 50 gallon marine set up..and i have an overflow going to sump which is with bioballs etc..... do i still need to setup a mechanical filter??

and reagrds to protein skimmer im going to install haqos ps 600....do u have suggestions about it..if it is good or no

thanks
daniel

[leebca]

I moved your post into its own thread just to help keep things simpler.

ALWAYS use a mechanical filter. Every system, small to huge needs to be filtered mechanically. I prefer water be filtered down to 100 micron size particles. The point of having good circulation is to facilitate biological AND mechanical filtration. It prevents particulates from settling until the mechanical filter can grab them.

I'm not familiar with that kind of skimmer. They more or less all work. It isn't that complex of science. What IS important is that the flow rate through the skimmer is proper for the size system you have. That information is contained in this post: What is Water Quality. If it's working, you should find it needs cleaning every day or every other day.

[danielcassar]

thanks lee ALWAYS Helpful...regards the mechanical filter do have any suggestions on what power and what brand. thanks

daniel

[leebca]

I'm afraid I don't know what's available to you and I don't know your system, nor do I know its size.

For my quarantine tank I use a canister filter that turns over twice the volume of my tank every hour. That is, if it's rated for a 100 gallon aquarium, I buy one that will handle a 200 gallon aquarium. This I do until the aquarium reaches 300+. Then I use a sock on the return water and the return pump should be doing no less than 3x the volume of water in the system every hour.

A lot also has to do with bio load. The higher the bio load the more mechanical and biological filtration, and circulation you should have.