how important is skimmer placement in sump?

[jomatty]

In my 150 gallon tank that was built (for someone else) by one of the very well respected LFS in my area the sump design is different than I am accustomed to seeing. The sump is only two sections, the water drains into the refugium and the skimmer is in the final section before the in line pump. I have heard that it is most effective to have the skimmer before the refugium but do not know how much difference this really makes. The skimmer seems to be skimming plenty, and I believe that the store owner did this because he wanted to have a refugium and had a very limited space to work with and a 30 gallon sump for a 150 gallon tank.

Any info would be very much appreciated

 

[Emac909]

U really want ur skimmer in a section were the water level is constant. The fluctuating water level will not give u the best results.

 

[Bubbles_B]

U really want ur skimmer in a section were the water level is constant. The fluctuating water level will not give u the best results.

I agree. Place your skimmer in the same area as the drainage from your overflow for best results!!! Happy Reefing!

 

[Ian]

keep it as far from the return as possible to avoid micro bubbles...

 

[jomatty]

How big a deal is it? I would have to put in a new sump with a completely dicferent baffle arrangement. Will I just get slightly worse results or is there something even worse that can happen?

 

[mc-cro]

the advice given is all good stuff for optimal performance. but the world is not going to come to an end if you dont do them.

Are you seeing micro bubbles in the main tank? if not then dont worry about how close to the return it is

Is the skimmer production fluctuating? if not, then dont worry about water level fluctuations