Cheato and protein skimmer position in sump help....

[my5girls]

Cleaning my sump....cheato before the protein skimmer or after? Does it matter? Right now I have the cheato after protein skimmer but now I’m thinking that may be wrong.....

[mcgyvr]

Really doesn't matter much..
Whatever works best for your sump layout.
From what I've seen most people do it after the skimmer as their skimmer is typically the first chamber where the water drains from the sump then a fuge is added prior to the return pump..
The Triton method seems to suggest it before.
Neither has been proven to be superior to the other.

Remember to shield the skimmer from the light used on the Chaeto to avoid excessive algae,etc.. growth inside the skimmer body..

[my5girls]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Really doesn't matter much..
Whatever works best for your sump layout.
From what I've seen most people do it after the skimmer as their skimmer is typically the first chamber where the water drains from the sump then a fuge is added prior to the return pump..
The Triton method seems to suggest it before.
Neither has been proven to be superior to the other.

Remember to shield the skimmer from the light used on the Chaeto to avoid excessive algae,etc.. growth inside the skimmer body..

Thank you. I have a Trigger Emerald 34 sump. I tried to move the skimmer to after the chaeto and it will not work in the second chamber without touching cords to my heater. So it stays skimmer, chaeto, then return. I have the Tunze MAR 3181 with the LED strip down the reactor. Not much light spill at all. I have been running it for a month now and no algae growth except inside the reactor.

[mcgyvr]

With a reactor like that position in the sump doesn't matter..
You still have the option to stick the outlet tube of the reactor right near the skimmer inlet.