protein skimmer before cheato?

s2kchris305

New member
hi guys i got a question, im trying to be able to put some cheato in my cpr bak . the proccess goes as follows, water gets skimmed, then pases through white filter media than passes through cheato algae then through thin black filter media and back to tank. is there any issue with the cheato getting skimmed water ?
 
It sounds like your sump setup will be fine. Many people run sumps this way. The skimmer removes the proteins and bits of waste. But the chaeto algae, or other macro algae removes the NO3 and PO4 that is dissolved in the water, which a skimmer cannot remove.

If the chaeto were first in the system, much of the waste that will be trapped by your floss, and removed on a regular basis, would become incorporated in the algae and breakdown.
 
Also, algae needs a carbon source. The skimmer adds significant CO2 into the water for the algae to utilize. It very well may be negligible vs amount already in system, but don't see how it can hurt.
 
Agreed, don't think it matters one way of the other. Of course, I cannot seem to grow Chaeto worth a damn. It doesn't die, looks nice and green, but doesn't really grow either.
 
Your order is best also because the pods living in the algae can go into the tank without having to deal with the mechanical filter or the skimmers
 
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