Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr OM
That is the whole point Mike.
Firstly we all have overflow commonly called prefilter boxes...Why call them this?
Because they are moving the surface water only from the tank when done properly, If you imagined that fish waste, coral waste and detritus was similar to oil it isn't hard to visualize oil floating on the surface of the DT, the prefilter box is there to remove it, the slower the removal the more concentrated that would be , if the extraction rate is increased the oil is mixed with more water and becomes diluted.
So this oil/ water mix then goes to the sump where some use filter sock for containing large bits etc, it then should enter the skimmer as concentrated as possible and then the skimmer can do it's job properly.
Why anyone would want to keep returning dirty water continuously back to the tank so they can keep skimming a little at a time is beyond me, get it out get rid of it and return clean water back to the tank.
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Agreed.
Slowly we can see the use of closed loops falling out of favour because of the high energy costs and a number of other reasons (tank wall integrity, OMs, maintenance, etc). That leaves powerheads and propeller pumps. Many people, a long time ago, decided they preferred to not have PHs in their tanks long term, if not for the appearance, then for safety. That leaves propeller pumps which are very costly once you get beyond, well, one. For this reason I think we will see large volume returns continue.
I don't use a pre-filter so I have nothing to add about that. I do use filter socks but that's just to reduce bubbles in the sump.