Who rates skimmers

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Canadian

A good skimmer removes both DOC and solid particulate. For instance I've had shrimp molts end up in my skimmer cup. I want my skimmer to remove as much solid particulate as possible before it becomes DOC - hence the reason for not having a filter sock that requires constant changing.

While this might happen from time to time I assure you protein skimmers work on a molecular level and are not effective at filtering out particles greater than a fraction of a millimeter. The fact that it collected such items is more of a coincidence than a function. It will also only filter particles that float or are basically neutrally buoyant. This will also likely cause more maintenance requirements to keep your skimmer clean and working efficiently. Skimmers will work better for longer with a mechanical pre-filter. Quite simply you're just justifying an omission.