What are advantages/disadvantages to hang-on/sump skimmers?

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runway1

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What are the pros and cons of choosing a sump vs. a hang-on type protein skimmer?

Thanks all.
 
Usually you can get a bigger more effiecent skimmer for the sump, and have less chance of bubbles getting into the tank, and it is less clutter in the tank/on the back of the tank. HOB is great for convenience, and ease of cleaning the collection cup. Due to the size restrictions, you are more limited to the type of HOB and its capacity.

Also, a lot of HOB skimmers can be made to work in a sump as well... What type of setup do you have???
 
Just shopping now and wondering which to get. Switching my 55 gal fw to sw. Btw, how noisy are these? It's hard to gage in an lfs. Is noise an issue? If so, I would presume that the sump version lessens that, correct?

Thanks for the input!
 
All skimmers do make noise, but it is not too bad for the ones I have heard. If you really need a quiet one, I would reccomend an in-sump skimmer, then you can stick it under the tank and the tank stand will muffle a lot of the noise. You can even soundproof the tank stand if you really had to.
 
I have the reef devil connected to my wet/dry outside of the sump. At first it takes about a week or two to break in and get the water level lined up. The most noise you should hear from models similar is the air escaping. Once broken in, the noise should begin to dissipate. However, the water going into my wet/dry probably masks some of the noise from the skimmer that I am not hearing.
 
I found that the biggest advantage to the sump variety is that if it overflows it does it in the sump and not on the floor.
 
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