Protein skimmer, Hang it or Hide it.

[Calvin]

The only thing I'm missing in my system ( or so I'm told) it a protien skimmer. I have a Berlin right now but it not running. I'm looking for opinions. Should I put the berlin in a sump/ ref below the tank or forget about the sump/ ref altogether and buy a hang on the back. What are the pros and cons of each.

TIA
Calvin

[jamal-188]

I've always thought that the sump models work a little better than the hang on back but I don't have any experience with the hang on back so I cannot comment directly.

[EMS503]

I ran my Berlin both ways and really didn't see a difference in how it worked.
The main reason I placed mine in my sump was to get rid of the big PH sitting in my tank, Kind of takes away from the natural look. The sump is a great way to get the hardware out of the main tank and hide it.

[Calvin]

Are there any benifits to adding a sump/ ref to my system. is so what are they?

[Biggen]

I gotta tell you that from my experience with the SeaClone 100 (yeah, I know) it works better when hung on instead of being down in the sump. That is because you have to have the venturi device about 2-3 inches under the water line for it to work properly. When I had it in my sump it was 9 inches under the water. That was too deep for it to work efficiently. So what did I do? I simply hung it on the sump. Works much better this way.

[snapcrackler]

I have a visi jet 100 and it generates skanky foam so I would say it's working, but I would really like to have something that does not fall apart if you touch it and something that doesn't require an opening in your tank for a big smoked tube to poke out.

IMHO.