If you only use 50 micron filter socks/roller to "polish" the water - do you need a smaller skimmer...?

[salty150]

If you only use 50 micron filter socks/roller to "polish" the water - do you need a smaller skimmer than if you used 200 micron filter socks...?

 

[RedoubtReef]

Protein skimmers might remove some particulate matter from the water I assume but, it's the 'proteins' that it really collects and removes. You are not removing those same proteins with filter media. So I'd say no, you still need a skimmer based on your bioload.

 

[salty150]

I asked because I thought I saw a BRS YouTube video where they were talking about the 10/20 biggest mistakes people make when buying/using a protein skimmer...

And I thought one of the mistakes was not taking into account your pre-skimmer filtration when deciding on which size skimmer you need...

And then Red Sea's new RollerMat says that its 200 micron fleece (when every other fleece roller manufacturer uses 50-100 micron) - makes their new RollerMat "skimmer friendly"...

 

[RedoubtReef]

Interesting. I ran filter socks for years and then just stopped. I never really noticed any negative impact on skimmer performance after I quit using them.
Similarly, the Triton method does not use filter socks if I remember this correctly.

 

[Dolphis]

I asked because I thought I saw a BRS YouTube video where they were talking about the 10/20 biggest mistakes people make when buying/using a protein skimmer...

And I thought one of the mistakes was not taking into account your pre-skimmer filtration when deciding on which size skimmer you need...

And then Red Sea's new RollerMat says that its 200 micron fleece (when every other fleece roller manufacturer uses 50-100 micron) - makes their new RollerMat "skimmer friendly"...

I got the RS reefmat when it first came out and love it!
I remember Ryan from BRS mentioning that with a roller mat, a skimmer was pretty much unnecessary and bought it with that thought in mind, though it wasn’t the primary reason why I bought it.

Since putting it in, I haven’t noticed any major reduction in skimmer performance.
Initially, I thought I was going to downgrade to a smaller skimmer, but have kept it as is