Sump Advice.....

[JAWSIII]

Hi All, This is not my first sump but it is one that I purchased used with a custom stand and I have a few questions. The sumps I have owned or made in the past all had 3 chambers, this one has only 2. I have a fair amount of macroalgae from my smaller tank that I will be upgrading from. I really like the macro and its ability to help keep trates and phosphate under control. I also like the idea of a skimmer (although, I have run tanks w/o them in the past).

One of the things I am struggling with is if I do both macro and skimmer, where to put the skimmer? I know that I do not want it in the same chamber as the macro and I have never run a skimmer in the return compartment because I have been under the impression that the water moves faster and the level changes in that area. So I guess my first question is skimmer or No? and if so is it ok to run in the return compartment Or is it ok to put the macro in return assuming I have a filter over the pump intake.

This sump also has something that I have not seen and I have tried to look up others but am having a hard time. The chamber where the water comes in does NOT have a filter sock holder. It uses a square chamber with several large holes ( see Pic ) my guess is that is for filter floss or similar media. The person I bought it from used a sock shoved in there but it really is a PIA to get in and out. Has anyone seen this design before? It also creates a ton of foam bubbles (see pic) that may be due to the newness of the tank been setup only 3 days.

I am using the Varios 6 as a return plumbed external.

 

[blaxsun]

That's a lot of foam! I see what you mean about being a PITA to get that filter sock in and out.