plumbing skimmer to fuge - yes or no?

[pinkpearl]

Can I plumb the output of my skimmer to my fuge? I've read conflicting information and wanted to see what the general consensus is. One theory is that the water from your skimmer is ideal because it is highly oxygenated, the other theory is that the nutrients have already been skimmed from the water therefore not enough nutrients left for your macro. So... what do you think?

[tinyreef]

bump

 

kinda depends on what type of fuge you're running. if it's an algae scrubber-type the addt'l O2 doesn't matter as CO2 is a growth agent.

 

if it's a LR/LS microfauna generator the addt'l O2 would be nice but inhibits some food sources for the filter feeders or nanofeeders that make up the lower food pyramid tiers.

 

there are other types but those two are the most common. i wouldn't let the skimmer output serve as the only flow input for the fuge. imo it would be better to let them operate independently rather than in such a sequence. you should be getting the same filtration levels regardless but the suggested sequencing limits the diversity of the fuge.

 

the more biodiverse you can let the fuge get the better the balance for your system. in closed systems such as ours, target species (e.g. anemones, predators, corals, etc.) can decimate portions of the ecosystem. one of the fundamental reasons for a fuge is to prevent this and preserve the functioning mini-ecosystem. hth

[pinkpearl]

Thanks tinyreef, that does help. My main thought for a fuge was to create a mini-eco system. I wanted to have the fuge above the main tank instead of in the sump because I was concerned about creating 'bug soup'.

 

Sounds like my best bet is to T off the sump return pump (skimmer's in the sump) to both the SCWD and the fuge.