Should I keep the filtering wool?

[jquek]

Hi people,

Came across this very interesting thread in RC and some ideas and questions popped into my head:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...25&pagenumber=1

Anyway, it was mentioned that its best that raw, overflow water is fed to the skimmer to make skimming more effective. And it was mentioned somewhere that its better to remove any mechanical filtering media (wool and so on) so as to let the skimmer do the job of getting those unwanted stuff out instead. Of course this also prevents the build up of unwanted stuff trap on the wool and if we don't clean it regularly, it will be a source of NO3 buildup.

So currently I do have filter wool at the top of my overflow and also at the top of the first compartment of my sump. But after reading this, I realized that the wool is basically used for trapping detritus which might accumulate in the bioballs and all that about nitrate factory.... Now that I have removed almost all the bioballs, this would mean that I don't really have a purpose for the wool. I can let the detritus flow into my sump and subsequently (and hopefully) get skimmed out by my skimmer right??? Besides, we all know that wool itself can be a nitrate factory and must be regularly cleaned. So removing the wool removes another nitrate factory, reduces maintenence and makes our protein skimmer more effective (theoretically at least). Anyone wants to comment on this?

Anyway, if you haven't read that thread....it has some very interesting ideas for improving your skimmer's performance and it boils down to rather simple concepts actually (not about how big or expensive your skimmer is).

[junyong84]

i will just change e wool regularly

[prec]

i would wash my wool every wk to prevent it from becoming a nitrate factory..

[shoelevy]

what i thnk is you may clean your wool less but all that raw water is gonna make your skimmer pump dirty

that means you needa clean your pump more regularly

[williammuk]

In my opinion, I think there are good and bad points whichever method you use.

For my setup, I'm currently not using any wool.

I let the detritus settle in the sump and siphon them out during water change.

[lightningstrike]

In my opinion, I think there are good and bad points whichever method you use.

For my setup, I'm currently not using any wool.

I let the detritus settle in the sump and siphon them out during water change.

same here. doing exactly as what u hv described, except that i wrap some filter floss around the outlet of my beckett skimmer to minimise microbubbles and salt spray.

[jquek]

Thanks for the comments. Think will remove some if not all of my filter wool.

[junyong84]

not using filter wool at all?

One thing i don't really understand... i don't really see my filter wool trapped any thing, expect for some food that i feed my fishes, however my filter wool turned brown and dirty quickly after i change them...

very irriating..

[Kenji80]

If your nitrate level is already at zero with cotton wool, I believed you can continue using it.