how many times a hour should the water go through the sump?

[golf nut]

Originally Posted by freezetyle

I understand that. But say, someone was using there return pump for extra flow to their tank. The extra water movement through there wouldn't technically affect the skim-mate that is pulled out of the water.

That being said, there is no actual way to test out these theories as a skimmer pulls out skim-mate in both situations. This test would be almost impossible because everyones tank (or say a "test tank") would differ from one another so getting a control would be practically impossible. I am not saying your opinion is wrong/invalid , I am just saying that in my opinion the flow rate through your sump isn't a big thing to lose sleep on.

I would hate you to lose sleep, however the flow past the skimmer is directly proportional to it's performance.

From my first post I mentioned that PROVIDING the flow in the tank is moving correctly then a 1 to 2 times turnover rate is more than adequate and anything else id disadvantageous.

If I give you phone numbers for the top ten skimmer manufacturers would you call them and tell them they are wrong?

Just a question to you, do you think that a 10% water change done everyday is the same as a 100% water change every 10 days?