[Todd L]

Eric,
Thanks for the reply...

I do have a light on the fuge, and have it on reverse cycle from the main tank.
I've always had a decent amount of skimmate off of the skimmer at the flow rate it has, which is not even close to what the flow rate is capable of! I'm not too worried about the flow rate in the skimmer and have never heard it should be as low as 5gph...are you sure???

I have a pretty good level of water movement inside the main with the filter and an internal pump, and agree with you there.

My question was really directed more towards the flow rate in the fuge and whether or not it was the slow flow that compounded the deterioration of the algae I had in there. When I first set it up it seemed like the algae flourished, and I noticed a good amount of growth. It was about a month after that I saw the condition of the algae degrade. The chaeto I had basically disappeared, and what was left in there was mucky, the caulerpa went from a vibrant green to a pale whitish hue and disintegrated and the maidens hair I had disappeared also.

I had always read a *low flow* rate for a fuge would be considered to be about 80gph. I hadn't tried to measure the flow off the skimmer and just assumed it was about 80 or so as it is rated for a much higher flow, assuming it would be enough to properly feed the fuge.

So while the 17-20gph (and that is really on the high side) the skimmer is set at may be enough for skimming purposes, I have to assume it is not enough of a flow rate for a fuge and allowed for *dead spots* inside my HOB fuge.

Thoughts?