Do you use a protein skimmer built into a filter or standalone unit?

I tend to use both, but it really depends on the tank size and even the dimensions. Sometimes there are dead spots that would just look too ugly in my eyes to have a wave maker placed so I just put a stand-alone protein skimmer in its place.

I’ve found the standalone unit to prefer better since you can place it in a given slot vs. it normally being before the actual filtering media (although I’ve only tried 1 type of one tied with a filter).