Protein Skimmer

[babyduke]

What exactly is a protein skimmer and what does it do?

 

[nmonks]

This is probably a question best asked in the Marines forum, because they are used mostly in marine tanks.

But, if you've ever walked along the beach or a river, you will have seen "froth" where the water splashes. For some reason, many organic materials (not necessarily proteins) stick to air bubbles in preference to staying dissolved in the water. So when air and water mix, the organics turn into a foam, and the foam collects on the surface.

Using the same approach, a protein skimmer introduces a fine mist of air bubbles and so collects organic waste. The bubbles collect in a cup, and (usually daily) you empty the cup. Because the organics haven't had time to decay, they don't add to the nitrate and phosphate levels in the aquarium.

One limiting factor is the size of the bubbles: they need to be very small to work properly. For some reason, in freshwater the bubbles don't seem to be the right size, and protein skimmers don't work properly/at all. In brackish water they can work very well, but the specific gravity needs to be fairly high, around SG 1.010.

Cheers, Neale

 

[windandfire12]

What exactly is a protein skimmer and what does it do?

Skims Protein

 

[AMS]

I am a big advocate for skimmers in high-end brackish aquariums. The skimmate pulled from a good skimmer in a brackish tank can be amazing. They pull the organics from the water column thus reducing n03/p04 and algae growth, make the water clearer, increase 02 levels, and overall a much better quality of water. They can also save your tank from ammonia spikes if a fish dies that you haven't noticed.

However, protein skimmers won't work in low-end brackish tanks with a specific gravity under 1.010 (IE tanks with bumblebee gobies, figure 8 puffers, glassfish, etc.)

 

[MoMa]

This has especially helped me with messy eaters (read: puffers) in high-end brackish.
Because you're not going to be getting the same amount of "skimmate" as a full marine tank, you can generally get away with the cheaper air powered options.

 

[andywg]

Skimmers using an air stone are actually the most efficient form of skimmer there is. Were it not for the regular replacement of wooden air blocks they would be far more popular.

The reason is that a simple way to improve skimming is to inject more bubbles at a slower through rate. If the air is pulled in via a pump (in all venturi based skimmers) then you cannot increase air without increasing the through rate of the water.