Protein Skimmers

[GP]

Would a protein skimmer work in a 5 gallon... What are the size of these things, how do they work, and can I get some pics of them if possible?? Thanks.

 

[CFC]

While there is no reason a protein skimmer wouldnt work in a 5g i dont think they actually come in sizes small enough to fit one without taking up half the tank.

Protein skimmers work by air stripping pollutants from the water, basicly as the bubbles form on the surface the crap settles on the surface of the bubbles and is pushed up by the into a collection cup, They require the water to have a SG of at least 1.006 to work since the bubbles are not small enough in freshwater.

 

[GP]

So they take up a good portion of the tank??? And so basically the protein skimmer takes what out of the water, and what are the benefits?

 

[FishDan]

Good article about protein skimmers here. For a freshwater aquarium, they are fairly pointless.

\Dan

 

[CFC]

Protein skimmers remove basicly any organic waste products from the tank, protein, amino acids, fats and oils, bacteria, free floating algea and some parasites will all be removed by a skimmer, they will also remove any medication or additive used in the tank. The benefits are that longer periods of time can be left betweem water changes and nitrates will be lower as the proteins will have been manually removed rather than converted to nitrate by the biological filter.

 

[GP]

They are really expensive