So I saw in one my Freshwater books it had a picture of a protein skimmer with a little paragraph. Will a protein skimmer in a freshwater tank actually help? Just wondering on the pros and cons of one in there. Thanks.
Protein skimmer with FW
- Thread starter born2lovefish
- Start date
I have a protien scimmer on my 120 gallon along with 2 80 gallon emperror 400s and my water is almost crystal clear it sucks up so much nasty **** in the protien skimmer. if i toulk the background off of my tank it would look like its spring water..
I find that difficult to believe. A hobbyist protein skimmer (not under pressure and with a baseline venturi valve) on a freshwater system does not form bubbles small enough to produce the correct "dry" foam normally produced in a foam fractionator chamber of a marine system. The molecular bond of water molecules in freshwater in insufficient for this process. You're either running high salt and alkalinity in your tank or you're producing so much wet foam that you're replacing lost water frequently.
Does your skimmer have a dedicated 500+gph pump and an upgraded venturi valve? The proper venturi valves are fairly expensive which is why hobbyist skimmers don't incorporate them.
Does your skimmer have a dedicated 500+gph pump and an upgraded venturi valve? The proper venturi valves are fairly expensive which is why hobbyist skimmers don't incorporate them.
I'm suppose to be getting a used protein shimmer. I'm going to throw it on my FW for circulation and who knows. I might add some bio media in there or I might just let it make the water more Oxidized. Heck what do I have to lose besides next to nothing.....
I'm going to use it for a stingray tank...so the extra water flow and O2 will not hurt them! Plus if I ever do a saltwater tank down the road...I will have a skimmer...
Dident understand anything u said lmao.. It sucks up no lie dark colored water and sludge ill take a pic if u want.. also i use it to oxygenate my water considering its at 84*F and im not lieing i can get pics of my tank if u want.
Actually, after thinking about it, I have seen a type of foam production with skimmers in FW. Those systems used moderate to large amounts of slime promoters/regenerators (eg: Novaqua) and meds such as melafix/pimafix. The aloes and oils in these products will cause foam production in FW tanks using skimmers. The same can occur in tanks fed large amounts of FD plankton/krill.
But, on a regular FW setup with a moderate bio-load, a protein skimmer shouldn't work unless there are dangerous levels of proteins, fats, urea, and ketones. If the tank has an odor, boost the water change routine.
But, on a regular FW setup with a moderate bio-load, a protein skimmer shouldn't work unless there are dangerous levels of proteins, fats, urea, and ketones. If the tank has an odor, boost the water change routine.