What is a protein skimmer?

[rumblesushi]

Excuse the ignorant noob question, I really am uneducated when it comes to salt.

My only exp. is freshwater.

From what I gather, this is an essential part of the filtration - what what is it exactly? What does it do? How does it work?

I'm thinking of trying a saltwater tank when I move, I'd just like to get a better idea about how things work.

 

[redtailfool]

Im no saltwater guy either but a protein skimmer is essentially a device that removes excess protein and organic compound in water. Its essential in a saltwater setup since water changes are fewer than in a fw setup.

Its basically a filter that creates a vortex.. this action separates the protein deposits from the water in a form of a froth above the water. All you do at the end of the day is remove that froth and throw it away.. Again , effective in a sw setup but can still be utilized in fw.


Heres a pic of a top of a protein skimmer. Notice the protein buildup

Saltwater freaks.. add to this thread !

 

[Nic]

coral life makes a very good skimmer i never used one though i did a ecosystem refugium on my reef worked great

 

[ogre929]

Here's an explination that might help. If you've ever been to the beach and watch the waves and you see all the white foam that develops from the waves crashing... Thae white is bubbles from the wave crashing. Simple eh? Well the reason the bubbles devolop and stay bubbles is the hydrophobic properties of protien. Protein does not want to be in water almost as much as say oil. The hydrophobic (scared of water) end of the molecule is attracted to air, and when the bubble forms, that end of the protein molecule points toward the inside of the bubble. When you have lots of protein molecules together, they form bubbles.
The protein skimmer is basically a concentrated "wave machine" in that it forces bubbles to be formed to allow the proteins to bind with the air. As the bubbles are formed in the protein skimmer they rise up and become more concentrated due to the amount of bubbles rising to the top from the skimmer and eventually, they rise to a point in the skimmer where they collect enough to rise into the collection cup and exit the water table of your aquarium. Once they have left the water table, the proteins that made up those bubbles are now gone and your aquarium and no longer present an issue with biological filtration.

 

[craig]

Excuse the ignorant noob question, I really am uneducated when it comes to salt.

My only exp. is freshwater.

From what I gather, this is an essential part of the filtration - what what is it exactly? What does it do? How does it work?

I'm thinking of trying a saltwater tank when I move, I'd just like to get a better idea about how things work.

This a protein skimmer.

 

[craig]

This a saltwater tank.

 

[bsauer]

The skimmer will take out the bad protiens and organic matter that you don't want in your water, but it also takes out some of the good stuff as well. So if you are doing saltwater and have a good skimmer, make sure you are replenishing your trace elements weekly.

 

[mkpeters6]

the reason protien skimmers are so essential to the sw hobby is b/c the completely remove the organic waste from the water column (and they remove a ton of it) --

other mechanical filtration (i.e. filter floss, pads, sponges) only removes waste once they are removed from the tank and cleaned or replaced - plus traditional mechical filtration begin to lose their effectiveness as soon as they start to acclimate detirus so if you change your mechanical filtration once a week or even twice a week you only remove the organic waste that once or twice a week as well - protien skimmers continuously remove junk from the water column (of course they also need proper maintence to operate at full capacity)

their are a number of different styles of protien skimmers - ventri/needle wheel/beckett (you could probably find info on the interent that explains the operation of the different styles - im not really an expert on the mechanics of each style) and more - each style as their own + and - but they all produce the same result - some are just much more effective then others

last thing, protien skimmers are really one of those pieces of equipment that is worth putting a good investment in once - if you buy cheap your gonna get a cheap product and you will end up buying a better one done the road -- and they def are not a cheap piece of equipment - a top of the line skimmer can cost into the 1000s of dollars - but their are many brands out there for less that do a very good job (check ASM, CPR, for cheaper quality skimers -- Euro reef and Deltec for high end products)

 

[guppy]

This a protein skimmer.[/QUOTE]
That one looks like a high tech bong.

 

[rumblesushi]

Thanks very much for the information people, I understand the concept perfectly now

Does anyone have a recommendation for an efficient affordable skimmer? Not a mega cheap crappy one, but not one that costs thousands either

Like I said, when I move, I'd like to try out a salt tank, just with a few small fish, and a small puffer. Maybe a 55 or so.