skimmers
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49139
Printed Date: December 04 2025 at 3:49am
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Topic: skimmers
Posted By: Dxweston
Subject: skimmers
Date Posted: May 22 2011 at 10:48pm
| i have a question maybe a dumb one but what is A protein skimmer and how do i know when a tank needs one |
Replies:
Posted By: jcoulter17
Date Posted: May 22 2011 at 11:16pm
| A protein skimmer removes all your organic pullutants and nutrients before they break down. It helps keep your water crystal clear and your aquarium inhabitants healthy. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 23 2011 at 9:46am
A protein skimmer removes some organic compounds. A good portion of these compounds are food for bacteria and larger invertebrates. (One man's trash is another man's treasure )- The advantage of using a skimmer is that the biofiltration then does not have to deal with some organic compounds removed by the skimmer. - The disadvantage of using a skimmer is that organisms would grow better if some organic compounds were not removed. While in general the hobby seems to believe that a skimmer is a necessary piece of equipment for a healthy reef aquarium, that is just not true. A skimmer is an invaluable piece of equipment in the aquarium maintenance industry, where the owner knows nothing of husbandry and a problem, like overfeeding could quickly destroy the tank. A skimmer is a personal choice determined by the individual hobbyist and the needs of the tank. Though I have set up and run hundreds of skimmers, many with Ozone, neither of those units are needed as can be seen from the pics here. http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37523 - http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37523 The story of why I stopped using a skimmer and what I did instead is here in this old SeaStar Newsletter tiltled "RDP Filtration/Nightime pH control". http://utahreefs.com/SeaStar/wmasSeaStar02Feb.pdf - http://utahreefs.com/SeaStar/wmasSeaStar02Feb.pdf Two weeks ago I added a skimmer to my large coral farm system. The reason has to do with removing some nasty organic compounds in the tank brought in by some LS that were not being removed fast enough nor economically by other methods, namely Activated Carbon, Macroalgae, Poly Filter, water changes. and PO4 remover. Whether a person chooses to use a skimmer or not, one necessity for all reef aquariums is Activated Carbon (AC). AC removes some organic compounds that neither skimming nor algae can remove. This is just the beginning of a long discussion we could have about protein skimming, but hopefully will be the beginning basis for the answer to your question. It's a very good question, btw.  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: WhiteReef
Date Posted: May 23 2011 at 10:12am
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Not all tanks require a skimmer as Mark has mentioned and there are several others that also do not use a skimmer. The debate on having one relates to the setup of the tank in question and what you have in the tank. Basically a skimmer is used when the natural filtration of the tank is out paced by the things you are keeping in it or how much you feed your tank. Natural filtration consists of bacteria, live rock, live sand, live water, corals, and algae (micro and macro). In my opinion bacteria is the largest contributor as it breaks wastes down for others to consume.
Skimmers all use a bubbler, concentrator, and collection cup. The bubbler is where water is brought into the skimmer and air is mixed with the water. There are two categories when it comes to this. One uses an air-stone to force air into the water, but these have a tendency to clog up and are usually not as consistent as the other option. The other way is using a pump that sucks air in with the water. As the air bubbles flow through the water column they pickup small particles in the water and their concentration increases as they rise up the skimmer towards the top. When the bubbles reach the top they spill over into the collection cup where the particles are then collected. Like was mentioned by Mark the particles the skimmer removes is what the bacteria and other organisms in your tank eat. However, if there is an over abundance of these nutrients there are several options on how to address this, and one is using a skimmer. Another option you can use is reducing the biological load of the tank through reducing the number of fish, increase the amount of macro algae in the tanks, having a large refugium, etc. ------------- ---------------- Richard Former 47G Column Reef, Magna 20" x 18" x 31"H |