Skimmers, Why are they needed?

[hail_sniper]

well, we all have heard of skimmers, now what exactly are they and what do they do for me?

Well a protein skimmer is one of the most important parts of an aquarium. It removes organic pollutants before they break down (doc's) keeping pristine water for your fish and corals and cut back on those dreaded water changes.

it works like this, a tall tube in which really small air bubbles are injected into the bottom center via a pump w/a venturi outlet which mix's in air with the water.
it would be pumped into this tube then the waste would in a sense, stick to the air bubbles. the air bubbles act as a "sponge", and waste is attracted to this and are removed from the water up the tube and into a cup as foam (think of it as a magnet, the bubbles as + and the waste -)

What are DOC's? well basicly its fish waste that has been broken down, but if you want to get specific it can come from food, algae, waste, bacteria,etc.

There are many types and brands of skimmers out there, from air driven, venturi, and becketts to downdraft and aspirating skimmers. the options are endless, some of the top brands are lifereef, euroreef, aqua c, and CPR

for further information goto http://www.proteinskimmer.com/skimmerdatabase.htm

[Pac-Man]

good article. i'd like to get a reef tank going.... when $5,000.00 just falls into my hand from the sky...lol.

[hail_sniper]

lol, thats true

[Osiris]

LMAO, it can just go out on Tuesday nights in middle of hailstorm duh!

[Damon]

DOC- Dissolved Organic Compounds.

[TheOldSalt]

The main difference between a foam fractionator ( = protein skimmer ) is that while a conventional filter traps waste material, that material is not removed from the tank's water. Therefore, it is still able to pollute the water when it rots. Material removed by a skimmer, however, is no longer in contact with the aquarium system's water, so it can rot all it wants to and not bother your tank a bit.

If you've ever walked along a beach, you've probably seen globs of foam washed up on the sand. That is skimming in nature, and we can recreate it in the reaction chamber of a skimmer. The advent of the skimmer is in fact one of the main things which made the keeping of marine aquariums practical, and the keeping of corals and other sensitive species even possible, for conventional filtration just wasn't good enough. Nowadays we've gotten past the critical need for the skimmer in many applications, but for awhile it was our only real hope, and today it is still very handy.
Skimmers work on a molecular level, taking advantage of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties of molecules and their interaction along a tensioned membrane. That means, in plainer english, that stuff too small for a normal filter to catch can be caught by it's ability to stick to bubbles. On the plus side, we can purify the water in ways that no convention filter can, resulting in water that stays much cleaner for much longer periods. On the downside, certain compounds that you might WANT in your water can also be removed, although to what extent has long been a matter of debate. That's okay, though, for these can be replaced through normal maintenance and the addition of supplements, and it's not really a big problem anyway.

All in all, a skimmer is a very good investment, and one which can often make all the difference between success and failure.

[hail_sniper]

thannks for the addition salt

[euRasian32]

Supreme makes a Power Filter built in Protein Skimmer, the Skilter 250 and 400. Although not as good as a stand alone unit, wether in your sump area, on tank, or in tank. I guess the Skilter provides some "skimming", don't have the experience with other skimmers to compare. The Skilter is LOUD with the skimmer on, so I'm not recommending this filter for the bedroom.

I specifically bought one way back when, for my first and only SW tank (so far). 'Twas a 55 gal, with 50 lbs of crushed coral (too much), UGF with two powerheads -Penguin 660 (175 gph) and Penguin 1140 (300 gph), and a Skilter 400. IMO this is the bare minimum in keeping SW Fish ONLY, no corals - live rock - etc.

Successfully kept a Yellow Tail Blue Damsel (cycle fish), Huma Huma Trigger, and a Spotted Grouper. Tank ran for a year and a half with minimal maintenance, moved - sold fish - tore down and sold equipment.