Protein Skimmer

Filtering Your Aquarium Water

What Is It?

Protein skimmers remove excess protein waste from Salt Water aquariums by pushing air through a moving column of water. The proteins are carried up to a catch of some sort (a cup or bowl), which can be removed and cleaned. Different varieties of protein skimmers can mount inside the tank, over the back of the tank, as part of a power filter, external to the tank, or even in the sump of a trickle filter.

How Does It Work?

Protein skimmers use the surface tension of the water in marine aquariums to pull free-floating proteins and other waste into a container where the waste can be removed. Basic skimmers use an air stone (usually a wooden one to produce finer bubbles) connected to an air pump and allow water to flow through a tube where the bubbles pass through the water, gathering proteins to push up into the holding cup. More advanced ones inject air into a fast-moving stream of water from a water pump, forcing a more reliable change of the water in the column where the air bubbles can remove protein. The most advanced protein skimmers force highly aerated water downward from a water pump, causing the bubbles to fight their way against the current. This increases the time the bubbles are exposed to the water, and therefore improve skimmer efficiency.

What Maintenance Does It Require?

Air stone driven protein skimmers require regular changes of their air stones as the stones get plugged with debris and algae to maintain free air flow, this frequency will vary depending on tank load, feeding habits, and other tank maintenance. They also require high-quality air pumps to provide sufficient aeration. Protein skimmers that use a water pump need to have their pump serviced regularly. Cleaning brush kits are available at most pet stores to facilitate this procedure. You will also have to clean out the collection cup from your skimmer on a regular basis. Depending on your tank load and the style of skimmer, you may need to change this as often as once a day or as rarely as once a month. Keep a close eye on the cup, however, as the maintenance could change dramatically for even the slightest change in tank conditions.

What Should I Be Aware Of?

Protein skimmers only work in salt water, or under very high pressure in fresh water. This is because the surface tension of the water changes with salinity or pressure.
If you are trying to maintain a Berlin style reef tank, 10 to 14 inches of skimmer column height is recommended for every twenty gallons of water. This will remove a great deal of waste before it has a chance to start to decompose and threaten your corals with Nitrites, Nitrates, or algae blooms.
Protein skimmers provide mechanical filtration.

My snail mail address is: Keith Seyffarth, 217 W. Koch, #308, Bozeman, MT 59715.
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Page most recently modified: February 18 2007 19:37:40.