Another newbie question...

Hey people...you have been very helpful to me so far and I am thankful for that. I've looked around about these protien skimmers...and I really don't have a clue as to what they really do!! To me, it sounds pretty much like what an air stone does, but it skimms off the foam from the surface.

Can someone tell me why I need one of these? I'm really confused...

 

well my input and the little that I know I believe its the mirco bubbles that attract the protien and the organic waste and I may be wrong but I believe thats what the foam portion is.I am currently treating my tank for ICH but when I had my skimmer running I could see all the nasty stuff it was taking out so I mean it definatley wouldnt be a bad thing to have I mean I csnt think of any negatives to having it.

 

Simply put:

Polar molecules like to collect on the surface of water by nature. By use of a skimmer, protein and other molecules are attracted to the bubbles in the skimmer chamber, raise up and out of the skimmer and into your collection cup. Think of it as another filter, a very effective one at that.

This helps keep your nitrates down in acceptable levels and greatly increases the overall happiness of your tanks inhabitants.

EDIT: I would suggest you consider a protien skimmer as one of the most important pieces of equipment you have, especially if you care to keep corals. For fish-only it is not as important, but still a good idea.

 

ditto

 

Great answer Serotonin....Karma to you!!!

In addition to the things Serotonin mentioned, it helps Oxygenate your water. It's the only type of filtration where once the waste is in the filter, it can never come back into solution unless you accidentally spill the collection cup back into the tank.

Examples:
Granular Activated Carbon....if you leave it in too long, de-adsorption can occur.
Filter floss.....if you don't clean it often enough, detritus will break down into Ammonia and phosphorus
Macroalgaes....the same porousness of the thallus that allows it to absorb phosphates and nitrates allows it to leak right back out. If your macroalgae dies or goes asexual, anything that was once absorbed gets thrown back into the tank (sometimes with deadly results to other tank inhabitants)
Canister filters.....failure to clean the media regularly will result in Ammonia and phosphorus being released.
UV filter.....it kills algae spores and some pathogens but it doesn't remove them.

Here's a good article What is Skimming? by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

Wow...ok. Thinks have really changed from what we knew almost 10 years ago. Since what we have is a self contained show tank, I'll have to take a good look as to what will work best. There's not a lot of room to run any external stuff out from under the hood.

Would it be best to get the tank established before getting one? We're still cycling new water.

 

If you are curing LR, I would get it now. However, it's not really a big deal either way. If you can't find one to fit your tank, it's not the end of the world. You'll just have to do more frequent water changes.

 

Great thread! Karma to all! :xmas:

 

Water changes...protien skimmers........ I really don't remember salt tanks being this much work!!! It's all good though. I want to have a nice tank and do things the right way.

I'm sure I'll have many more questions!!!! ;D

 

That's what 3reef is here for.

Be sure to check out some of the 3reef aquarium howto articles found here:
http://www.3reef.com/aquarium-page-Content.html