What is the Purpose of a Protein Skimmer?
- Apr 23, 2023
- Anshika Mishra
- 457 0 0
What is the purpose of a protein skimmer?
A protein skimmer is a very versatile reefing gear,
- capable of removing waste
- making the water visually clearer
- reducing how many water changes you need to perform
- raising your aquarium's pH
- and so much more
But let's start by covering the protein skimmer's primary job for reef tanks.
Protein Skimmer
A protein skimmer's primary purpose in a saltwater aquarium is to harness the power of foam fractionation to separate the dissolved organic waste like fish waste, broken down, uneaten food, undesirable color pigments, and suspended particulates from the water before it breaks down and places it in a collection of the cup so you can easily dispose of it.
It does that job without needing any kind of filter media like you might expect to see in another aquarium filter. Instead, a protein skimmer produces millions of tiny bubbles within the reaction chamber, and as those bubbles travel up toward the neck of the skimmer, they attract the substances mentioned above.
Coupled with that, the bubbles get larger and travel to the top of the protein skimmer and travel into the collection cup, depositing the waste that is attached to them, effectively removing it from the aquarium water.
While it might sound like a complex process, it's been going on for millions of years in the sea - in the form of sea foam.
What does this mean?
By removing waste from the tank before it breaks down in the water, a protein skimmer effectively reduces nutrients like nitrate and phosphate, often meaning you'll need to do as many water changes because that waste is building up in the tank.
A protein skimmer will also remove yellowing pigments from the water, and those pigments can make the water look murky while also dulling the beautiful color of your fish and corals. But more importantly, the yellowing pigment blocks out light and a fairly significant amount at that, meaning your corals won't be getting as much par from your light fixture.
So, a protein skimmer also makes sure that your light is able to do its job effectively.
What else do protein skimmers do?
Protein skimmer also provides copious amounts of gas exchange and oxygenation. All of those tiny bubbles in the skimmer body have way more surface area than the top of our aquariums, meaning all of that extra surface area where water meets air provides much more opportunity for gas exchange.
This also makes the protein skimmer a great tool for keeping your tank's pH up, especially when you pair it with a CO2 scrubber, and which can help increase and maintain coral growth.
A protein skimmer is also a great tool when paired with other types of filtration methods. And once you start adding up all these different benefits, even if you have never used ozone, it's really easy to see why protein skimmers are such a beloved staple piece of reefing filtration.
However, there are some important considerations that you should pay attention to when picking out and running a protein skimmer on your tank. There are a lot of mistakes that reefers commonly make that will absolutely affect how your protein skimmers perform.
About author