Skimmers:

Ok, I'm building a little sump/fuge for my nano tank. I've got a couple plastic containers one will be my fuge and the other will mechanically clean and return water. Here's my question. Why do we gazillions of dollars on protein skimmers? What exactly does it do? I used to have one on my pony tank and it did make gunky foam but it seems like my HOB filters do the same thing for a LOT less. It doesn't change my water chemistry when I run it or when I don't. Also, I keep a sponge filter in my tank so as not to damage my pod population and when I use the sponge it's so much more clear than when I run the protein skimmer. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Catherine

well the bigger they are the more water they can handle and clean more. big or small they do the same thing. one can handle more is all. also, its more clear when using a skimmer like biff said before in another post, the skimmer will totally take the stuff out of the tank , mechanical filters etc are still in the water and also could release stuff back into the water.

I believe what you say to be true but if I can play devil's advocate for a moment....

My tank looks the cleanest when I've got a sponge filter not a HOB filter and not a skimmer. My numbers are best when I've got a lot of macro algae with or without a skimmer. I would get gunk out of the skimmer but my macro algae also processes gunk and so does my sponge. Skimmers are unbelievably expensive and I'm wondering if we are all doing the "Emperor's New Clothes" or if they really do work. Am I confusing the issue? Is the skimmer to replace biological filters like rock, sand and macro algae so If I don't want those things then I get a skimmer? I guess I'm over-thinking this. I think skimmers are an expensive pain in the butt maybe I'm just trying to convince myself they aren't necessary.

thanks,

Catherine

you dont really need one as long as your husbandry to the tank is there. they do help out a lot the take a lot of crap out of the water and are worth it but if you can not afford a good one than you are better off with more tank maintence

Skimmers from what i understand pull out the finest most stuff out of your tank.
Mechanical filtration can be run along with skimmers to pull out the bigger stuff. For instance on my new tank I'll be running filter socks in the sump on my drain lines. I'll have to change these out every week (or sooner) so they don't become nitrate factories, but depending on how I feed they should catch a lot of big particles that wouldn't get broken down by the protein skimmer. I just see skimmers as another tool to help clean your tank. How many of these tools your willing to implement is up to you. Miracle mud would be another, macro algae would be yet one more, etc.

let me start this with I MAY BE TOTALLY WRONG.... BUT

a foam fractionator, or skimmer as we call them, emplore an electrostatic phenomenon to sepperate, collect, and remove certain amino acids from the salt water. This is done by injecting air bubbles into the water. the bubbles' surface that sepperates the air inside the bubble, from the water all around. This sepperation has an electrostatic charge that the amino acids are attracted to, and thus get stuck to, then as more and more molicules of the amino acids collect on the surface of each bubble, they cause the surface tension of the water to increase, there by trapping the "waste" and carrying it up and into the collection cup.

Thats the short version, thing is, that i'm not sure that a foam filter, or live rock can handle all the stuff that a skimmer can pull out of the water. I have read that there are thoes people that have very small bio-loads in thier tanks and that they can keep the water clean with frequient water changes, but if you have bad habits like i do, then the skimmer can help clean the water for you between changes...

I know that when i dont change water in my tank every week, my skimmer kinda goes into overdrive with its gunk output, but when i change the water more often, i get less gunk...

so......

personally, i wouldn't have a tank without a skimmer, but, if your habits are better than mine, you might could get away without one...

Skimmers remove what you can't see or test for, unless you have a $10,000 piece of equipment (Shimadzu 5000 TOC Analyzer). On average, a skimmer removes 20%-35% of the TOC's (Total Organic Compounds) found in a typical home reef aquarium. A skimmer also removes calcium carbonate, magnesium and phosphate, and that comes from the micro organisms (which have a calcium shell and consume phosphate) that are skimmed out.

Here's a pretty technical article on skimmers. This is Part 1. Part 2 will be published in early 2010.
The Development of a Method for the Quantitative Evaluation of Protein Skimmer Performance

thats a much better way to word it than what i had...