protein skimmers??

[chrisb430]

I am not totally convinced on the whole protein skimmer for salt water tanks… Wondering if someone could convince me to get one. To me they seem to be difficult to work with, messy, $$$ and water pram don’t seem to be any better. Why wouldn’t I just want to keep up with regular water changes?? I know it says they remove proteins but what kind??

 

[bornagain]

Just started using the Red sea prizm skimmer. Think they are cheap like 100$. This one is good for 75 gallons. My best LFS even uses them.
They are easy to use, not messy.
Protein skimmer. Basically what it does is this: Sucks in water and shoots air into the water, causing bubbles. The bubbles push "junk" in your water to the top. When the bubbles make it to the top opening of the skimmer, they "pop." The leftovers are captured in a separate container. The bad juice is easily discarded.
If you saw the junk that came out of my tank, you would get one. It smells horrid!

 

[nikesb]

the bad stuff that it pics up is basically broken down poop which if left in your tank will sooner or later increase your nitrates. increase in nitrates gives food to nuisance algae, and a whole lot of other stuff. try a acro frag in your tank without a skimmer and let me know how well its color stays

 

[flower]

Skimmers pull out the yuck you can’t even test for, that’s why your numbers don’t change when you have one running…extra food is also taken out. I turn off my skimmer when I feed my corals for the day. I do notice a difference in my corals when I keep the skimmer off for longer than a day, they look like crap.
I hate skimmers, I use HOB and they are a pain in the butt, but a necessary pain in the butt. I consider it a must have part of my filtration.

 

[florida joe]

Foam extractors (protein skimmers) work via the interaction between the oxygen bubble and the surrounding water creating a friction between the two. This friction “charges" the molecules in the water.
Through the laws of physics, which state opposites attract, the charged gunk molecules stick to the bubbles, riding them up the column of water. Once the bubbles reach the surface air they burst, depositing the gunk into a collection cup which we remove and export the gunk. Due to the very nature of saltwater, this process is possible. FYI Freshwater protein skimming just is not cost efficient for the home hobbyist

 

[timeless1]

Thanks for the nice description. I want to get one for my 10 gal nano reef, which I'm in the process of converting to NPS reef. So far approximately 4 large colonies of sun coral (60-120+heads each), a few heads of Dendro fista, and a nice Rhizo. I do preaty heavy water changes each week to remove the nutirents. I want to get the corallife 65 or 125 super skimmer HOB and mod it to be a stand alone.

 

[florida joe]

I want to get the corallife 65 or 125 super skimmer HOB and mod it to be a stand alone.
i have heard the 125 is a hob or stand alone so not much mod needs to be done, i also heard it is much better as a stand alone

 

[chrisb430]

so any skimmer will work just fine?? I have a 20gal Nano tank with a few fish...

 

[bornagain]

If you plan on getting a skimmer, you could get by with a cheaper version for the 20g. Maybe get a skimmer for a 50g+ tank so you can use it on your next tank upgrade?

In my opinion, with a 20g nano, a hang on back skimmer would take up a lot of space. Lots of people go with JBJ or all in one systems where all the "gear" is internal. I have a 30g with hang on back and I think its a major distraction from the tank.
It might be possible to go without a skimmer (I can hear the heckling already.) You would have to make sure you keep up on water changes and have a productive cleanup crew. However, I doubt you would have the ability to keep LPS or SPS corals. Many fish, mushrooms, leathers and certain polyps (if i'm not mistaken) do just fine with tolerable levels of nitrate. You could specifically build your tank knowing that you can only host these species.
Pick your poisons

 

[chrisb430]

what about those nano skimmers its a HOB?? almost like a HOB filter?? I really don't want to put a skimmer in my tank it will take up a lot of space... and like some said above an eye sore....