Lets talk about skimming
- Thread starter tperk9784
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esc.nuk3r
New member
A protein skimmer is perhaps the most important piece of hardware for the salt water tank. It is a filter used to remove organic impurities from the water. Water is sent through a fractionating column where many tiny air bubbles are pushed through it. The air bubbles generate "foam", which actually consists of organic impurities.
Also known as a Foam Fractionator. It is a "filter" used to remove fatty acids, surface active organic compounds, and nutrient rich impurities from the water. Aquarium water and air (in the form of tiny bubbles) are introduced in a manner that creates a stable foam. The "foam" is directed out of the device and reduces the nutrient load on the biofiltration unit. In dercreasing order of effectiveness, the major types of skimmers are: downflow, venturi, counter current, and co-current.
:bum: :rollface:
Also known as a Foam Fractionator. It is a "filter" used to remove fatty acids, surface active organic compounds, and nutrient rich impurities from the water. Aquarium water and air (in the form of tiny bubbles) are introduced in a manner that creates a stable foam. The "foam" is directed out of the device and reduces the nutrient load on the biofiltration unit. In dercreasing order of effectiveness, the major types of skimmers are: downflow, venturi, counter current, and co-current.
:bum: :rollface:
:beer:
45commando
New member
On the good side skimmers can remove free floating algae,terpens-the chemical agents released by many corals,dissolved phosphates & other undesirable compounds.Also a good skimmer will keep oxygen levels at near saturation.On the downside,they can also remove tiny pods & other beneficial lifeforms.This is why in recent years,there has been discussion about running skimmers part-time,as opposed to normal full-time operation.HTH
Crimthann
New member
Eric Borneman is working on an article about what's being removed. Some of the stuff he's found in testing skimmate is polychaete larvae, copepods, amphipods, nematodes, ostracods, ciliates, coral mucus, detritus, bacteria, cyanobacteria, and the occasional other item. (I'm sure i missed some other stuff but that's most of it).
Skimmate samples were tested for nitrate and phosphate which all were the same as the tank water.
The question is whether most of this could be eaten by other stuff in your tank and whether its a good thing to skim it out
. I'll post his article once he finishes it but you can read the posts on marine depot.
Skimmate samples were tested for nitrate and phosphate which all were the same as the tank water.
The question is whether most of this could be eaten by other stuff in your tank and whether its a good thing to skim it out
. I'll post his article once he finishes it but you can read the posts on marine depot.
coralfragger101
Gone Postal
Good Point Crimthann. Although I'm not a big fan of Eric I am very interested in alternative methods other than skimming. I am currently skimming but I'm also in the process of developing zonal sumps. Steve Tyree has been doing this for quite some time now utilizing the oceans natural skimmers. If things work out, eventually I may go skimmerless.
tperk9784
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10182811#post10182811 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Crimthann
Eric Borneman is working on an article about what's being removed. Some of the stuff he's found in testing skimmate is polychaete larvae, copepods, amphipods, nematodes, ostracods, ciliates, coral mucus, detritus, bacteria, cyanobacteria, and the occasional other item. (I'm sure i missed some other stuff but that's most of it).
Skimmate samples were tested for nitrate and phosphate which all were the same as the tank water.
The question is whether most of this could be eaten by other stuff in your tank and whether its a good thing to skim it out
I would think the amount of pods and other food type things that would get caught in the skimmate would be small compared to the population of such creatures in the tank.
I am gonna go look for that article and read up.
Anyone here skim really wet? If so, How does removing so much water effect your salinity?
Trigeek
Member
QUOTE]The question is whether most of this could be eaten by other stuff in your tank and whether its a good thing to skim it out . I'll post his article once he finishes it but you can read the posts on marine depot[/QUOTE]
My (uneducated) reasoning on this is that if there is an abundance of microfauna in the tank, then the skimming isn't hurting the population especially if the skimmer is removing these things at various stages throughout the lifecycle. If the skimmer is pulling it out, it means that this stuff is floating around in the water column and the filter feeders are probably getting their fair share, too. I think the "bad" stuff that skimmers remove is worth the loss of some of the microfauna. Although it is an interesting thought to ponder; would less skimming result in improved coral growth due to more available food sources if all other things (PO3, NO3 etc.) were able to be controlled, perhaps by some magical spell
? I'll be very interested to see what Eric Borneman's results show.[
My (uneducated) reasoning on this is that if there is an abundance of microfauna in the tank, then the skimming isn't hurting the population especially if the skimmer is removing these things at various stages throughout the lifecycle. If the skimmer is pulling it out, it means that this stuff is floating around in the water column and the filter feeders are probably getting their fair share, too. I think the "bad" stuff that skimmers remove is worth the loss of some of the microfauna. Although it is an interesting thought to ponder; would less skimming result in improved coral growth due to more available food sources if all other things (PO3, NO3 etc.) were able to be controlled, perhaps by some magical spell
? I'll be very interested to see what Eric Borneman's results show.[
