Using a
Protein Skimmer in an Aquarium
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This page explains
that Protein Skimmers
are very useful in most
aquariums with salt or
marine water but not
useful in aquariums with freshwater.
|
|
|
|
| The advertisement, shown below, links to
this advertiser's web site. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customer Comments |
|
|
hi i was wondering if a protien skimmer would do any good in a freshwater aquarium setup? is there any benefit?
because i was just given one and i have a F.W. setup can i use it or not?
Thanks,
Eric |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply. Hello Eric. Thank you for your interesting question about using a Protein Skimmer in a freshwater aquarium.
Protein Skimmers are mechanical devices that are made to be used in Marine Aquariums, which contain saltwater with lots of salts. You can use a Protein Skimmer in a freshwater
aquarium. A skimmer will not hurt the freshwater fish or degrade the water quality, and
the freshwater will not damage the skimmer.
But a Protein Skimmer will not do much to improve the quality of the water in a freshwater aquarium. So the short answer is that if you have a freshwater aquarium you do not
need a Protein Skimmer. The rest of the information on this page is about what a Protein Skimmer does.
A Protein Skimmer removes large molecules from water. Proteins are very large molecules with very large numbers of atoms. Protein Skimmers originally got that name because they
were thought to skim protein molecules from the aquarium water. Actually it's now known that Protein Skimmers also remove other stuff from
saltwater too.
The marine water in Marine Aquariums is quite expensive. One hundred gallons of marine water usually costs at least $20.00. Because of the high cost of marine water, it is
cost effective to use a Protein Skimmer to remove the large molecules from Marine Water.
|
|
|
| The advertisement, shown below, links to
this advertiser's web site. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click
here to listen to
a Special Pet
Fish Interview
hosted by The Bailey
Brothers about the
proper equipment for
a Saltwater
Aquarium, including
a Protein Skimmer. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the other hand the freshwater in
Freshwater Aquariums is much less expensive. One-hundred gallons
of freshwater from your faucet probably costs you less than 20¢, and
so it is not
cost effective to use a Protein Skimmer to remove large molecules from freshwater.
In a Freshwater Aquarium it is less expensive to use a bio-filter to digest the large molecules that are eventually broken down by beneficial bacteria
and removed by partial water changes. Click here for information about filtration of aquarium water.
But in a Marine Aquarium it is less expensive to use a Protein Skimmer to remove the large molecules, before they are broken down into smaller molecules that can only be removed
by partial water changes that require expensive marine water.
The best bio-filter for a freshwater aquarium
is a filter with a BIO-Wheel. But BIO-Wheels are usually not
used in Marine Aquariums, because the bacteria on the BIO-Wheels
would quickly break down many of the large molecules, before
those molecules could be removed by the Protein Skimmer. Click here to read about
BIO-Wheel Filters.
|
|
|
| The advertisement, shown below, links to
this advertiser's web site. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Comment
to Potential Advertisers
|
|
|
This page often ranks #1 or
nearly #1 on Google for the phrase "buy aquarium
protein skimmer". Click
here now to check this page's current rankings on Google.
|
|
These high rankings
in Google attract heavy traffic on this page and
produce valuable clicks for advertisers. Other pages in this
web site also have hight rankings in Google for other
important words and phrases.
|
 |
|
If you are a
potential advertiser, click
here
to contact us and learn about putting a link to your web site on this
page. This is a powerful opportunity to
advertise your products
and services on this popular web site.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
