Protein Skimmer?

[ryanp15]

Okay time to start something in here! So before all of this happened I had the post about the protien skimmer and I never got to read it! My question was what exactly does a protein skimmer do? I know you need one but what do they do? Also what is a sump and do you need one for a saltwater tank all the time? Thanks.

   Ryan ;D

[Ovrclckd]

[quote author=ryanp13 link=board=saltwater=986095835=0#0 date=03/31/01 at 19:30:35]
Okay time to start something in here! So before all of this happened I had the post about the protien skimmer and I never got to read it! My question was what exactly does a protein skimmer do? I know you need one but what do they do? Also what is a sump and do you need one for a saltwater tank all the time? Thanks.

   Ryan ;D
[/quote]

Okay one of the properties of saltwater is that it bubbles when agitated unlike pure freshwater. A foam fractitioner (protein skimmer) pushes tank water through a column of rising bubbles, when the gunk in the water touches the surface of the bubbles it attaches itself. These bubbles rise out of the skimmer and collect in a collection cup. A Prizm skimmer from red sea is the right size for a small salt aquarium 30 - 90 gallons, and costs $70.

A sump is a resevoir under the main tank, water is continously syphoned out of the main tank into the sump and pumped back into the main tank. The sump serves two purposes, one allows the user to hide his/her equipment and two it allows for increased water volume in the system, meaning a more stable environment. A sump can be hard to put in place, hard to plumb and usually is expensive. It is worth it tho.