Hello, I am a aquarist on a tight budget going by priority while putting his fifty five gallon SW aquarium together piece by piece (salt, filter, heater etc...) what is a protein skimmer??? and do I need NEED it??? Or is it like a bubbler is it optional???[/QUOTE
so I'll start off telling you I am a freshwater guy who hasn't yet made the jump to salt so probably not the most qualified person to answer this question but I'll give it a shot, protein skimmers as far as I've read and been told are mostly or all about nutient/waste export, basically from what I understand they are there to help remove proteins, waste, excess soluable matter in the aquarium water, this I believe is what you see in the ocean as sea foam churned up by wave action(I could be completely wrong on that part) but the short of it is that you can get away without one by doing frequent water changes but the expense of salt and either using an ro/di or purchasing water at the rate needed to do those water changes can get costly in a very short period of time, so if you can purchase a protein skimmer that helps extend the useful lifespan of the water in your tank it will save you considerable money in the long run by helping to maintain the proper levels in your aquarium, I hope that helps a bit, but again I want to say I'm a freshwater guy so it' very possible I've got this somewhat wrong
