Protein Skimmers

[mwilliams]

Okay Guys and Gals,
I need some help understanding Protein Skimmers.....

Here is my questions:
When you have a Protein Skimmer and you have to medicate the tank for whatever reason it always says to turn them off because it will take the medication out of the water.

Now would that not be the same if you are putting in your vitiamins and chemicals such as: Calcium, Magnesium, Strontium, Trace Elements, etc.... to better your fish & corals in the water?

Would it not do the same as it does on the medications?

Mary

[Fishguy2727]

Some certain things are taken out by a skimmer, like Iodide. Most will not be affected, at least not significantly. With regular partial water changes using a high quality salt you should not have problems with trace elements, even with overskimming.

[mwilliams]

Thanks

mary

[mwilliams]

I know so far that everyone is keen on the Reef Octopus Skimmers but the LFS that I shop at is having a Raffle Drawing this weekend and they have a Red Sea C-Skim 1800 for one of the prizes does anyone have any type of feed back about this type of skimmer?

And I see that it can be either a Stand Alone Skimmer or In Sump Skimmer.

Can someone explain how the Stand Alones work?

[Fishguy2727]

My stand alone is an AquaC EV skimmer that has spray injection. That means that instead of a venturi where water and air mix either right before or after the pump (usually before so the bubbles are broken up a lot in the pump) and therefore the pump has to be right next to the skimmer because otherwise there won't be much air making it to the skimmer. The injection skimmer I have just pumps water to the skimmer and then as it blasts into the reaction chamber it passes through an air chamber, pulling in lots of air. I love it because it makes more space (very valuable) availabe in the sump.

[cmor1701d]

Stand alone can be a hang on, or plumbed into the sump. The larger ones use a bulhead drilled in the sump to pass water through a pump to the skimmer and a return from the skimmer back to the sump.