Skimmer

Protein skimmers are among the most important technical devices in a marine aquarium and have the important task of removing organic waste from the water cycle in the form of uric acids, peptides and protein compounds before they are converted into inorganic substances (e.g. nitrogen nitrate) by biological degradation processes.

Protein skimming works by allowing the electrically charged protein molecules to adhere to air bubbles and be removed as foam (in the skimmer as a brown liquid, adsorbate). Since the protein skimmer not only removes organic waste from the aquarium, but also substances that are important for corals, e.g. amino acids, a protein skimmer should always be adapted to the aquarium in terms of its performance and not be oversized.