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#1
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Protein Skimmer
Anybody running a protein skimmer on a pond?
I've read the argument that marine aquatics keepers tend to run skimmers because for them water is comparatively expensive, and for freshwater this isn't true, hence its not necessary as water changes remove the need, but due to low rainfall there is a high risk a hosepipe ban here this summer and anything that reduced the need for water changes seems like a good idea. Peter East midlands, England |
#2
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Protein Skimmer
Peter Breed wrote:
Anybody running a protein skimmer on a pond? I've read the argument that marine aquatics keepers tend to run skimmers because for them water is comparatively expensive, and for freshwater this isn't true, hence its not necessary as water changes remove the need, but due to low rainfall there is a high risk a hosepipe ban here this summer and anything that reduced the need for water changes seems like a good idea. Steve Meyer, who wrote about pond fish for years in AFM magazine, swears by them for ponds. aiui, it's not so much that water is expensive that they're used in marine aquaria but simply because protein skimmers are much more effective in salt water (something to do with the bubbles being more stable). To get the same effect in freshwater you need something much bigger - but that can be worthwhile with a pond. http://tinyurl.com/lduvl gives his directions for building a protein skimmer, but it's unfortunately missing the images. -- derek |
#3
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Protein Skimmer
Not sure if it would work. Surface tension of fresh water is much lower than
salt water. Not sure dissolved organics will fractionate out. "Peter Breed" wrote in message ... Anybody running a protein skimmer on a pond? I've read the argument that marine aquatics keepers tend to run skimmers because for them water is comparatively expensive, and for freshwater this isn't true, hence its not necessary as water changes remove the need, but due to low rainfall there is a high risk a hosepipe ban here this summer and anything that reduced the need for water changes seems like a good idea. Peter East midlands, England |
#4
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Protein Skimmer
Protein skimmers do not work worth a flip on fresh water.......There
are other methods your able to employ to remove proteins out of the water, other than a typical fractionator or protein skimmer.... On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:41:53 -0600, "Phil Cav" wrote: Not sure if it would work. Surface tension of fresh water is much lower than salt water. Not sure dissolved organics will fractionate out. "Peter Breed" wrote in message ... Anybody running a protein skimmer on a pond? I've read the argument that marine aquatics keepers tend to run skimmers because for them water is comparatively expensive, and for freshwater this isn't true, hence its not necessary as water changes remove the need, but due to low rainfall there is a high risk a hosepipe ban here this summer and anything that reduced the need for water changes seems like a good idea. Peter East midlands, England -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
#5
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Protein Skimmer
Roy wrote:
Protein skimmers do not work worth a flip on fresh water.......There are other methods your able to employ to remove proteins out of the water, other than a typical fractionator or protein skimmer.... I thought you could use a skimmer in FW with ozone. Never tried, though. Here's an ozonater and skimmer for koi ponds. http://www.koicarp.net/filtration/pr..._skimmers.html This article says that if there's enough protein that waterfalls foam a bit, you can skim. http://www.koimag.co.uk/featureRead.asp?ID=2049 -- Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply. Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com |
#6
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Protein Skimmer
Whoa, I bet you have to pump a LOT of air or ozone to create foam in fresh
water. "Altum" wrote in message m... Roy wrote: Protein skimmers do not work worth a flip on fresh water.......There are other methods your able to employ to remove proteins out of the water, other than a typical fractionator or protein skimmer.... I thought you could use a skimmer in FW with ozone. Never tried, though. Here's an ozonater and skimmer for koi ponds. http://www.koicarp.net/filtration/pr..._skimmers.html This article says that if there's enough protein that waterfalls foam a bit, you can skim. http://www.koimag.co.uk/featureRead.asp?ID=2049 -- Put the word aquaria in the subject to reply. Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com |
#7
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Protein Skimmer
I've read similar articles and lots of stuff on marine setups,
especially wrt marine DIY setups*, but I have yet to find much info people with experience on pond size fresh water setups. I am hoping somebody will post with some experience. Part of me is thinking is the worst that could happen is the generation of some very well oxygenated water. The best would seem to be proactively removing contaminants. I have heard goldfish describe as sewage factories and sewage treatment plants have long used foam fractionation the logic seems obvious - I'm wondering why everyone isn't doing it already, Peter *Commercial units seem very expensive for what seem relatively simple pieces of apparatus Altum wrote: Roy wrote: Protein skimmers do not work worth a flip on fresh water.......There are other methods your able to employ to remove proteins out of the water, other than a typical fractionator or protein skimmer.... I thought you could use a skimmer in FW with ozone. Never tried, though. Here's an ozonater and skimmer for koi ponds. http://www.koicarp.net/filtration/pr..._skimmers.html This article says that if there's enough protein that waterfalls foam a bit, you can skim. http://www.koimag.co.uk/featureRead.asp?ID=2049 |
#8
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Protein Skimmer
Phil Cav wrote:
Whoa, I bet you have to pump a LOT of air or ozone to create foam in fresh water. Who are you kidding? _Everybody_ who has a waterfall in their pond will see foaming sooner or later. Foam fractionating works any time you have enough DOCs to need it. -- derek |
#9
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Protein Skimmer
"Peter Breed" wrote in message ...
Anybody running a protein skimmer on a pond? I've read the argument that marine aquatics keepers tend to run skimmers because for them water is comparatively expensive, and for freshwater this isn't true, hence its not necessary as water changes remove the need, but due to low rainfall there is a high risk a hosepipe ban here this summer and anything that reduced the need for water changes seems like a good idea. "Phil Cav" writes: Not sure if it would work. Surface tension of fresh water is much lower than salt water. Not sure dissolved organics will fractionate out. You could put an airstone in your filter. If you get foam and you are unable to do a water change, think about building a protein skimmer. The more salt in your water the better a foam fractionator will work but keep in mind if you are unable to change water the salt concentration will rise due to evaporation. HTH |
#10
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Protein Skimmer
Well it makes you wonder why places like AES sells protein skimmers,
and then have that little caveat"No guarantee as to weather the skimmers will pull protein etc out of the water, as skimmers are not the best choice for fresh water use" Yet they sell skimmers in the 0's of thousands of dollars thats just rated to 4000 gal capacity.....Skimming freshwater ponds is a waste of time and money, unless your like the vanderbilts or trumps with an unlimited amount of cash to play with, and plunking down 6 to 10 thousand bucks on a whim and not have it work will not set you back in other needs that are necessary...... On Wed, 5 Apr 2006 15:34:48 +0000 (UTC), Andrew Burgess wrote: "Peter Breed" wrote in message ... Anybody running a protein skimmer on a pond? I've read the argument that marine aquatics keepers tend to run skimmers because for them water is comparatively expensive, and for freshwater this isn't true, hence its not necessary as water changes remove the need, but due to low rainfall there is a high risk a hosepipe ban here this summer and anything that reduced the need for water changes seems like a good idea. "Phil Cav" writes: Not sure if it would work. Surface tension of fresh water is much lower than salt water. Not sure dissolved organics will fractionate out. You could put an airstone in your filter. If you get foam and you are unable to do a water change, think about building a protein skimmer. The more salt in your water the better a foam fractionator will work but keep in mind if you are unable to change water the salt concentration will rise due to evaporation. HTH -- \\\|/// ( @ @ ) -----------oOOo(_)oOOo--------------- oooO ---------( )----Oooo---------------- \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates.... |
#11
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Protein Skimmer
Since foam is the most annoying thing regarding proteins in a pond, if one
has just a regular skimmer, doesn't that take care of the visual part of the problem? Personally, the only time I have foam is after spawning, and the majority of the foam drifts off to the skimmer where it breaks down in a day or two. Perhaps that is all the OP needs? ~ jan -------------- See my ponds and filter design: www.jjspond.us ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
#12
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Protein Skimmer
~ janj wrote:
Since foam is the most annoying thing regarding proteins in a pond, if one has just a regular skimmer, doesn't that take care of the visual part of the problem? I don't think so - or rather, of course it takes care of the visual part, but that's not the worst part. Foam is annoying, but the DOCs aren't good for the fish. Personally, the only time I have foam is after spawning, and the majority of the foam drifts off to the skimmer where it breaks down in a day or two. Perhaps that is all the OP needs? ~ jan If you get foam _without_ a protein skimmer, then your DOCs are unhealthily high. Yes, if it just comes from spawning activity, it'll break down and the pond will return to its normal balance soon, but I'd still recommend taking a net and scooping out foam _any_ time you see it. That stuff just doesn't need to be in the pond. Using a foam fractionator should enable you to remove the DOCs before they get to the point of being unhealthy. -- derek |
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