# Protein skimmer worth buying?



## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

or a waste of time? its for a nano tank

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/180941124433...eName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

Anything under 20$ for me is a free experiment.

Id give it a shot.


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## smcx (Mar 31, 2012)

I just do water changes.


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## jkoot (Apr 17, 2012)

To bad they don't have a picture of one of the units working on the tank... 

But like Chromey said, its under $20, throw it on the tank and keep up with a water change routine and it may help pull out some stuff....or....it may just look like a cool ornament...

>jason


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## smcx (Mar 31, 2012)

In a nano, you're changing the water constantly not only to remove waste but also to re-add minerals. If you just top up with fresh water to keep the salinity in line, you're going to run into problems.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

thats exactly what i was thinking as an experiment and i do water changes every week but the evaporation happens so fast in my tank like every other day i have to be adding about half a litre of fresh water.


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## KG20 (Aug 13, 2011)

you get for what you pay for butttt give it a shot.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Oh it will work as that is how they did it before these newer style skimmers came on the market. I did a DIY one with a soda bottle and it work just fine.


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## riggles17 (Jan 4, 2011)

Soda bottle one?


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

how big is the tank? i don't have a skimmer on my 10 gallon and all i do is water changes every week.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

riggles17 said:


> Soda bottle one?


That is exactly what this is. Shocking to hear but the soda bottle ones work very well.

airstone: 2.00
plastic pop bottle: free
airline hose: you probably have some hanging around
sour cream container for collection cup: free

all you need is an air pump, but this one on ebay needs one too

Edit: need some silicone to seal

Don't have pop and sour cream container? Go buy them and a bag of chips and there is your midnight snack


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## riggles17 (Jan 4, 2011)

Lol I'd like to see how that works, any pics or vids?


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## TypeZERO (Jul 20, 2007)

All airstone filters work somewhat same and perform somewhat same. What I found when I was using one when I started out is, the wooden air stones clog fast. Gatta keep exchanging them to good performance. Also you need a good air pump that can handle high pressures to get the most out of wooden air stone skimmers. Add cost of replacing the wood and the cost of the skimmer itself and the cost of a good air pump, it's not so worth it cause you'll wan to upgrade anyways to a proper skimmer.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

I don't wish to hijack the thread but yeah. 2 liter pop bottle and an air-stone real ghetto style. They need a lot of tinkering to get it just right. I did it just to try after reading about it.


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## iGeeve (Aug 29, 2012)

In theory, it would work.


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