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Why cant a protein skimmer be used in a freshwater tank2007-11-24 23:43:06

I've heard from various people that a protein skimmer can't be used with a freshwater tank, why is this? My understanding is that a protein skimmer takes out waste and helps keep the water crystal clear. I don't see how that's bad for freshwater fish, unless they need the waste in the water to keep a balance in the tank.

Answers:

Protein skimmers are specially made for saltwater tanks. They're designed to be compatible with saltwater, and to only remove certain things, and leave others in. If it's used in a freshwater tank, then it'll remove/leave some chemicals that could be helpful/dangerous, depending on the chem and all that.

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Good question,I actually think that because it may be a little to big.I've heard that the wires on the skimmer could hurt the fish.

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It can, its just not really that good at it but i heard alot of people using it on their big goldfish tanks.

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It can be used, but in general it is not particularly necesary, although it would help in a large Tanganyikan cichlid tank.

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It wont skim. Not the right chemistry. You can run it but it wont produce any skimmate (the gunk you collect out of a skimmer). You can run a skimmer on brackish tanks and even then they wont skim very much. Skimmers remove dissolved proteins - but are not just filters in their own right. A good canister or HOB filter is all you need on a fresh tank.

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there are way more possitive bacteria and other tiny creatures in seawater but not freshwater ; the protein skimmer is use to fead those little creatures.therefore it's not needed in freshwater tank

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The higher the salt and pH levels the better protein skimmers work, but there are protien skimmers that are made specifically for freshwater tanks

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuse.

http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/commercial/fres.