How Stuff Works. Protein skimmers

The koi keeping hobby must be like many other hobbies in that each year it is a testing bed for new products and innovations. Many are launched overnight and appear to leave the hobby just as quickly. Others are launched as adaptations from other markets or industries, with some still failing but others becoming embedded in the hobby. This happened with UVcs 15-20 years ago, and I believe it has started to happen with pond foam fractionators over the last 5 years.

This happened with UVcs 15-20 years ago, and I believe it has started to happen with pond foam fractionator over the last 5 years.
Why have pond protein skimmers started to catch on?
The principle was harnessed and applied to marine systems as long ago as the mid-1960s, and foam separation techniques have been used since at least the 1890s in broader industry contexts.
Protein skimmers add a lot to the marinists' toolkit for maintaining stable water quality (as unlike ornamental pond fish, most marine fish cannot tolerate even the slightest of changes to their environment) and perhaps have been overlooked as a possible tool for the pond keeper.
That is, it processes a combination of organic and inorganic compounds within the pond to form less toxic by-products, which regrettably still remain within the pond.
Traditionally, we have kept on top of this unwelcome phenomenon of an ageing pond by carrying out regular partial water changes, diluting the shading effects of DOC (again on a reactive basis).
But the installation of a protein skimmer that will work constantly to remove even the smallest traces of DOC as and when it is released into the pond, will prevent any DOC from accumulating.
DOC molecules cause a foam to form as the molecules which collect at the pond surface cause the pond water to form very stable bubbles.
When a foam fractionator is first installed, phenomenal quantities of foam (and the final brown liquid) are first formed as the DOC molecules are attracted en masse to the air/water interface.
Marinists soon discovered that the performance of a skimmer could be improved through the addition of ozone (O3) instead of air.

pond foam protein water "protein skimmer" bubbles compounds ozone "DOC molecules" installation marine "foam fractionator" air accumulation regular to read full article click the link

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