[reef4gsp]

Just got my Turbo Flotor1000. Lovin it like a Micky D Commercial. But I've always wondered, and have never got a straight answer. Skimmers pull out dissolved ORGANICS, meaning carbon based compounds. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, nor Phosphate contain carbon. So I'm guessing the dissolved "organics" is a bit a of scientific misconception.

So what IS in my skimmer? Does it pull ammonia before its nitrified? Does it pull the final wastes of my inhabitants as Nitrate? Does the waste have to have specific polar properties? What will/won't it pull out of solution????

[Br14n55reef]

I'm guessing your right on your guess on what a skimmer pulls out of a tank, I put up my 55g reef 6 months ago now and it never had AMO,TRITE,TRATE, The phos is still ziro, and weekly water changes, But if we had no skimmers I bet things would be way different.
Oh and my live rock was not cured, Although it was flown next day air.

[pogodzib]

Protein skimmers pull out whatever molecules attract to the air/water interface within the skimmer, so yes, just saying they only pull out organics is a misconception.

Here's a couple good articles if you want to get into it farther.

General: Protein skimmer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Skimmate Contents: Down the Drain, Exports from Reef Aquaria by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[reef4gsp]

That "Down the Drain" article is absolutly facsinating! I don't have the time right now to read every bit of it however I'll be sure to print it out and include it as part of my sunday reading. I'll never complain about the cost of a standard test kit again! lol
Thank you for that link