Protein Skimmer Guide | Learn, Compare & Buy

I have been using an AquaC Remora Pro for a few years, and it has been a very good skimmer for me. I have a 75 gallon aquarium, so this particular skimmer is a pretty good match for the amount of water that needs to be cleaned.

However, I’ve recently been looking into the option of setting up a sump underneath the aquarium. The main reasoning is that I want to be able to move a bunch of the stuff that is hanging on the back of the aquarium to the underside of the aquarium. This will make things look a little nicer, aesthetically, and it should also help to reduce noise.

Of course, I’ve become a huge fan of the Spray Induction technology that is used on the AquaC skimmers, and I think that I want to stick with it. It just works.

So, what are my options? I think I should upgrade to the AquaC EV-120 protein skimmer. It’s the next level up from my current model, and it’s rated to skim aquariums larger than mine. Whereas with the Remora I feel like I’m on the top end of what the Remora is capable of doing.

This will all depend on whether or not I set up a sump underneath the tank, so we’ll see how this goes.

The AquaC EV-120 Protein Skimmer

The AquaC EV-120 protein skimmer offers a flexible design for aquariums in the 40-150 gallon range. It can be used in-sump or externally, and features AquaC’s patented Spray Injection System.

What types of aquarium owners would benefit from this protein skimmer? Anybody that wants to experience extremely efficient and no-nonsense skimming in their saltwater aquarium.

AquaC skimmers are known for requiring little ongoing maintenance and adjustments, and this model lives up to that reputation. The EV-120 that is currently available is not the original design. It has been improved in many facets to make it one heck of a powerhouse protein skimmer.

Size & Specifications

Before we get into some of the other details, let’s take a look at the general specs and size of this protein skimmer:

• Designed for tanks ranging from 40-150 gallons
• A water flow-through rate of 225 gallons per hour
• A height of 18 inches and a footprint of 4.75″ x 8.5″
• Foam tower is 4″

How about the bubbles and foam?

• Bubble size of .03-.05 mm
• Foam volume of 90 cubic inches

Features That Stand Out

AquaC skimmers are very straightforward devices, and yet they have some very useful features. The current EV-120 protein skimmer has been redesigned from it’s initial conception, and has been improved upon in many areas:

• Designed to be used in-sump or externally, adding flexibility depending on your aquarium setup constraints and limits.
• Airflow is controlled using a precision ball valve, and the noise from the suction process is barely noticeable. If you like quiet hardware, this is a major positive.
• A John Guest fitting, dubbed “Speed Fit”, can be ordered as an option with this model. This can be used to connect a calcium reactor to the skimmer, injecting the effluent straight into the skimmer. This can be useful to balance the negative pH effects that dosing straight into the aquarium can have.
• A twist-lock collection cup that keeps the cup secure yet makes it easy to remove from they system. This also seals the foam tower to eliminate annoying salt creep.
• AquaC has increased the mixing box size by about 40%, and the reaction towers are also taller and wider as well. These improvements have helped to increase contact time and therefore the overall performance is increased.

As you can see, these are some nice improvements and features.

More Reviews/Info & Pricing for the
AquaC EV-120 Protein Skimmer – Click Here

What Type of Water Pump Is Recommended?

AquaC specifically recommends a few water pump models, these are the two most commonly recommended:

• Mag Drive 5
• Rio 2100

AquaC also recommends use of the Dolphin 560 or the Iwaki 20 RLT. The Iwaki will require external plumbing.

Aside from what AquaC recommends, many users also like to recommend the Mag Drive 7 and other comparable pumps. Overdriving this skimmer seems to work well for some, so if you are not liking the results you are getting from a Mag Drive 5, for example, you can always try a Mag Drive 7 to see what type of difference there is.

Adjustable in a Good Way

This protein skimmer can be adjusted to produce different types of foam through two main methods:

• Adjusting the air intake
• Adjusting the internal water level

These two factors are the most important when setting this machine to produce the type of foam you want it to produce. It is possible to get watery foam, and it is also possible to generate really thick foam.

Each aquarium system is unique, so you will need to adjust these two items to find what works best for you. There is plenty of information in the manual in regards to this, so it’s easy to figure out what you need to do to adjust either way.

Don’t worry if it takes a while to get this skimmer adjusted just right for your aquarium. Once you have it tweaked properly, you probably won’t need to touch it very often again thanks to the consistency of the spray injection.

Ongoing Maintenance Is Easy

If you are an aquarium owner that doesn’t like to get bogged down by excessive maintenance, then this is a good protein skimmer for you. The technology that is used to create the foaming is very consistent and requires little maintenance, once it has been tweaked to match your aquariums needs.

The spray injector can be easily removed if you need to take it off to clean it. And the collection cup is easy to remove and reattach.

Once you have set up this skimmer, have let it break in and have adjusted the air valves and water levels as needed you will rarely, if ever, need to make further adjustments.

After Initial Setup

If you do decide to buy one of these skimmers, there are a couple important things that you should know about initial operation.

Many times it can take up to a couple weeks for the skimmer to begin producing any foam. Of course this is not always the case, and many users experience excellent foaming almost immediately. But there definitely is always the possibility of a break-in period.

This is because there are a lot of oils (from manufacturing and otherwise) that may be on the surface of the materials that the skimmer is made of. These elements need to be given time to “go away”. It’s sort of a break in period for a new skimmer, and this type of break-in period is not uncommon for many different types of protein skimmers.

If your skimmer isn’t producing any foam within a day of setup, don’t sweat it. Just let it run for a few days, maybe a couple weeks. It will start to create foam eventually. And when it does, you will notice!

During initial operation, it’s also best to run the collection cup drain tube back into your sump, and AquaC specifically recommends this in the manual as well. Sometimes after a break-in, the foam is very watery and may build up quickly. You will need to adjust the air control valve after break-in to make sure that it is operating to your expectations.

Only after this initial break-in and adjustment phase is complete should you consider removing the drain tube from the sump. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

Conclusion

Overall, this is a great protein skimmer for any medium to medium-large sized aquarium. It is a pleasure to use for anybody that doesn’t like to have to tweak hardware consistently to get it “just right”.

Be sure to pay attention to the size and specs to ensure that that this skimmer is rated for your type of aquarium. If it fits your aquarium setup, you can’t go wrong with the AquaC EV-120 protein skimmer.

More Reviews/Info & Pricing for the
AquaC EV-120 Protein Skimmer – Click Here

Protein skimmers all follow one general concept, in that they remove proteins from the water. But there are different methods implemented to do so.

The basic concept is that tiny bubbles of air are introduced into the water, which brings the organic materials to the surface to be pushed into a collection cup (foamy!). We are going to take a look at the different methods used to do this.

Co-Current & Counter-Current

Nearly all common types of protein skimmers can pretty much be categorized within these two categories.

What’s the difference?

Co-current designs introduce the air flow at the bottom of the skimmer unit, flowing upwards with the water current. Basically, the air is flowing the same direction as the water.

Counter-current designs introduce the air flow against the water flow, pushing the air against the water current. This allows the air bubbles to flow against the water for a short period of time before following with the flow of the water, which in theory gives the air bubbles more contact time within the water. Some argue that this makes counter-current systems more effective.

Now that we’ve covered the two basic categories, let’s take a look at the different types of technologies within these categories.

Venturi Protein Skimmers (co-current)

This is a popular protein skimmer technology that utilizes a venturi pump to introduce air to the water. The water flows through the venturi pump, air is introduced, and the water/air mix flows into the main skimmer chamber. From there, the foam overflows into the collection cup.

Air Stone Protein Skimmers (co-current)

This type of protein skimmer is the most basic, and even though it can work, it may not be as effective as newer protein skimming technologies. The idea is that an air stone is used to create micro bubbles, and the water flow it pushed through these micro bubbles. It’s a very basic concept.

Aspirating Protein Skimmers (counter-current)

This technology uses pin-wheels or mesh-wheels (like an impeller) to mix air and water – the air/water is mixed directly by the impeller. The mixture is typically forced downward into the skimmer body and then the bubbles (and foam) rise to the top and flow into the collection cup.

These types of skimmers are pretty popular, and can come in pretty compact sizes for smaller aquariums. Many different brands make this type of protein skimmer.

Downdraft Protein Skimmers (counter-current)

These types of skimmers drive a current of water down into tubes or chambers that contain bio balls or other plastic media. This mixes the air and water effectively, and foam is pushed into a collection cup.

Beckett Protein Skimmers (counter-current)

Beckett skimmers work much like downdraft skimmers, but they don’t use plastic media to mix the air and water. A foam nozzle is used to make the air bubbles, and the stream is forced down into the skimmer chamber.

Spray Induction (counter-current)

This technology is patented by AquaC, and is only available in their skimmers. This works similarly to the downdraft/Beckett skimmers. A spray nozzle is fixed above the water levels and the water/air mix is pushed down through the skimmer body and foam rises into a collection cup.

To learn more about skimmers that use this technology, check out our AquaC EV-120 protein skimmer review.

Conclusion

Is your head spinning yet? If so, just think of it like this – all of these technologies are designed to mix air and water, creating foam, which rises and flows into a collection cup. The specific way in which these types of skimmers do that may vary, but that’s what it really comes down to.

To better understand the need for protein skimmers, let’s take a look at the types of aquarium owners/operators that use them.

People with Fish Only w/ Live Rock Aquariums

People with fish only aquariums can always benefit from the use of a protein skimmer. Fish generate a lot of waste that ends up in the aquarium water, contributing to bad water quality. Live rock is also very organic and has a tendency to promote extra wastes in the water at times. For this reason, it makes sense to use a protein skimmer if you have fish only with live rock.

People with Reef Aquariums

People who have corals can benefit from the use of a protein skimmer. In addition to removing organic wastes and helping to keep the water at a top quality level, a skimmer can help to remove toxins that are released by some types of corals.

In a reef only aquarium, the owner will need to pay attention to a couple things. Trace elements can be removed by a skimmer, so it’s good to add these elements to the water regularly. Also, a skimmer can remove plankton from the water. When adding plankton to your aquarium, it might be best to turn the skimmer off for a few hours.

Don’t let these potential negatives deter you if you fall into this reef-only group, however. Just use the skimmer smartly, and you will be able to reap the benefits that it has to offer.

People with Invertebrates

Many invertebrates are known to release toxins into the water, and a protein skimmer can be useful to counter this and help remove these substances. Also, some invertebrates can be intolerant of bad water quality, more so than fish. For this reason, the fact that a protein skimmer will promote good water quality should not be overlooked.

As you can see, a protein skimmer can benefit pretty much all saltwater aquarium scenarios. Anybody that needs to remove wastes and organics from their saltwater aquarium can benefit from a protein skimmer.

If you have a saltwater aquarium, and are not using a protein skimmer, you really should reconsider. Protein skimmers can play a large role in maintaining excellent aquarium water quality – if implemented properly.

To understand why you need a protein skimmer, it is best to take a look at what a protein skimmer will do. A protein skimmer removes organic and other waste from the aquarium water, it “skims the proteins”.

It can be argued that a protein skimmer may not be needed, but it really depends on personal preference and what type of aquarium is being discussed. You may not need to use a protein skimmer if you are removing wastes and nitrates from the water through other means. However, a protein skimmer gives you the ability to remove a lot of the waste quickly and efficiently. And even more importantly, this is done continuously, as a skimmer is running all the time.

The organic materials that are removed from the water by the protein skimmer would otherwise be broken down into ammonia, which is not a good thing at all.

This is why a protein skimmer can be so powerful. It will remove stuff that normally turns into problematic chemicals. It’s preventative maintenance.

A protein skimmer sits at the bottom of a very important chain that keeps a saltwater aquarium healthy. If you don’t remove the organic wastes to some extent, you are promoting ammonia, nitrates and then poor water quality with excessive algae growth and other issues.

A good protein skimmer, used in conjunction with other filtration mechanisms, can be an important cog in the wheel when promoting good water quality in your aquarium. If you are not using a protein skimmer, and are experiencing any issues we have mentioned, it is time to try to use one.

It should be noted that protein skimmers are not effective in freshwater aquariums. Only saltwater promotes the methods that are used to skim proteins from the water in these devices.