The volume of water in our saltwater aquariums compared with the enormity of the sea requires us to remove protein mechanically as we can not rely on dilution. Deltec have designed a unique system to do so.

Protein Skimmers are a general name within the marine hobby for pieces of equipment that are designed to remove waste materials and proteins from the water column by a process called foam fractionation.

General: In simple terms a protein skimmer works by introducing high levels of air bubbles through a body of water containing waste materials. The waste and proteins are attracted to the air water interface and flow upwards with the surface where they can be collected. The larger the volume of air and the smaller the bubbles then the more surface area that is available to attract the proteins and the more efficient the skimmer.

Deltec Philosophy: There are 2 philosophies regarding the control of waste in a marine aquarium.

One is to is to have an average performing protein skimmer to take out some of the protein but also have a large amount of biological filtration to deal with the resulting breakdown from the remainder. This type of system will normally lead to a trend for rising nitrate levels and clean-ish rather than truly clean water.

The second way and the preferred Deltec method is to install a highly efficient protein skimmer that removes the majority of waste before it breaks down thus requiring less biological filtration and resulting in a lower level of nitrate that is much easier to cope with by the reducing bacteria in the system.

Deltec Protein Skimmers, renowned throughout the world for�extreme performance� use a unique, highly developed and patented pin wheel system which produces a water air mix unequalled by others.

As the water and air enter the skimmer pump they pass through the Deltec pinwheel. This is designed to fit within the pump housing so that very little water and air passes by it without being totally smashed up and mixed together.

People try to copy the Deltec pinwheel system but do not really understand the details that make them perform like they do.

It has taken 20 years of development to perfect the Deltec range of Protein Skimmers.