Protein Skimmer

Deltec make a series of self cleaning heads for their larger AP skimmers and can increase the efficiency of your skimmer by up to 20%On all skimmers if you watch them over a number of days you will see the amount of waste collected fall off with time. This is because as the foam rises it deposits some of the fat and proteins that it has collected on the side of the riser tube. This deposit makes it harder for the foam to climb ans so the amount of waset in the cup decreases.On my own AP902 skimmer I can collect a good inch of thick dark waste over a period of 2-3 days. If I do not clean the cup at that point it may take another week to collect the same volume.The idea behind the cleaning head is that every 1-2 hours, brushes on the head clean the inside of the riser tube and keep it spotlessly clean. No additional water is used for this as the wetness of the foam is sufficient if done on such a frequent time scale.Waste Removal:The other side of the operation is keeping the skimmer cup clean so that the smell that goes along with the waste is removed too. This is achieved using an auto syphon and a fresh water supply controlled via a solenoid.