Elemental Analysis of Skimmate: What Does a Protein Skimmer Actually Remove from Aquarium Water?
Elemental Analysis of Skimmate: What Does a Protein Skimmer Actually Remove from Aquarium Water?
by Ken S. Feldman, Advanced Aquarist
Recent efforts primarily by Hatcher and colleagues (Mopper, 2007; De la Rosa, 2008) using sophisticated mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques have revealed that authentic ocean TOC is comprised of tens of thousands of discrete compounds that include chemical representatives from all of the major biochemical groups; lipids, peptides, carbohydrates, heterocycles, aromatics, etc. The relationship between ocean TOC and aquarium TOC still remains to be established, but it seems likely that the TOC in our aquaria is equally diverse and rich in its chemical complexity.
Read about the study here.