Protein Skimmers

A Protein Skimmer is also called a Foam Fractionator, and it can help you greatly to prevent the growth of algae in your tank and minimize the workload off your other filtration devices.
It receives water from your aquarium or sump filtration chamber and it places the water in a especial chamber where it gets mixed with fine bubbles. The bubbles act almost like a magnet to attract the waste particles from the water before bacteria has the chance to break it down into the nutrients that produce algae.
When the bubbles are formed in the chamber they build up into foam exactly like the foam you can see washing out at the shore, the foam grows and the excess gets stored in a collection cup on top of your Protein Skimmer. It is important to wash out the collection cup in the sink at least every week, or depending on the amount of foam that gets formed. That foam is waist.