Nano Protein skimmer...
 

Hi all,

Any recommendations on a nano protein skimmer for a 5g?

a biocube skimmer ? the smallest protein skimmer i know

protein skimmer
 

chinese sites like alibaba and aliexpress, fishstreet.com, offer some really small air driven skimmers.
To be honest, a 5gal would be better off without one, and just do water changes. IMO.

Agree'd with this. Regular water changes are your best bet for a 5 Gallon tank. Pretty rare to see a protein skimmer on that little water volume (without a sump too).

If you are dead-set on one, I would go for the smallest of the Innovative Marine nano skimmers. They work awesome.

Here is the link:

http://innovative-marine.com/auqa-gadget/skim-mate.html

I currently use the Midsized skimmer on a nano and It works awesome.

I happened upon this product from a company in Japan (Mame Design) a few years back. Even though it's much too small for my tank & quite costly to boot, I was intrigued by the simple but fine craftsmanship of this little wooden air stone driven glass skimmer. I have a thing for wooden air diffusers, since my own skimmer uses them as well. I find they produce the finest bubbles I've seen & replacing them from time to time is not a big issue for me.

The company also makes really nice overflows & several other aquarium items. Not sure how many of their products are available in our part of the world, but these days with a little persistence & the help of the interweb, I'm sure it's possible to get one.

http://mame-design.jp/aqua/goods/aqu...skimmer3.shtml

http://www.nanoreefblog.com/reviews/...xed-and-tested

As mentioned, their stuff ain't cheap, but they look like little pieces of art in glass, so kind of worth the money if you appreciate this on items that are functional as well. I suppose you could DIY something similar in acrylic or even a small glass bottle. Would be perfect for a 5g.

I do agree that water changes is the best way to go with such a small tank.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I checked out the links and there are some cool little skimmers. I wonder if anyone has made a DIY nano skimmer?

Lots of DIY out there. Search DIY mame skimmer, and there are a bunch of videos and build threads. Most seem to be taking a small plastic bottle, cut the bottom out, put airline with a wooden airstone in, have a tube from the top out to a collection cup. They seem to actually collect gunk. If you give it a whirl, take a few pics and share it! :)

awesome, thanks IanWR. I'll chech it out.

Along with whatever gunk a small skimmer like that will collect, it will also add to the dissolved oxygen levels in your system and that's always a good thing.

tunze makes a pretty cool little skimmer not sure if it will fit your needs though