New Tank and Protein Skimmer Questions

[Dione]

What’s good MFK? Yesterday my neighbor gave me a tank and protein skimmer. The tank is all an glass 48”Wx24”Dx16”H frag. I can see on the sticker it’s was built in 2018 but not sure on the manufacturer. The protein skimmer is a reef octopus bh2000. Not sure what I’m going to do with this setup if anything at all. But I couldn’t pass up free. It will definitely be freshwater though. I dealt with salt years ago but it’s not for me.
Question is can I use the skimmer for freshwater in any way? Maybe even modding it? Or am I better off selling it and using something else. I already have a few old canisters and sumps in the garage I could use but I’m just curious.
Also, any suggestions on possible stocking for the tank and setup would be appreciated. Just not sure what to do with the limited height of I even set this up at all
Thanks in advance

 

[pacu mom]

Most protein skimmers are designed for use on marine/reef tanks. Clarity has a skimmer/foam fractionator for fresh water applications.

Clarity Protein Skimmers

Function: To remove Dissolved Organic Compounds to make your water cleaner for your Koi. Clarity™ is a unique Protein Skimmer/Foam Fractionator with distinct benefits: Why a Protein Skimmer / Foam Fractionator? Water in confined areas (e.g. fish tank, pond or lake) has a certain level of...

www.koiacres.com

duanes built his own foam fractionators. He could tell you if the protein skimmer you have can be used with a fresh water setup.

 

[duanes]

I use protein skimmers on fresh water, they removes DOC (nitrate precursors), free floating algae, particulate, and even some parasites.
Whether the salt water version will be strong enough to work in fresh is the question, because fresh water is less dense, it is harder to fractionate the air water interface.
Below my DIY version removing stuff from a fresh water pond I had.
PreviewPreview2:12koi pond fractionationYouTube · Duane Stuermer
Below a different style DIY model working on a tank

Below what it removed from the tank, Used a plastic bag to collect the waste

I did lab studies using a microscope to count the ratio of things like protozoa in tank water to skimmer waste, and desiccated the dry weight of skimmer waste compared to weight in straight tank water.

 

[twentyleagues]

I've tried a reef octopus skimmer on a fresh tank and I got very little if any at all foaming. I've seen duanes videos/pics before and seen it's completely possible I just don't think the units designed for salt water are all that compatible with fresh maybe size is the issue......

That tank would make a great river tank for smaller riverine gobies and shiners or a nice shellie tank. Either way I'd make or get a top of some sort. I almost picked up a used one like it 80g I think for the same ideas. Wasn't free though so price kinda was the issue. Picked up a 125 for about $200 more new.

 

[duanes]

I've tried a reef octopus skimmer on a fresh tank and I got very little if any at all foaming. I've seen duanes videos/pics before and seen it's completely possible I just don't think the units designed for salt water are all that compatible with fresh maybe size is the issue......
That tank would make a great river tank for smaller riverine gobies and shiners or a nice shellie tank. Either way I'd make or get a top of some sort.

Agree
I tried a couple commercial ones made for salt water aquariums (not the BH2000 though) and found most too wimpy to fractionate fresh water.
But they are great aeration units, saturating what flows thru the mixing unit with oxygen even before entering the tank. And as you can see in my video, the mixing chamber to the pond is filled with lava rock (could be bioballs, ceramic rings, whatever).
Since the chamber has a high water flow, it is a great spot for biomedia, providing a highly oxygenated place for beneficial bacteria to reside, and remove ammonia before it hits the main tank, and providing extra oxygen as the water enters the tank.

 

[Dione]

Thanks for the replies guys. Guess I’ll be selling the skimmer. And wow duanes! Your thirst for knowledge regarding the hobby goes way beyond me. But I mean that in a good way. I doubt I’ll be getting that in depth with this smaller tank but I will research your previous threads once I build my plywood tank. Hopefully this summer ?
And thanks for the suggestion 20L. Yeah, if I had to buy the tank I would have definitely gone a different route. But free is free. Working on plans for a stand and lids. Afterwards I’ll price out materials and decide if I’m going to set this up or not