Protein Skimmer On FreshWater?

[Peanut_Power]

I know that they are pretty essential on SW tanks, but what about FW? Will it do the same thing that it does on a SW tank or will it just be a pointless piece of equipment? Does anyone have a protein skimmer on their FW setup? Just curious. I am tempted to try it and see if it helps to keep my ammonia and stuff down. Thankz for the input!!

P_p

 

[ewurm]

Won't work at all. Won't produce enough micro bubbles in freshwater to produce anything.

 

[cichlaguapote]

Won't work at all. Won't produce enough micro bubbles in freshwater to produce anything.

Basically, I know I asked a long time ago. And they won't work on freshwater. Pretty sure that was why.

 

[Peanut_Power]

What about on a FRT tank? hehehe...there has got to be some way that it will work....bugga.....hmmmm

 

[ewurm]

Uh, no, I don't believe it will work on fresh water at all.

 

[Dr Joe]

It doesnt work very well on F/W because the water doesn't foam properly. To get it to work half way desently, you need a higher pressure air pump than the walmart kind & a diffuser that makes very fine bubbles (usually wood).

The best work it will do is aerate the water, helping with gas exchange.

If you are running a sump, you can save yourself some time & trouble by putting a large air stone in the bottom of it for the gas exchange (with better luck too). I use 1/4" drip irrigation hose (the kind made from recycled tires that leaks out water all around the hose) for the air supply in the sump. (about 3ft coiled up in sump, center fed with both ends blocked)

If your in it for the looks (cool factor) that's a whole different story.


Dr Joe

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[Peanut_Power]

Thankz Doc....much appreciated. I do have a sump, don't really need the extra aeriation in it though as its going through two tanks before it gets to the sump...ha. Oh well, it was a short lived vision at best. I think I shall use the money to invest in a UV instead...

P_p

 

[rhinod56]

I have no experience personall to say, but from asking around at the local shops, the general saying is this...
skimmers just like uv sterilizers on a FW tank are nice, but by no means needed or gonna do anything special. if you have the money and don't care, go for it, but otherwise save it up for when you go saltwater. they are nice to have, but not a necessitity...

 

[Oddball]

You really don't read too many threads around here, do you? This was covered alot this past year.

For the most part, the over-the-counter hobbyist grade skimmers won't do diddly worth of foam fractionating due to the lower bonding qualities of water molecules in fresh water. However, commercial grade pressurized systems with improved venturi air injection valves can produce the "dry foam" necessary to remove protein wastes from freshwater without incurring too much water loss from the system.

 

[Dr Joe]

I have no experience personall to say, but from asking around at the local shops, the general saying is this...
skimmers just like uv sterilizers on a FW tank are nice, but by no means needed or gonna do anything special. if you have the money and don't care, go for it, but otherwise save it up for when you go saltwater. they are nice to have, but not a necessitity...

"uv sterilizers on a FW tank are nice, but by no means needed or gonna do anything special."

No offense, but you need to find more knowledgeable people to get your info from and stay away from who ever gave you this tidbit. Do a search on here to get a better idea of how things really work.

You really don't read too many threads around here, do you? This was covered alot this past year.

For the most part, the over-the-counter hobbyist grade skimmers won't do diddly worth of foam fractionating due to the lower bonding qualities of water molecules in fresh water. However, commercial grade pressurized systems with improved venturi air injection valves can produce the "dry foam" necessary to remove protein wastes from freshwater without incurring too much water loss from the system.

You should give him a price on one of these little jewels...(with associated hardware)

Dr Joe

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