fresh water skimmer
 

just curious: does a skimmer work in fresh water setups? i know in saltwater, it bubbles easier but cant you just raise the water level in freshwater and have it work?

wont work...

nope
 

-used 2 think about the same thing but...honestly skimmers are rendered
virtually useless for freshwater! -wouldn't try but hey w/e and good luk//

Seems yes, in large scale FW systems, search for foam fractionator or foam fractionation.

For fish farms (note under features, different cone)
http://www.praqua.com/products/foamfractionators.cfm

Koi ponds
http://www.pond-doctor.co.uk/longskimmers.htm

it can work but it is very hard to set up properly.

Steve

reply
 

-what makes skimming so ackward in freshwater again i forgot is it that
freshwater has no specific gravity or the water chemistry in general?

salt water has a higher surface tension which makes it hold the bubbles better.

Steve

For 10$ I purchased one of those surface skimmers that hook up to a canister filter. Within 10 minutes the surface was crystal clear. Totally underrated in my opinion. I tested it in my reef tank and the skimmer is definitely skimming less with that on so I moved it to my discus tank.. Inexpensive piece of hardware.

Rick.......

i was looking for a skimmer for my new discus tank but had problems finding one so i settled for a fluval fx5.

Yes this thing works really well in fresh water.
However it is Very sencible to level fluctuations, algae will grow inside, it only works when super clean and with constant water level. I had one too. Now garbage bin has it.
waste of money imo.

i read of somone once using a protein skimmer as an aerater in their planted aquarium at night, because the fish and the plants together output crazy ammounts of CO2 if it's heavily stocked...

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-well i'd think that a planted aquarium alone would supply a decent amount
of oxygenation...

really? is it that bad? i thought it was something new that just came out. it is rated for 400 gallons is why i bought it. havent received it yet, it's in the mail.

ok I think you guys are talking about two different things, the surface skimmer for 10 bucks is not a proteen skimmer, all it is, is a add on to your filter that makes it take the water from the surface to get rid of surface skum, it is not a proteen skimmer.

Steve

Some people have a tidy house and others...well. Blame it on the equipment I guess and toss it out.

CLK: Works great for me. There is a travel of approx 4" for water evaporation. If you maintain your system it works well just like every other piece of equipment.

Rick.....

You are absolutely correct Stircrazy. Do not get it confused with a protein skimmer. I have yet to see a protein skimmer that works on a freshwater tank. Just doesn't work.

Rick....

actualy they will, just a little harder to make it work.

I am thinking of playing with the idea on my new fresh water tank I am going to builds.

Steve

my bad he was talking about surface skimmer lol

Actually there are a few protein skimmers designed for freshwater applications only. We have seen units available for ponds and there has been several articles in Ponds USA dealing with DIY units for ponds. We have a large Sanders freshwater protein skimmer operating on our koi quarantine system which happens to also displayed in The Reef Aquarium Volume 3. The key is maximum aeration through specialized ceramic air stones being fed by approximately 20 l/min of air. This particular skimmer stands 7 feet and removes high levels of organic waste. The foam is less frothy but rich in organics. We saw various models at the Interzoo in Germany last year but again, most are marketed towards large applications. Expect to see smaller versions in the years to come particularly with the increase in ozone use with smaller freshwater aquariums in Europe.

Big Al's BC

Cool.

Try adding calcium to fresh water and then try a protein skimmer.
Call me nutz but I have seen whirlpools running with no bubbles then by adding fine calcium the whirlpool begins to lather up. I guess It would be an neat experiment in a empty tank.
Kevin

I have seen in waste water treatment plants use rubber type membranes that diffuse air into the tanks. They generate a fine enough bubble for fractionation purposes.

Schuran makes a FW skimmer.

But really, and this is strictly IMO, why would you need a FW skimmer? Are FW tanks not easy to maintain..?

Large aquaculture systems and ponds benefit greatly from protein skimming, particularly when water changes of a large size are so time consuming. Of course the intent for protein skimming is to improve water quality overall on a constant basis, which any aquatic environment, even a freshwater 10 gallon aquarium would benefit from.

Big Al's BC

Which is beyond what I'm trying to say. Would you, personally, spend a couple hundred to a couple thousand extra dollars to keep your 10 gallon tank a little cleaner?

Ummmm....not AT ALL true. Plants NEVER EVER output CO2. They USE CO2 to create O2, however with no light, there is no photosynthesis, therefore no O2 output from plants.

http://van.physics.uiuc.edu/qa/listing.php?id=848

I'd be tempted to say that plants are constantly outputting co2. During the day time it's outweighed by the output of o2 from photosynthesis.

Sorry for the off topic.....