If you can modulate the laser source in the kHz range, use a bandpass filter to make your receiver sensitive to the frequency of modulation. That will vastly improve the sensitivity and noise reduction. Even in that case, an optical filter is still a great help.
You won't be able to use a light to voltage or frequency chip in that case, you will need a photodiode and proper amplifier/filter. See this overview on photodiode amplifiers.