Conversion from salt to freshwater?

[Wisteriamyst]

Okay, I've had it; I give up! We've had our saltwater aquarium for almost a year now and have had nothing but problems with our fish. Everything we get dies. We have a trickle filter, a canister filter and a hang-on filter. I test the water constantly and the water is fine, but we can't seem to keep anything alive for more than a month or two. I know this is probably not done very often, but what would it take to convert this to a freshwater aquarium? Could we use all the same equipment we have now? Would the substrate have to be changed? How would everything need to be cleaned? If anybody knows how to go about doing this, I would really appreciate some advice. I've looked on the internet, but all I can find is how to convert from freshwater to saltwater, not the other way around.

 

[Fluff]

If your absolutely sure this is what you want to do......

Here is what I did.

All the equipment can be reused as long as you clean it well. I cleaned everything with hot water and a razor blade. Tank included. Rinsed alot over and over just cause I was paranoid. I didn't use any types of cleaners or bleach. I would ditch the substrate.
I've had fw fish in this tank now for months without any problems. Good luck.

 

[Wisteriamyst]

Thank you Cindy; I think I'll give that a try. I see that you have a freshwater aquarium; are there any fish that you would specifically recommend to begin with? We had a freshwater aquarium years ago, but only had ciclids in it, so I'm not at all familiar with any other freshwater fish.

 

[Fluff]

There are a multitude of fish you could choose from. And with a 55gal tank, that gives you even a broader range.
I'd take some time while cycling and think about what you want. Do you want a peaceful, busy tank full of small fish? A semi-aggressive tank with one or two larger fish like gourami, discus or angels and a fe smaller fish? Tetras? An aggressive tank? So many options. There is always the coldwater tank. Maybe three for four fancy goldfish and one or two hillstream loaches. Liveaquaria.com is a nice source for species information and color photos. Take some time and browse their site. See what strikes you.

 

[Phyl]

An ornamental cave? What kind of cave? The kind that are made for FW tanks? If so that could be leaching nasties into your aquarium (this is what I was told when I went to buy something cute for my QT tank).

Ich can happen to your tank if you go with FW too. I think you've just had a bad run of luck (and lack of QT). I bought a PT 2 months ago and had I put him straight into my main everything would probably be dead today! Instead he went directly into QT (as do all of my new fish) where he showed his true spots! 2 months into treatment and he's ready for the main (he'll go in on Saturday). An ounce of prevention goes a long way with Saltwater. If your main has been fallow for 6w (or at hypo for that long) then you're ready to try again. Maybe taking it slowly and a vigilant use of QT would save you from this heartache again and you can enjoy the beauty of a SW tank.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[Wisteriamyst]

Thanks for your help, Cindy. I've been to the website you mentioned to look at their SW fish, so I'll definitely check it out for the FW fish. Thanks again, I appreciate it.

 

[Wisteriamyst]

Thanks for replying Phyl. The ornamental cave has been in the tank for about eight months, so I don't think that had anything to do with the fish dying. I'll take your advice and think about it before changing to FW, but I'm really getting sick of dying fish and think that changing might be the best thing in this case. :?

 

[Phyl]

*covers ears* lalalalallalallalalala! I just can't hear that! I went back and read through some of your deaths. It didn't look like any of it was "poison tank nothing wrong everything dying" syndrome... That's why I think most of it can be fixed with a little bit of prevetative maintenance...

AA is such a wealth of information and advice and can only lead to success if you tap into it! *hops down off of soap box*

Ultimately the decision lies with you and if you're happy with your decision to convert to FW then best wishes... I just can't imagine being happy with that switch!

 

[Salttanker]

I hate to see someone leave a passionate SW hobby. It took me years to get this down to a science, and I still learn new things all the time. AA has been the most helpful thus far in my hobby. I wish we could change your mind. Are you sure you want to convert to FW?

Mike

 

[juskeepswiming]

dont go to the dark side!

 

[malkore]

Uhh, SW is the dark side though!

 

[juskeepswiming]

no! its the spend all your money and disconnect your phone so the creditors cant contact you side