Hi guys,
I'm converting my 55g SW tank to FW, and I've got a few questions...
I've got SW lights (obviously) - T5 arcadias white/actinics @ 39w each.
Do I really have to get the FW versions of these, or will the lights I've got be ok?
The main thing that's attracting me to FW, is that I can have a lot more fish in it. I'm hoping to get some colourful bigger fish (about 4), maybe cichlids, and then a couple of fairly large shoals of tiny fish that won't grow much, whatever they may be. May also be interested in breeding the cichlids, if possible.
I'm obviously going to use the heater I've got, and I'm going to buy an internal filter.
Do I have to cycle the FW tank like I did with my SW? I'm guessing I do...if so, can it be done with fish in? I know this was highly advised against in SW, presumingly because the SW fish are much more fragile and less tolerable to ammonia and nitrite?
So can I get a couple of the fish I want to cycle the tank with first? Is it just a case of feeding them normally, monitoring ammonia/nitrite/nitrate until the cycle is complete, then making sure the levels drop to an acceptable level, then slowly building up my fish stock?
Or would it be better to do a fishless cycle? If so, how?
Can I feed the majority of FW fish with my usual brineshrimp/mysis/veggies frozen food that I did my SW, or do they need different food?
Do I need to RO the water or add anything to it, or is just normal tapwater going to be ok?
I'm either going to use crushed coral as the substrate, or add buffer to the original tapwater and future water changes, to help maintain the pH of the water. Are there any other water chemistry levels I need to maintain?
What's the level of maintanance like? How often would I expect to have to do a waterchange (I used to do 20% every 2 weeks in my SW) and clean anything in the tank (glass, filter, substrate, rocks etc.)? I had to clean basically every few days in my SW because there was so much algae everywhere and on the glass, which was frustrating!
I'd also want a good selection of greenery and plants - would I have to do any maintanance with these, like trimming or anything? If so, how often?
I'm also concerned about ich and other diseases as I've lost SW fish to them in the past. Is it really neccessary to QT new FW fish? I really don't have the room or facilities for a QT tank. And, if my fish do happen to get ich or another disease, can medication be added to the tank to sort it out? This wasn't really possible in SW because the inverts were intolerable to copper in the meds etc. Is it easier to treat diseases in FW?
Thanks for your patience guys, and I look forward to your answers!
Mark
I'm converting my 55g SW tank to FW, and I've got a few questions...
I've got SW lights (obviously) - T5 arcadias white/actinics @ 39w each.
Do I really have to get the FW versions of these, or will the lights I've got be ok?
The main thing that's attracting me to FW, is that I can have a lot more fish in it. I'm hoping to get some colourful bigger fish (about 4), maybe cichlids, and then a couple of fairly large shoals of tiny fish that won't grow much, whatever they may be. May also be interested in breeding the cichlids, if possible.
I'm obviously going to use the heater I've got, and I'm going to buy an internal filter.
Do I have to cycle the FW tank like I did with my SW? I'm guessing I do...if so, can it be done with fish in? I know this was highly advised against in SW, presumingly because the SW fish are much more fragile and less tolerable to ammonia and nitrite?
So can I get a couple of the fish I want to cycle the tank with first? Is it just a case of feeding them normally, monitoring ammonia/nitrite/nitrate until the cycle is complete, then making sure the levels drop to an acceptable level, then slowly building up my fish stock?
Or would it be better to do a fishless cycle? If so, how?
Can I feed the majority of FW fish with my usual brineshrimp/mysis/veggies frozen food that I did my SW, or do they need different food?
Do I need to RO the water or add anything to it, or is just normal tapwater going to be ok?
I'm either going to use crushed coral as the substrate, or add buffer to the original tapwater and future water changes, to help maintain the pH of the water. Are there any other water chemistry levels I need to maintain?
What's the level of maintanance like? How often would I expect to have to do a waterchange (I used to do 20% every 2 weeks in my SW) and clean anything in the tank (glass, filter, substrate, rocks etc.)? I had to clean basically every few days in my SW because there was so much algae everywhere and on the glass, which was frustrating!
I'd also want a good selection of greenery and plants - would I have to do any maintanance with these, like trimming or anything? If so, how often?
I'm also concerned about ich and other diseases as I've lost SW fish to them in the past. Is it really neccessary to QT new FW fish? I really don't have the room or facilities for a QT tank. And, if my fish do happen to get ich or another disease, can medication be added to the tank to sort it out? This wasn't really possible in SW because the inverts were intolerable to copper in the meds etc. Is it easier to treat diseases in FW?
Thanks for your patience guys, and I look forward to your answers!
Mark