Saltwater to freshwater tank

[kellyanne67]

This is my first post, please be kind...


I've had a 55+ saltwater tank up and running for about 8 years now. Slowly the fish have passed on, and I have only one left. I have made the decision to convert the tank to freshwater. I just cannot afford the price of Marine fish these days.

My question is this - I am running a penguin power filter with a trickle filter also. I know that I will have to change the media, take the crushed coral out and the decorative coral that I have in there now.

I think I have gravel on the way, a nice person got a bunch from a tropical fish store, but I need to know what else I need to do...
I do not plan to start with Live plants, but I may get into that later.


Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[TankGirl]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice, Kelly!

You have come to the right place for info, and I am sure we can help you.

Let's start off with two things -

First, what is the makeup of your tap/water change water? Acidic, alkaline, hard, soft, etc?

Second, what kind of a tank are you looking to create? Do you have particular fish in mind? One or two large specimen fish or a mixture of community fish, or one large school of small fish, etc.

If the fish you wish to keep prefer hard, alkaline water (livebearers, African rift lake cichlids, for example) then you may want to leave the CC in place, along with the coral decorations, to maintain the water chemistry they prefer. This is especially true if your water is more neutral/soft.

 

[kellyanne67]

You know, I honestly dont know about my tap water. I've been successful with barbs, tetras, white clouds, danios. I'm almost certain it is hard water.

I was planning to have just the community fish type of tank. Cichids are a bit too aggressive for me, so I was thinking more on the lines of the plattys, mollies, swordtails. Something where I can have a decent amount of fish with a lot of color. I'd really like to get away from the Marine tank appearance if possible.

I've also had success with spotted raphael catfish and different plecos.

 

[RoK]

You should get a test kit to test the water. Such as one of these: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19383;category_id=2255
It does not come with any hardness tests though so you would have to buy it seperately: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19377;category_id=3081

In case you didn't know, platies, mollies and swordtails are all livebearers and breed very easily. Even if you just buy females you will likely get babies, if there were males in the tank. Although, I don't think it's a good idea getting all males either, as I've heard they can be a bit territorial with each other.
What other fish would you like to keep?

 

[kellyanne67]

Oh I knew that Mollies bred easily and I am not really concerned about that. I also like hatchet fish, banjo cats, what most call "bread and butter fish" the ones that look really pretty and are not difficult to keep.

My question in the beginning was mostly about the existing equipment that I have.


What kind of cleaning should I do to it before I use it in freshwater? Should I boil everything, just rinse it out and put in new cartridges?

 

[TankGirl]

I don't really think any boiling or bleaching or other measures like that will be necessary. The pathogens that might remain in the tank from your SW setup cannot survive in a FW setup, so that is not a concern. A small amount of salt remaining in the tank is also not really a problem, because most "bread and butter fish," can handle a bit of salt anyway. What size Penguin filter do you have, and can you describe your trickle filter? Do you have any powerheads?

FWIW, it is my own preference to keep mollies in a slightly brackish setup, as I have found over the years that mollies live longer and suffer fewer ailments when kept brackish. I have not had good long-term success with them in full FW tanks.

 

[kellyanne67]

hey all

I have converted the tank and have been successful as of yet.

I took out the penguin power filter. It was making quite a bit of noise and I realized it was over 8 years old.

I have the trickle filter running, and I also have a sponge filter attached to a powerhead.

I have 5 plattys in there now, and plan to get a few more this weekend. The tank has had fish for over 2 weeks now and it looks great.

 

[dancin_trancy]

You should get a test kit to test the water. Such as one of these: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19383;category_id=2255
It does not come with any hardness tests though so you would have to buy it seperately: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19377;category_id=3081

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