Saltwater tank turned to freshwater

[TheCrazyFishLady]

So, I am getting another tank on Sunday, but this one was for free! Yay! Anyway... it used to be saltwater and obviously I will do it fresh. Is there any special cleaning I need to do? I mean, it is drained, but still has the sand and rock sitting in it. I am planning on washing it out really well, but is there anything I should do besides that?

 

[mommytron]

i would just wash it really well with vinegar & hot water and some kind of scrubby to get any salt/mineral deposits off. i think that would be sufficient.

edit: and rinse it really well with hot water as well

ps what size tank did you get?? congrats on the free tank!

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Alright. Thank you! My mother is currently discussing how I am a hoarder. So... you guys might see me on A&E! haha

 

[neilanh]

Agree with mommytron.

If you struggle to really get it clean with water/vinegar, you can use a 1:20 bleach:water solution to clean it. But you really have to rinse it extremely well if you do that.

 

[HN1]

Congrats on the new tank! Can't wait for your episode on A&E.... lol

mommytron and neilan covered the cleaning.

 

[severum mama]

I agree, and just wanted to add that if you run across any difficult spots, you can lay a vinegar soaked paper towel on the area for a few minutes and that should get most anything off.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Thank you for the tips! I will definitely do these things. I won't get it until Sunday, so after that I guess I will be sitting out in the common area cleaning. Oh, and apparently Animal Planet has an animal hoarding show. So, that's the one both my mother and the RAs and threatening to report me to. haha

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

So, a bit of an update. I was supposed to pick up the tank today. Well, apparently "used to be saltwater" to this chick means "is up and running as a full saltwater tank." Well, being that I have never owned or plan to own saltwater, nor do I have the first clue of how to take care of a saltwater tank, I said no to taking it and explained why. Apparently, they all have ich (I didn't know ich was a saltwater problem too) and are badly sick, so I can just flush them and throw away the live rock and start over with fresh. Um... didn't reply to that text because she is an idiot. I knew a full setup for free was too good to be true...

 

[Jason7894561230]

That sucks!
I am getting a tank that was saltwater so i was quite interested in this thread.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Yea... I was really disappointed. I mean, even if I did take the tank, no LFS will take badly sick fish.

 

[Dary421]

Sometimes " free" turns out to be rather expensive and time consuming in the long run.....

 

[trackfast]

I would take the tank and sell off the stuff you don't need. There's a demand for "live rock" and "live sand". I would euthanize the fish if they were looking bad (NOT by flushing).You just have to use a little elbow grease and it'll be a nice tank. IMO.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Honestly, I wouldn't even know how to move the tank or where to move it. I live in a dorm, so nothing over 10g. It would have to be empty if I brought it here. Trust me, they watch me like a hawk. I've been warned multiple times about all my tanks and they even measured one of my 10gs last inspection because they didn't believe it was 10g!
Anyway, it was just too intimidating and she was so sketchy. Just got me nervous about the whole thing. Apparently she sold it to this LFS around here... so, whatever. She was probably just looking for attention or god knows what.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Yea... I was really disappointed. I mean, even if I did take the tank, no LFS will take badly sick fish.

Saltwater Ich would die in freshwater due to osmotic pressure. If the fish do pass you shouldn't let that stop you keeping the tank and converting to fresh.

 

[trackfast]

You did the right thing then!

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Honestly, I wouldn't even know how to move the tank or where to move it. I live in a dorm, so nothing over 10g. It would have to be empty if I brought it here. Trust me, they watch me like a hawk. I've been warned multiple times about all my tanks and they even measured one of my 10gs last inspection because they didn't believe it was 10g!
Anyway, it was just too intimidating and she was so sketchy. Just got me nervous about the whole thing. Apparently she sold it to this LFS around here... so, whatever. She was probably just looking for attention or god knows what.

Yeah if you live in an apartment you've got to be pretty careful. You don't just affect you if a tank goes boom, that water WILL get into someone else's apartment somehow. In our home we have soft floors (polystyrene) under our feet. I had to have concrete blocks put under the floor where my tanks are placed. Good luck anyway. Like I said if those fish die then don't let it stop you taking the tank. Where you live though you might be best finding somewhere to store it so you can use it when you live somewhere else.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Well, it's already gone. So, nothing I can do now. And yea, I'm on the fifth floor. 40g of water might affect not only the fourth, but probably the third. My neighbors under me aren't a fan of me in the first place. I like to do my PWC/gravel vac in the middle of the night and me dragging around chairs and my huge bucket of water... yea... poor girls. haha

 

[OhNeil1969]

I'm sorry the free tank went bust! You seemed so excited to be getting it. But as trackfast said, you did the right thing. Be patient. Usually when something like that happens to me I find that something even better is sure to follow.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I was really excited... but, to be completely logical here, I do have two tanks waiting to be set up. Three to set up in a few months might be a bit too much for me.

 

[TankBoss]

So, a bit of an update. I was supposed to pick up the tank today. Well, apparently "used to be saltwater" to this chick means "is up and running as a full saltwater tank." Well, being that I have never owned or plan to own saltwater, nor do I have the first clue of how to take care of a saltwater tank, I said no to taking it and explained why. Apparently, they all have ich (I didn't know ich was a saltwater problem too) and are badly sick, so I can just flush them and throw away the live rock and start over with fresh. Um... didn't reply to that text because she is an idiot. I knew a full setup for free was too good to be true...

So she dumped you because you didn't want the fish?