Another question from the newb..

[ThatDarnDragon]

Someone told me that I could use the gravel from a very mature fresh water tank and put it in a salt water tank to help the bacteria grow. The freshwater tank is over 10 years old with one fish living in it now (no idea what kind it is, huge and very ugly, almost 7 years old).

Can I do that for future reference, use fresh water gravel and such and add it to salt?

 

[dead_slade]

um i dont think it will help much because the salt water will kill the bacteria in the fresh water gravel, plus you should use a gravel like argonite that buffers your water for salt water as well and a place for bacteria.

 

[dead_slade]

how long has your tank been cycling for as well, that many fish in that size of a tank seems like too much to me, especially for a beginner.

 

[shadow]

Yes, the salt water will kill any beneficial bacteria from freshwater. Each has it's own beneficial bacteria that it establishes.

 

[ThatDarnDragon]

ok, thanks. I figured it wouldnt work, but never hurts to ask

and I know, it is alot of fish in one tank.. not my fault though. I came home with the two clowns and a shrimp.. then my parents brought home the other 3. I was like "Oh crap.." and the petshop wont return them, so Im stuck. I dont know of any reefs or anything near me to help out.

 

[Navarre]

Dont place anything from freshwater into a marine tank. THe bacteria will die immediately (and could cause an even larger ammonia spike). I think you will find that although the bacteria do the same job in freshwater and marine tanks, the transition will kill them due to the shock of entering a high salinity environment.

If you have added the liverock as mentioned in other posts then you willalready have a large amount of bacteria in there working for you. I would advise that you do nothing now except wait and see. Keepthe testing up and monitor the readings very closely. The first thig you will see if a brown dust covering the tank floor and rocks, this is natural and is called the diatom stage. once this has finished you usually get the reg algea (which is not an algea) called cyano, this is a real pain but it can be overcome. During this time its wise to add your cleanup crew. 1 snail or crab per gallon and even more if possible.

Keep asking the questions, you will learn alot by asking even though you might think someo fthe questons to be silly.

 

[ThatDarnDragon]

1 snail or crab per gallon? that would be like 10 in a 10 gallon? isnt that alot? I already have 1 shrimp to help out.. thinking of getting a crab, but someone said crabs and shrimp dont get along?

 

[ThatDarnDragon]

and someone asked for a pic of my tank, I dont remember what post it was, but here it is:

http/img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/tha...on/P1010001.jpg

http/img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/tha...on/P1010002.jpg

 

[ostrow]

If you ever used copper in the tank, putting anything from it in a saltwater tank will mean you can't have any invertebrates.

 

[Navarre]

Thats right, 1 per gallon.... Many people really dont realise just how much a cleaning crew will cost them. In my 100 gallon i am now almost up to full compliment. 50 Blueleg fermits, 20 Red leg Hermits, 2 Sandsifter starfish, 10 Astrea snails, 20 IO snails and 20 Cerith Snails (I have a 30 gallon sump so i really need 140+ cleaners.

I also have 3 bloodshrimps and 2 cleaner shrimps (did have 3 until i lost one in a powerhead recently )

Now i know this sounds alot but it really isnt when you see the amount of buildup that a tank can colect. It also costs alot and this can be overcome by purchasing 1 cleanup crew eaxh time you visit your local store. Each time you make a purchase, be it fish, food or anything else, simply add a hermit or snail to the list. This way its cheaper and will slowly increase the cleaning capacity of the tank.

Ostrow is right, never NEVER allow anything copper to enter the tank. Copper and copper based treatments mean death for inverts and is a definatel NO NO for marine tanks. Actually a thuoght just came to mind. I know that some stores near me keep copper in their fish tanks to stop them fromcatching whitespot. Im not sure if the same is practiced near you. I would purchase a copper test kit and test your water just in case the water from the stores you got them from may have had copper in them. (Its good practice never to add shop water anyway).

I would also ask each time you buy a fish whether they treat their tanks with any copper based products.

Shrimps and crabs will get along.. well certain types anyway.. hermit are relatively harmless and wont bother your shrimp.

I took a look at the photo. IS this a current photo? if so then the blue sand really needs to go. You should be adding aragonite sand as this is natural and will help stabilise your PH. It will also become "Live" over a few months and will help with filtration also to a small degree.

Adding rocks taht are not native to the sea is also something to be careful over. Certainrocks can leech harmful chemicals into the water and thus upset the fish.

I know this sounds like alot of info in 1 go but dont worry, with the help of the members here we will do our best to turn this arond for you.

 

[ThatDarnDragon]

the more info, the better. At least I am learning from my mistakes. As for the blue gravel, I have mixed it with live sand my petshop gave me, they said it'd be ok as long as live sand is mixed in with it. and that's th ecurrent tank, except those 3 rocks infront, I replaced with moonstone. alittle more room and more sea natural based.

I really appreaciate you guys helping me out.. I knew this would be difficult, but not THIS difficult! Any information that comes to your mind, feel free to email/IM/PM me. I appreciate all the help I can get.

like someone said earlier, we all learn from our mistakes, and thats exactly what I am doing. I will perfect this, oh yes, I will perfect this...

 

[Navarre]

I cant add you to my buddy list on MSn for some reason. It says you dont have a passport. )

 

[ThatDarnDragon]

I just realized I added the wrong account, its "artistworld@hotmail.com"