Converting Marine Into Tropical?

[joza123]

Hello i now have marine fish in a AquaReef 200 i have had them for about a year now and i really don't like marine anymore .... they are quite hard to care for and stuff so ... i was thinking i have owned tropical fish in the past and i really liked them .. so from what i can remember you just have tap water with tap safe in right ?? Anyways well how to i change my marine AquaReef 200 tank into a tropical ??
All help is needed thanks
josh

 

[flyhawk]

tap is alright, make sure you match the fish to your hardness of your water.
usually the substrate for a saltwater tank isnt good for tropical.

 

[waterdrop]

You'll have to see if you can find individuals or a LFS to take your marine fish and inverts and I agree, you'll need to replace the substrate, clean everything with fresh water etc. Review which equipment is needed for fresh water. Skimmers and some of the other marine gear won't be needed. Main freshwater gear will be appropriate lighting, filter, heater, thermometer, biological and mechanical filter media, gravel or sand substrate, freshwater test kit, gravel cleaning siphon setup or just hose if sand... things like that. There's a good setup article in our Beginners Resource Center, as well as nitrogen cycle and cycling articles appropriate for freshwater.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

Don't forget that the live sand you are using is quite valuable. I would be surprised if you couldn't get enough credit by trading at a local fish store to pay for the new substrate and the fish to stock the tank once it is cycled. You probably have more light than you will need for freshwater but it doesn't hurt having it as long as you can tone things down some. Most FW do not try to use skimmers and such so they are excess equipment if you convert. On the other hand a sump system is something many of us do not have but would like to have. If you have a sump for goodness sake convert it. The essence of converting is to get rid of all living SW material and unused equipment, flush everything you intend to keep with fresh water and start the freshwater cycle process.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, absolutely! A sump is a wonderful type of freshwater filter. Definately keep that hardware if you've got one!

~~waterdrop~~