Salt To Fresh Conversion

[Vegas911]

So here is my situation. I have a 110 gallon tall tank that I have been running salt water in for the last 5 years or so, and I have had salt water tanks exclusively for about 20 years. Prior to that I had a fresh water tank for a short time, but I'm sure the technology has changed greatly since then.

A couple weeks ago a malfunctioning heater cooked everything in my tank. I have been considering a change over to fresh water lately because I am sick of mixing salt, listening to a noisy protein skimmer, and honestly I am just ready for a change. I am now looking for suggestions on what species to stock and the best way to convert my system over.

To start I know I am going to have to replace the substrate and take out the live rock and any pieces of coral I have. I am running 2 Rena canisters and a powerhead with a sponge filter along with a protein skimmer ( a fairly simple system since I chose not to use a wet/dry/sump system). I have a few large peices of lace rock that I would like to continue to use along with the canisters and powerhead.

Here are some questions to start. What is the best way to clean the rock and equipment? Can I clean the bio media in the canisters or should I replace it? Chemical filtration - carbon? Species suggestions - I don't want super high maintenance, but this is a large tank and I want it to be interesting and have some color. I know this is pretty basic at this point as I am still in the preliminary planning. I'm sure my questions will become more specific as I become more educated. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

First, welcome to the forum!

Sorry but I can't really help much, but I'll try to answer your questions:

"Chemical filtration: carbon?" Yes, definitly. This cleans out a lot of stuff from the water, including tannis released from the wood.

Species suggestion: Well, I just want to tell you that you will never be able to achieve the color that you had in a reef tank. All the FW plants are green. FW fish don't have nice colors compared to SW eather. They come in a variety of colors, but just not vibrant enough. Also, you wont be able to stare at your tank all day- there is just not many things to watch. You can only watch the fish, and FW doesn't have corals or any onteresting that may come with live rock...

I would suggest you take a look at chichilds, they are quite colorful and pretty interesting to watch

I hope it helped...

 

[fluttermoth]

And I'm going to disagree with (almost!) everything that Tom has just said! (Sorry!)

Freshwater can easily compete with salt when it comes to colour and interest! Ok, freshie might not have the same range of colour as salties, but they more than make up for that with the metallic/florescent effect of the colours they do have!

Most plants are green, that's true, but some are red or brownish and there are so many different leaf shapes that you can have a lot of variety.

You really don't need to run carbon on a day to day basis. It does not remove ammonia, nitrite or nitrate (although it will remove tannins)and is best saved for specific times, like removing meds at the end of a course.

Everything in your tank that you want to reuse needs washing in plenty of water to remove any salt. The bio media should be resusable, if it's given a good soak in fresh water, changed frequently. You'll need to cycle the tank before you add any fish.

I don't want to recommend actual fish species yet; we'd really need to know the dimensions of the tank (length x width x height) and the hardness of your local water (it doesn't need to be exact; just 'soft' 'hard' or 'very hard' will do ).

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

Fluttermouth, the plants are not nearly as nice as the corals.

The corals come in bright red, blue, pink, purple and other crazy bright colors! As for the leaf shape, have you seen the shapes of the corals? It's crazy.

Some big woods have a tendency to release tannis over 3 years (ask mattlee), there fore it's good to have carbon. It's not necessary tough.



EDIT: Check out these really beautiful freshwater tanks, all of them won the tank of the month award.http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/384140-2011-tank-of-the-year-voting-poll/

 

[Aqua Tom]

You wont need that skimmer anymore.

As for fish species selection, go along to your local fish shop & have a brouse, then write down all the fish that you would like. Then post back here with that list & we can guide you along with you new freshwater adventure.

Tom

 

[Vegas911]

Rough dinensions of the tank are 48x18x30 (inches). Right now I am thinking about new world cichlids, but fish are a ways of after overhaul and cycle. Ultimately I think I want to go with discus but that's later due to cost. I want to make sure everything is stable before laying out money for them. My first question is regarding substrate. I like sand butI am not sure about it's benefits.disadvantages vs. gravel. I wnat some live plants, so what sort of substrate would be recomended?

By the way, thanks for the help!

 

[Aqua Tom]

Rough dinensions of the tank are 48x18x30 (inches). Right now I am thinking about new world cichlids, but fish are a ways of after overhaul and cycle. Ultimately I think I want to go with discus but that's later due to cost. I want to make sure everything is stable before laying out money for them. My first question is regarding substrate. I like sand butI am not sure about it's benefits.disadvantages vs. gravel. I want some live plants, so what sort of substrate would be recomended?

By the way, thanks for the help!

Sand every time, easier to keep clean & my plants love it. It looks nice as well.

Tom

 

[pdludbrooke]

Rough dinensions of the tank are 48x18x30 (inches). Right now I am thinking about new world cichlids, but fish are a ways of after overhaul and cycle. Ultimately I think I want to go with discus but that's later due to cost. I want to make sure everything is stable before laying out money for them. My first question is regarding substrate. I like sand butI am not sure about it's benefits.disadvantages vs. gravel. I want some live plants, so what sort of substrate would be recomended?

By the way, thanks for the help!

Sand every time, easier to keep clean & my plants love it. It looks nice as well.

Tom

HI Tom, do you use anything under your sand or just sand, also how are your plants fed ?

 

[Aqua Tom]

HI Tom, do you use anything under your sand or just sand, also how are your plants fed ?

It is just sand. Childrens playsand to be precise.

I feed my plants with a liquid fertilizer called Tropica Aquacare Plus. I also built myself a homemade co2 sytem.


Tom

 

[Vegas911]

How did you prepare the playsand? Just boil and rinse?

I agree with coral being more attractive than almost any other type of tank, but mine was fish only. Corals are too difficult to maintain and the special lighting required is really expensive.

 

[fluttermoth]

I guess I'm just one of those rare people who doesn't see the attraction of marine set ups; they hold absolutely no appeal for me at all!

Playsand just needs repeated rinsing in plenty of water, there's no need to boil it.

 

[Corydoralover]

very rare fluttermoth lol but i must agree corals are far nicer than plants

 

[fluttermoth]

very rare fluttermoth lol but i must agree corals are far nicer than plants

But, but, but..they're all prickly and crusty looking! Marine tanks always look messy to me

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

Duude! Have you ever heard of soft corals? They are *SOFT* ...

 

[dbanner]

very rare fluttermoth lol but i must agree corals are far nicer than plants

But, but, but..they're all prickly and crusty looking! Marine tanks always look messy to me

Have to agree with you I don't see the attraction of marine tanks. Ok some of the fish do have better colours I suppose... If that's the sort of thing you like but the tanks do always look kind of.. Well... Messy. On top of that you need deep pockets to buy all the equipment and keep it maintained. Then there is the price of the fish...

I like a tank as a whole, i mean the overall look, not just the fish inside the tank. So on that basis I'd say freshwater all the way.