salt to fresh

[lgb]

I just got a 29H Island aquarium with a hood. It was last used as a
sal****er tank. I'm going to use it for freshwater tropicals.

It appears to be clean, the only deposits I've found are on the hood.
Other than rinsing out the tank, is there anything I have to do to
before I use it as a freshwater tank?

I've got it full of water sitting on the front porch to test for leaks.
So far so good. I do need to reseal the glass panel in the hood, it has
come loose.

We just had that thread on addiction. We now own a 2.2, 5.5, 10, 20,
and 29. Only the 5.5 and 10 have fish in them now, the 2.2 has some
plants. But we started out with 2 bettas in the (divided) 10 :-).

Oh, I forgot a fishbowl with a water lily growing in it :-).

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Elaine T]

lgb wrote:
> I just got a 29H Island aquarium with a hood. It was last used as a
> sal****er tank. I'm going to use it for freshwater tropicals.
>
> It appears to be clean, the only deposits I've found are on the hood.
> Other than rinsing out the tank, is there anything I have to do to
> before I use it as a freshwater tank?
>
> I've got it full of water sitting on the front porch to test for leaks.
> So far so good. I do need to reseal the glass panel in the hood, it has
> come loose.
>
> We just had that thread on addiction. We now own a 2.2, 5.5, 10, 20,
> and 29. Only the 5.5 and 10 have fish in them now, the 2.2 has some
> plants. But we started out with 2 bettas in the (divided) 10 :-).
>
> Oh, I forgot a fishbowl with a water lily growing in it :-).
>

I can't think of anything special I'd do to a former marine tank other
than rinsing it well and scraping off any coralline algae with a razor
blade. Nothing bad for freshwater fish can live in sal****er so the
tank's already been treated perfectly.

You can grow water lilies in fishbowls??? Without heaters? What kind
and does it bloom? That sounds soooo neat for the coffee table!

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[lgb]

In article >, eetmail-
says...
> You can grow water lilies in fishbowls??? Without heaters? What kind
> and does it bloom? That sounds soooo neat for the coffee table!
>
Well, don't get excited quite yet. I just started one using the bulbs
you get in those little packages at Walmart, etc.. If it grows, and it
looks like it's just starting to sprout, I'll transfer it to the big
tank when I get the stand built.

But in general, I think that plants are more tolerant of temperature
ranges than fish are. No proof of that, just based on what I've read
and on too many years as a dry land gardener.

I'll post how it goes.

Thanks for the salt to fresh info. I don't see any algae and the tank's
been dry for about a year so I doubt any would have survived. But I'll
look closer.

I have run across a couple of plants that bloom either underwater or on
the surface at http:aquariumplants.com. No connection to them except
that I ordered from them once and was satisfied.

I know there are aquariums set up with no tops so plants can grow up and
out. You'd have to be sure your fish weren't prone to jumping, though
:-).

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Billy]

"lgb" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks for the salt to fresh info. I don't see any algae and the
> tank's
> been dry for about a year so I doubt any would have survived. But
> I'll
> look closer.


Coralline is calciferous, so it's hard and crusty, and remains,
pretty much indefinitely, once established. It will appear likely
white or light purple.

[Justin Boucher]

Converting from salt to fresh can be a little more than just making sure the
tank is clean.

First, what are you using for substrate? Most marine systems use aragonite,
oolite or other forms of substrate that buffer the pH to around 8.4-8.6
This obviously could be an issue depending on what kind of freshwater fish
you plan on keeping. I've even heard of some hard water chiclid keepers now
using marine substrates in their systems because of this feature.

Filtration can be another issue. Many marine systems today use protein
skimmers and live rock combinations. Some fish only systems may still use a
wet/dry biofilter, but the trend is to move away from them since they become
nitrate factories. Since a protein skimmer is essentially ineffective in a
freshwater system and marine live rock will die off in freshwater, you will
need to consider an alternate source of bio filtration. I chose to use a
fluidized bed filter for my freshwater conversion.

Since it has been touched on previously, salt residue (or salt creep as it
is known) can compromise a freshwater system until it is cleaned off. So be
sure to wash down any equipment and rinse away the creep.

Depending on what lighting you require for your freshwater setup and what
you got from the marine system, you may need to either consider a good
healthy stock of live plants or an alternate lighting system. Many marine
systems require a large light load to satisfy the light requirements of the
live corals and other invertebrates.

Overall, a marine to freshwater converstion is not difficult if you
understand what the principle differences between the systems are. In
marine systems, maintaining a sufficient oxygen level is paramount whereas
in a live plant freshwater system, that much turbulence removes residual CO2
from the water column. Finding a good balance in this area is a challenege
I'm currently facing.

Hope this helps and enjoy...
Justin

"lgb" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, eetmail-
> says...
> > You can grow water lilies in fishbowls??? Without heaters? What kind
> > and does it bloom? That sounds soooo neat for the coffee table!
> >
> Well, don't get excited quite yet. I just started one using the bulbs
> you get in those little packages at Walmart, etc.. If it grows, and it
> looks like it's just starting to sprout, I'll transfer it to the big
> tank when I get the stand built.
>
> But in general, I think that plants are more tolerant of temperature
> ranges than fish are. No proof of that, just based on what I've read
> and on too many years as a dry land gardener.
>
> I'll post how it goes.
>
> Thanks for the salt to fresh info. I don't see any algae and the tank's
> been dry for about a year so I doubt any would have survived. But I'll
> look closer.
>
> I have run across a couple of plants that bloom either underwater or on
> the surface at http:aquariumplants.com. No connection to them except
> that I ordered from them once and was satisfied.
>
> I know there are aquariums set up with no tops so plants can grow up and
> out. You'd have to be sure your fish weren't prone to jumping, though
> :-).
>
> --
> BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Elaine T]

lgb wrote:
> In article >, eetmail-
> says...
>
>>You can grow water lilies in fishbowls??? Without heaters? What kind
>>and does it bloom? That sounds soooo neat for the coffee table!
>>
>
> Well, don't get excited quite yet. I just started one using the bulbs
> you get in those little packages at Walmart, etc.. If it grows, and it
> looks like it's just starting to sprout, I'll transfer it to the big
> tank when I get the stand built.
>
> But in general, I think that plants are more tolerant of temperature
> ranges than fish are. No proof of that, just based on what I've read
> and on too many years as a dry land gardener.
>
> I'll post how it goes.
>
> Thanks for the salt to fresh info. I don't see any algae and the tank's
> been dry for about a year so I doubt any would have survived. But I'll
> look closer.
>
> I have run across a couple of plants that bloom either underwater or on
> the surface at http:aquariumplants.com. No connection to them except
> that I ordered from them once and was satisfied.
>
> I know there are aquariums set up with no tops so plants can grow up and
> out. You'd have to be sure your fish weren't prone to jumping, though
> :-).
>
I've got one of those Walmart lilies just starting to sprout in one of
my tanks too. I'll look forward to hearing how yours does in a bowl. I
also got one of the Aponogeton spp. "Walmart" ;-) growing and it's a
nice, tall plant.

I have a 50 gallon uncovered tank that I'm running outside. I'm getting
it cycled with fancy guppy culls that I'm growing out to sell and then
plant to start a pupfish colony. That one is uncovered and I have a
uruguayensis swordplant which has been blooming for over two months now
on a flowering spike held out of the water. A couple of pure white,
lightly fragrant blooms open every week.

I've ordered from Aquariumplants.com too. My order was delayed because
they were out of water lettuce and I had to call twice to find out what
was happening. Once I finally got the order, everything was healthy and
good sized. I got a particularly cool Anubias gracilis from them at a
bargain price.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[lgb]

In article >, eetmail-
says...
> That one is uncovered and I have a
> uruguayensis swordplant which has been blooming for over two months now
> on a flowering spike held out of the water. A couple of pure white,
> lightly fragrant blooms open every week.
>
OK, that intrigues me. WOuld it be too tall for a 29 high (18")? I'll
probably have no more than 12' to 15" open above it.

You just tweaked an idea. I have room behind the aquarium for a ahelf
level with the top where I could grow "marsh" plants. Hmmmm.

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Elaine T]

lgb wrote:
> In article >, eetmail-
> says...
>
>> That one is uncovered and I have a
>>uruguayensis swordplant which has been blooming for over two months now
>>on a flowering spike held out of the water. A couple of pure white,
>>lightly fragrant blooms open every week.
>>
>
> OK, that intrigues me. WOuld it be too tall for a 29 high (18")? I'll
> probably have no more than 12' to 15" open above it.
>
> You just tweaked an idea. I have room behind the aquarium for a ahelf
> level with the top where I could grow "marsh" plants. Hmmmm.
>
This tank is about 16" deep so no problem for an 18" tank. I actually
bought the Echinodorus uruguayensis with its flowering spike starting at
my local aquarium society auction so I don't know what conditions make
it flower.

The marsh plant idea sounds really cool. I was thinking of putting a
window planter over one of my tanks and using it as a plant filter.
However, I had so many cuttings and clippings from my other tanks that
the tank ended up full of normal plants and at zero nitrates in the
matter of a month or so. Water sprite is an amazing nitrate sponge!

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com