How can you safely go from Salt to Freshwater?

[AquaQueen]

Hello everyone,
I first would like to say I have been busy these past few days and have had like no time for anything and have missed alot in that short time...lol...:wink2: Anyways I have miss you all.:11:

I have a few questions that maybe some of you can help with.

1. My brother found this 100gal fish tank in his neighbors trash this past weekend and scored it{{SIGHS}} (I am trying to buy it from him) but anyway he knows nothing about fish and he was going to use the same filter it had. Now I know that can be a good thing but first off it was a salt water tank and he wants freshwater pirahna. I thought that the salt would be the main reason not to use the filter, but then I also thought where he has no idea the conditions this tank was kept in so I said that he shouldn't trust that he knew his neighbors and they were nice people, that don't mean they knew how to keep up a good tank does it? He never went inside and seen the tank setup. I would feel safer to just buy a new filter where he is changing from salt to fresh anyway so my question is was I wrong? would he be fine using the same filter?

The next thing I'd like to find out is when he cleans the tank is there anything he should use the pet store told him to use only water. I mentioned he should use some kind of cleaning mix because it was salt he needs to get it all out before he tries to cycle it other wise his water is going to be all crazy right? Is there anyone out there that has changed over from salt o fresh? What steps did you take? Any advice that I can get for him would be great.

Also I scored a piece of fake wood out of the tank he was throwing it away and I was thinking of soaking it in a 5gal. bucket for like a week or two, keeping the hottest water possible maybe changing it twcie a day or something. What do you all think?

[kimmers318]

You are right on track to soak the wood before using it, but I think a couple of days will be fine. Residual salt on the wood will not hurt your fish, you just want to make sure you kill any nasties that might be on it. If it was in the tank for any length of time it has probably already leeched most of it's tannins so a quick hot water bleach solution soak for maybe a couple of hours should kill nasties, then soak in a dechlorinator solution to remove any lingering chlorine.
As for taking the tank from salt to fresh, again, the minimal salt residue that might hang around after a good cleaning is not going to kill fish. If it can be cleaned properly with hot water only that is not a bad thing, but chances are there are hard water and salt crusties on the surfaces and you might need something a little stronger. I have heard vinegar works well. I have used CLR and just made sure I rinsed it thoroughly, and when I thought I was done rinsing, rinsed several more times!
Good luck with the wood and the tank!

[Lady Hobbs]

I agree with Kimmer. Salt is not going to absorb on the glass surface and a mild cleaning should be fine. Your filter determines what goes in it as far as salt or freshwater so changing out the media should be no problem.

Hope the tank doesn't leak! Why would someone throw out a tank they could have sold....... Or given to me!

[AquaQueen]

Thanks for your info Kimmers I just got word I may be ging to pick up the tank in a little while to clean it and set it up in my living room..woohoo..lol My bro is gonna let me buy it. So now I can take the steps to clean it myself. So I am still a little unsure on the Filter are you telling me that the same filter should be fine to use? To just buy a new cartridge for it? Or Should I buy a whole new Filter?

Hobbs I guess where we live in the city it is easier to find treassure in our neighbors trash...lol As for the tank leaking we have experience with resealing tanks my hex has had two of them one was real bad and Paulies buddy had a major leak one time that he fixed so if it is on the seal that shouldn't be a problem. but I now have to eliminate a tank or two because the water bill is high enough with the 100+ gals. we have going in our tanks already we will have to change alot arround none of our
tanks are staying the way they are.

[Lady Hobbs]

What a wonder new surprise you didn't think you'd have today, huh? Enjoy!!! You lucky dog.

[AquaQueen]

No he was going to set it up so I figured I'd have to wait a lil while before he'd give it up but he called me this morning and said he don't want to clean it and told me to come get it..just got back now and I am going to take some before pictures to show ya. be back in a bit.

[AquaQueen]

Ok now that it is on the stand in my living room and not sitting on a floor in a closet I am starting to wonder the true amount of Gals this tank is. the messurements for the tank are Length 48"(4ft), Width 11 1/2", Height 21" What size do ya think it is?

Here are a few pictures of the tank and one of the fake wood things that my bro was gonna keep, the other one he already gave me is alot taller and already soaking I will take some pics when it is in my hex.

[Severus]

It is a standard 55 gallon

[reybie]

Online calc comes up with 50 gal. Also, shouldn't you fill that tank outside in a garage or somewhere to check if there are leaks?

[AquaQueen]

HAHAHAHAHA...There is no possible way that it is only 50 or even 55 gal. I have a 55 and this sucker is way longer and taller then my 55 so I know that is impossible!!

[genitor]

yep 50 gals according to my calculations

[cocoa_pleco]

50 for me!

[AquaQueen]

Where is this calculator?? I really don't think this is only 50 gals the size is way too big way too much of a difference between the two tanks I have and I know the other one is 55 gals for sure.

[reybie]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

It could be the one you had was a smaller volume tank?

[cocoa_pleco]

The calculator is on the left side under menu

[AquaQueen]

Ok well let me tell you this has sent me on a mission trying to figure out what size my new tank is. After all of the responces to my messurements I decided to have hubby messure the tank and with his messurements I found out that my first tank that we thought was a 55 gal is not...and that is what started it all I messured all of my tanks and the only one I can't get the size on is my hex...Maybe it is too old (my LPS had a hard time getting a lid for me in the end I had one custom built). I am kinda bummed about what I figured the tanks to be but then again I still can not complain because I got the "55" for only $50.00 and the new tank and my hex(5yrs ago) out of the trash and bought the catfish tank from my mom with her fish for I think $20 so I guess I am pretty lucky as far as paying for the tanks.

Anyways here are all of my findings;

Tank Size Outside Dimensions in Inches (L x W x H)
The "55" tank
45 Gallon 36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 23 3/4

The New tank
60 Gallon 48 3/8 x 12 7/8 x 23 7/8

The Catfish tank
30 Gallon 36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 16 3/4

The 27 gal Hex messurements are
18 x 22 1/2 x 24 7/8 we were not sure on how to messure it though. We brought it in to the fish store when we found it and they told us the size was 27gals and that they don't make them anymore.

[cocoa_pleco]

sweet:1: :4:

[reybie]

Here's a calculator ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]) for the hex tank. Needs width of one side of the hex and the height.

[cocoa_pleco]

dont we have a hex calc?

[cocoa_pleco]

WTF, if i hit calculator it says that " oops, a pirahna ate your page".

[cocoa_pleco]

and on others like tropical fish species it says that

[Glasstapper]

Wait, hang on a sec. Your brother got the tank for free, but since he doesn't want it anymore, he SELLING it to you? I would argue that for sure. lol

[cocoa_pleco]

Wait, hang on a sec. Your brother got the tank for free, but since he doesn't want it anymore, he SELLING it to you? I would argue that for sure. lol


its called profit. lol:1:

[AquaQueen]

WTF, if i hit calculator it says that " oops, a pirahna ate your page".

I had the same thing happen to me. I dunno what the problem with that is.

[cocoa_pleco]

its fixed now.:1:

[AquaQueen]

Wait, hang on a sec. Your brother got the tank for free, but since he doesn't want it anymore, he SELLING it to you? I would argue that for sure. lol

Oh God...lol you sound like I did...I first was going to pay him $50.00 for the tank but now that I found out the size and did some wheeling and dealing he only wants $25.00. Yes he got it out of the TRASH and is CHARGING me for it...My Mom did the same thing too. She got a free tank and sold it to me. Personally I would never charge them for anything and never do, but hey what can I do, I want it bad enough I will pay for it...another thing I am getting these tanks dirt cheap so I guess I have to take what I got and deal with it. I had hubby clean it all up and we have it almost filled with water. I can't wait to put the oscars in it.

[AquaQueen]

its fixed now.:1:

Oh cool ok I am gonna go check the size of my Hex..be back with the results...lol

[AquaQueen]

Ok well As for one side of my hex it is 11" wide and the height is 24 7/8" and obviously has 6 sides and the calculator says my hex is a 37.71 gals so if this is true then my hex is bigger then what I was told and I am glad one of them is at least bigger...lol not that what I have wont make my water bill jump a lil higher....:help: someone stop me...lol

[kimmers318]

Great score on the tank, although I have to agree, your brother is a real turd for charging you for something he got free!
As for the filter, check it out, try to find out what it is, but yea, you should just be able to start with fresh filter media. I believe saltwater tanks also use some type of protein skimmer, let someone from the salty side step in, I don't know if skimmers can be combined with filters or if they are separate, so try to get a make/model on the filter itself and check it out. You don't need a skimmer for freshwater, but I can't see that a combo filter/skimmer would harm anything. I would suggest trying to identify the filter and post in the salty section to see if anyone has any suggestions on using it freshwater. Should be easy enough!
Enjoy setting it up and getting fish in it, that is always fun!

[AquaQueen]

Thanks Kimmer..I wanted to see if the filter even worked before doing anything so I had hubby set it up in the tank about oh I'd say 4-5 hours ago all has been well so far. I think I will be using ur advice, I will take some pictures of it and see if there are any numbers on the thing find out if it is ok to use. Thanks again.:1luvu: