I bought a used aquarium and stand with some accessories. The tank was set up as a salt water tank. I came with a protein skimmer. It hasn't been set up for 4 - 6 months. Can I use this for a freshwater tank? I have the power filter and heater that will work for it.
I Bought A Used Aquarium
- Thread starter Mike_Syr
- Start date
The protein skimmer is not something that we have a use for in freshwater but good filtration is always a plus. The power filter should serve you well if it had the capacity for saltwater.
drobbyb
Bowhead
In short, yes you can. It's going to take a bit of work though to get it ready. You need to get rid of the salt and salt creep that is often found in saltwater tanks. The best method for this is rinsing all the surfaces of the tank with fresh water a few times. If there is any limescale buildup, try vinegar and elbow grease to get it off (the acid in vinegar will dissolve the limescale.)
yep it will just need a really good clean...
my own persoall regimen for 2nd hand tanks is scrub them clean, as per normal.
then i bleach them, ya never know what horrible disease made them want to give up the tank. fill the tank with a 1 in 10 bleach solution and scrub all the parts that may come in contact with the water such as the braces and around the rim. I rince it untill the smell of bleach is completley gone then rince it some more.
get the really cheap beach from the shops that has no added colors scents or anything else.
once i`m sure the bleach is gone i fill it and leave it to stand for 24-48 hrs outside or at least some where i don`t mind if it leaks.
and after all that i know i have a sterile, clean tank with no leaks.
my own persoall regimen for 2nd hand tanks is scrub them clean, as per normal.
then i bleach them, ya never know what horrible disease made them want to give up the tank. fill the tank with a 1 in 10 bleach solution and scrub all the parts that may come in contact with the water such as the braces and around the rim. I rince it untill the smell of bleach is completley gone then rince it some more.
get the really cheap beach from the shops that has no added colors scents or anything else.
once i`m sure the bleach is gone i fill it and leave it to stand for 24-48 hrs outside or at least some where i don`t mind if it leaks.
and after all that i know i have a sterile, clean tank with no leaks.
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
Yes, I agree with Robby, OM47 and Ian that its quite do-able and will mostly take quite a bit of elbow grease. Also, for fresh water and because you may be a beginner to it, we should probably discuss your filter, its flow rate and what types of media you will choose to use. That will be one of the new things that needs discussing before you find the right water test kits and the right ammonia for cycling the filter. I'd be reading the nitrogen cycle articles in our Beginners Resouce Center up top, Mike_Syr.
Just as an aside though, this brings up a topic that might be of interest to our other freshwater beginners (and to myself, which is why I bring it up) about the whole story of proteins and protein skimmers in the marine/salt world. I'm sure there's curiosity among freshwater beginners and perhaps Ian (being salt water experienced) and om47 and Robby might give us some tidbits to help us understand why protein comes in to the picture in salt tanks and what goes on to keep it under control, perhaps some numbers or insight into how an experienced salt person frames their thinking about it. Any thoughts guys?
~~waterdrop~~
ps. Welcome to TFF, Mike_Syr!
Just as an aside though, this brings up a topic that might be of interest to our other freshwater beginners (and to myself, which is why I bring it up) about the whole story of proteins and protein skimmers in the marine/salt world. I'm sure there's curiosity among freshwater beginners and perhaps Ian (being salt water experienced) and om47 and Robby might give us some tidbits to help us understand why protein comes in to the picture in salt tanks and what goes on to keep it under control, perhaps some numbers or insight into how an experienced salt person frames their thinking about it. Any thoughts guys?
~~waterdrop~~
ps. Welcome to TFF, Mike_Syr!
I recently got back into tropical fish. From what I see of filters I still like the AquaClear. I had one before. Now they have added the BioMax material for the bacteria. I have a 20G now with a Whisper EX35 and an AquaClear 50. A LFS was closing and I bought a freshwater and a saltwater test kit because I wasn't sure what type of tank I would set up. I had bought a 29 gallon in an auction for $3. I ended up getting a 20G complete setup from the LFS that was closing. It was one of their display tanks. They drained it when the fish were sold and called me. I picked it up and set it up at home with the filter and stones still wet. After a few days I bought 3 fish and the water test have all been fine since. I have even added more fish. Although, now I would like more and need a bigger tank.
The person I got the latest tank from also had a book on getting started with salt water. I plan on reading it to learn more about saltwater as I may want to get into saltwater in the future.
The person I got the latest tank from also had a book on getting started with salt water. I plan on reading it to learn more about saltwater as I may want to get into saltwater in the future.
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
You will be able to greatly speed up your fishless cycle by using about 1/3 of your existing biomedia from the 20G in the new filter for the new tank. The 2/3's left should keep the 20G going just fine without causing any bad test results (mini-cycles as we call that.)
You will also find a lot of agreement with your statement about the Aquaclears among the members here. We like them because the filter box space is so simple and open, allowing you to pick and choose your own media and making the media easier to work with if you have to make changes to it. I have a small aquaclear on one of my tanks and like it.
I will say however that one aspect of HOBs (like the Aquaclears) where the external cannisters are superior is sound. Sound is something that matters to some people and not to others (tanks get put in vastly different situations; noisy fish rooms, very quiet living or bedrooms) External cannisters can make almost no water noise (unlike the waterfall of an HOB) and often have less mechanical noise, but it comes at a price, the external cannisters usually being more expensive. That extra expense however does put you at the top level of media volume (HOB matches media volume in a few cases but us usually lower; internal filters are even lower with respect to media volume.)
~~waterdrop~~
You will also find a lot of agreement with your statement about the Aquaclears among the members here. We like them because the filter box space is so simple and open, allowing you to pick and choose your own media and making the media easier to work with if you have to make changes to it. I have a small aquaclear on one of my tanks and like it.
I will say however that one aspect of HOBs (like the Aquaclears) where the external cannisters are superior is sound. Sound is something that matters to some people and not to others (tanks get put in vastly different situations; noisy fish rooms, very quiet living or bedrooms) External cannisters can make almost no water noise (unlike the waterfall of an HOB) and often have less mechanical noise, but it comes at a price, the external cannisters usually being more expensive. That extra expense however does put you at the top level of media volume (HOB matches media volume in a few cases but us usually lower; internal filters are even lower with respect to media volume.)
~~waterdrop~~
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