New To Fw Tank

[Wolflife]

hi guys I'll need ur help.....
i wonna know what do i need for my 500 liter future tank
i got a Reef Tank but i believe there is big different berween SW / FW

do i need a protine skimmer, wer/dry filtar?. Can i use sump?
do i have to use UV Sterilizers?

should I change water ever 2 weeks? and is there a
supplement I got to use with changing water?

Thanks

 

[millym]

hi
for fw tank i presume you mean tropical you dont need a sump/protein skimmer/uv etc etc all you really need is a filter (internal or external the choice is yours), a heater & some form of aeration (bubble wall - although folks with heavily planted tanks & co2 often dont have a bubble wall)
but you MUST cycle the tank before adding any fish or they will succumb to 'new tank syndrome' & will almost certainlly die. have a look at all the pinned topics here about starting out & cycling a new tank should get you headed in the right direction.
water changes ideally should be roughly about 25% weekly although lots of folks have different regimes that work for them & their fish & you NEED to use a chlorine/chloramine remover in your fresh tapwater when doing water changes or the chloramine/chlorine will harm your fish.
if you have a look through the many posts here you'll find loads of helpful info to get you started & remember another important point is to research & choose all the fish you plan to buy & have together in one tank carefully BEFORE you buy ie: compatability, how BIG they grow etc etc.( just like SW really) will save a lot of heartache & money in the future.

 

[Wolflife]

thanks

 

[Nevergone815]

hi
for fw tank i presume you mean tropical you dont need a sump/protein skimmer/uv etc etc all you really need is a filter (internal or external the choice is yours), a heater & some form of aeration (bubble wall - although folks with heavily planted tanks & co2 often dont have a bubble wall)
but you MUST cycle the tank before adding any fish or they will succumb to 'new tank syndrome' & will almost certainlly die. have a look at all the pinned topics here about starting out & cycling a new tank should get you headed in the right direction.
water changes ideally should be roughly about 25% weekly although lots of folks have different regimes that work for them & their fish & you NEED to use a chlorine/chloramine remover in your fresh tapwater when doing water changes or the chloramine/chlorine will harm your fish.
if you have a look through the many posts here you'll find loads of helpful info to get you started & remember another important point is to research & choose all the fish you plan to buy & have together in one tank carefully BEFORE you buy ie: compatability, how BIG they grow etc etc.( just like SW really) will save a lot of heartache & money in the future.

i second this info. it is really good info for a starting place. like said RESEARCH is key as i'm sure you had to do with your SW tank. i personally never had a SW tank but would like to start one in the future. a lot of the fish i think are cool/pretty are SW and i am limited to just freshwater right now.

 

[andywg]

Preotein skimmers do not work well in FW due to the lower SG of the water (and the lack of the charged ions present in marine salts).

Hoewever, sumps are just as good in FW as SW and wet drys are still an amazing filtration method (I use sumps on any tank I can and am changing them all gradually over to wet dry).

Aeration via an air pump is NOT necessary. Air pumps and bubble walls cause minimal surface agitation, a powerhead or filter outlet/return pointed towards the surface will do far more for aeration (though if you use a wet dry and a sump you should have plenty of aeration).

Water changes should be frequent enough and often enough to keep nitrates in check. Some do 10% a week, some 25% a week. Others with sensitive fish (rays and such) do 25% twice a week. Some, with large filters and lower stocking do the water changes monthly or fortnightly.

If you have a source of RO water for the reef (in your house for example, rather than buying from a shop) you would be better off using that for water changes. You can get FW additives (just like SW) to put the essential minerals and trace elements put back in.

Some people swear by UVs, others don't like them. They perform the same pathogen and free floating organism blasting as they do in SW, though the effectiveness is still a matter of debate. I myself prefer them on larger tanks.

As with SW, a test kit is your friend.

On a 500 litre tank (around 110 imp gallons) I would say go for a 100 litre sump with a wet dry tower on it and you should have a really nice setup, though wet dry will make it very hard to grow plants.

If plants is your aim then a good external filter (such as an eheim) should do you well.