Starting a new Fish World

[nickfox45]

hi everyone, im new to the site because this seems like one of the better places to get help online from actual fish owners. i've just walked into this situation: moved into a new apartment and found the old tenants left a huge fishtank, around 67 gallons by my calculations, with what seems to be a working pump, several under gravel filters, and a few pieces of coral. there's no water in the tank now, but from all the grime inside and lots of buildup its evident that the tank hasnt been used for some time AND was a saltwater tank. im looking to put freshwater fish in the tank, and after looking at the info on this and other sites, make it a warmwater tank.

so now the questions. im wondering what the best way to clean out the tank is, especially the salt. the other issue is that the tank is plastered into a section of the wall, and is raised about 5 feet in the air, so i cant just take it down and clean it out. any suggestions on what kind of solution/method i should use to get the tank itself and all pump, filters, and coral cleaned of the salt?

after all thats taken care of, i guess i have to deal with this 'cycling' business....

 

[simonbrown403]

Personal i'de use lots of hot water and elbow grease lol

Depending on the type of fish you want to keep i would get rid of the coral sand/ coral. as it will raise the PH of your water, unless you want to keep south african rift lake specise ( then wash wash wash in lots of hot water).

Have you got a heater if not you will need a a 300wat at least.

have fun

 

[nickfox45]

Personal i'de use lots of hot water and elbow grease lol

Depending on the type of fish you want to keep i would get rid of the coral sand/ coral. as it will raise the PH of your water, unless you want to keep south african rift lake specise ( then wash wash wash in lots of hot water).

Have you got a heater if not you will need a a 300wat at least.

have fun

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thanks for the info, ive since checked and found that there was also a small 100w heater in the tank, so i guess ill have to pick up a new one if im gonna properly heat this puppy.

now ive also run into the plant question. ill go read some on the plant forum, but i was wondering if live plants are a necessity for a successful tank, or do some people use artificial ones? thanks in advance!

 

[nickfox45]

so ive got all the coral out and washed thoroughly, and am in the process of cleaning and washing the rest of the tank, which ill likely finish later today. can anyone confirm the earlier post that the coral that was in the tank already will raise my pH levels?

do i need to get out absolutely all the salt residue to prevent causing my future fish harm? how thorough does this need to be?


guess its time to go post in the hardware forum and find out how to de-salt this pump...

any suggestions would be great, thanks to all!

 

[simonbrown403]

confirmation read ways to rais and lower PH http/www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

Soak the pump in hot water, and change water every so often then give a good scrub, repeat untill clean.

As for the plants it depends on they type of fish you want and your PH.

If you use the coral gravel, its likely your PH is likly will be high, so the fish you chose will have to be able to live with the peramiters in your tank, also few plants will thrive at higher PH.

 

[nickfox45]

confirmation read ways to rais and lower PH http/www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

Soak the pump in hot water, and change water every so often then give a good scrub, repeat untill clean.

As for the plants it depends on they type of fish you want and your PH.

If you use the coral gravel, its likely your PH is likly will be high, so the fish you chose will have to be able to live with the peramiters in your tank, also few plants will thrive at higher PH.

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i think at this point im leaning towards getting rid of the coral, it seems like its more trouble than its worth. thanks for the pH info, ill look into that. so would it be better to put fish in first, then plants, or let the ecosystem get going with some plants before i add fish?

 

[simonbrown403]

set tank up first with plants get everything running smoothly first , let the water settle ie temp PH, then you can add a few hardy fish to start the cycling.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Or alternatively, you can read up on fishless cycling (pinned topic). The advantage of this is it doesn't risk the health of your first fish, and you get a wider choice of first fish as you are not restricted to a very few hardy species. I did a fishless cycle (with ammonia from the hardware store and it took me just over 2 weeks). You can add the plants from the beginning anyway.

set tank up first with plants get everything running smoothly first , let the water settle ie temp PH, then you can add a few hardy fish to start the cycling.

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