new member, new tank, no idea what im doing

[Weebis]

alright lemme preface this by saying ive had salt tanks in the past and was successful with them for years...

recently i moved./..i sold all my saltwater animals and equipment...

i kept the tank, the stand, the rock stacks i used, and the 100 pounds of sand i never ended up using...

so i was planning on setting up a salt tank again and filled it with RO/DI water, sand and rocks...i cahnged my mind and have decided to go with fresh...its MUCH cheaper and doesnt require the attention a salt tank does (i just had a baby a month ago so i dont want to come home and have to worry about a salt tank) not to mention the cost...my electric bill alone was over $250 just for the tank..

my questions are as follows:

1) is my sand ok? its a real fine white sand....almost like sugar

2) are my rocks ok? id rather not have anything in there other then the rocks, (maybe a couple fake plants)

3) i dont have a filter, any recommendations?

any other advice is welcome...my first stop is AC to read up on freshwater fish...ive kept corals, anemmones, multple fish and clams in salt, so i may not know much about fresh, but i get the whole fishtank thing

thanks

 

[Jspigs]

What size is the tank?

 

[THE V]

Welcome to the AC

You sand should be fine. If it is beach sand just give it a good rinse to remove the salt.

The rocks might be an issue. Generally live rock contain a lot of calcium carbonate. This can increase the hardness of the water and cause issues for some species (others like it). What species of fish are you looking at keeping?

I'd also soak the rock in fresh water for a few days to leach out any salt. A little bit of salt in freshwater is fine. A lot is deadly of course.

Freshwater tanks can be setup to be easy to care for. I personally don't even own a test kit and I have 5 tanks. Maintenance is generally a 75% water change weekly using the python. Takes about 1 hour of work for them all.

Unplanted takes are great if you keep the amount of light in the tank to a minimum (otherwise it's pea soup). Planted tanks take a little more effort to figure out if you want to grow algae or plants.

Setting up the tank with small children is a very good idea. My son spends hours watching the "phish".

 

[Weebis]

tank is 72 gallon

the sand i have now has never been in salt...it was extra i had...the rocks have already been cooked, powerwashed and sun dried and all that fun stuff...no salt...

im not worried about maintainence, im used to it...i want a blue lobster, and really other then that, i dont care,...whatever will work...

 

[Rbishop]

I would go with a good sized canister filter, similar to a Marineland C-360....maybe some power heads also to help in circulation depending how your decor is arranged.

 

[7itanium]

a 72 gallon tank should NEVER be nearly that much on a power bill... I have a couple hundreds of gallons of water in my house with planted tank lights etc (just as much as a reef tank) and my power bill only goes up like maybe $50 at the most..

I think u might wanna make sure something isnt wrong


in reguards to your questions...

yes your sand and rocks should be fine
I would also recommend a large canister filter.. or 2 medium sized ones

 

[Weebis]

a 72 gallon tank should NEVER be nearly that much on a power bill... I have a couple hundreds of gallons of water in my house with planted tank lights etc (just as much as a reef tank) and my power bill only goes up like maybe $50 at the most..
ones

$50?? lmao...no

i had an sps tank with 2 400 watt halides over it on 10 hours a day...you got 800 watts over a planted tank? overkill i think if thats the case...

not to mention i had 3 heaters, my return pump from sump, skimmer pump, and power heads that contributed to about 3600 gallons per hour...so yeah, thats how it works...

do you have reef tanks? have you ever? it doesnt seem like it...i dont know squat about fresh, but i know my salt...

if it was only 50 dollars i wouldnt be doing fresh right now

 

[l3lhsl3]

$50?? lmao...no

i had an sps tank with 2 400 watt halides over it on 10 hours a day...you got 800 watts over a planted tank? overkill i think if thats the case...

not to mention i had 3 heaters, my return pump from sump, skimmer pump, and power heads that contributed to about 3600 gallons per hour...so yeah, thats how it works...

do you have reef tanks? have you ever? it doesnt seem like it...i dont know squat about fresh, but i know my salt...

if it was only 50 dollars i wouldnt be doing fresh right now

cocky

 

[DoctaQ]

cocky

 

[efors]

I think that your sand and reef rocks will provide a perfect environment, pH and water hardness for African Rift Lakes cichlids of Malawi or Tanganyika. If interested, look for advice on that forum, here on AC.