Hello. New to FW aquaria

[alfbennett]

Hi,

Though I have sucsesfully kept a 10 gallon nano reef, I am new to FW. The tank I have is a 46 Gllon acrylic bowfront. When it came to me, it had a very opaque green algea bloom, and algea all over the glass. The temprature was around 72 degrees, way to many decorations, worn out ancient carbon filters, and no idea about what fish were in there.

Instead of just pulling all the fish and all the water, I did a 75% change and lelft the nasty filters in for a week, then did a 50% change (and gravel vac), removed one nasty sponge and replaced the carbon. Vioala, I can see the fish now (water is as clear as can be now, and chemestry is back in acceptable ranges). I know about the nitrogen cycle, having raised corals, but I also know that freshwater is a different game.

I have learned that there is no such thing as a clean-up crew in freshwater (no nasarius snails to clean the substrate :-( ) so no molusks for me. Below are the details of my setup, and my questions and concerns

Tank Setup.
46 Gallon Bowfront Acrylic
2x 20-40 whisper filters.
1 undergravel filter running on an airpump.
Broken heater (I am currently heating the tank with top-off water).

Inhabetents (hold on to your shorts)
1 (albino?) catfish (seems to breath air by darting to the top then bottom)
2 Clown Loaches.
1 large fish looks like a silver dollar tetra but has a dark spot behind gill plates
3 neon tetras (very small right now)
3 might be angelfish, but I still need to look these guys up.
2 common plecostimus' (both small right now, but need to get out before they get to big)

My Suspicions.
1.) The tank is over-crowded.
2.) I may want to replace the undergravel filter and gravel for a DSB (does that work in FW tanks?)
3.) The sponge media in front of the AC in the filters may need to go bye bye, and be replaced with better filtration media (maybe a biowheel?)

My Questions.
What is the optimal temprature for the freshwater fish I have (because the temprature was soooo low, I have only raised it and kept it between 75 & 78 degress, so I don't give the fish "Climate Shock")?

What fish would be best to remove?

Should I actually replace the sponge media, or allow it to do its bacteria thing?

Should I replace, or remove the under-gravel filter?

What are some gotchas that I should be aware of when transitioning from SW to FW tank management?

Thanks for your time and any comments.

 

[bushwhacker]

your clown loachs and comm plecs are goin to outgrow the tank. personally i'd get rid of the UGF and get a canister or a cple good HOB filters.. other than that get a good test kit and keep a close eye on your params but you know that haveing had a SW tank

 

[alfbennett]

Sorry, what is a cple?

And do you know if a deep sand bed would be a good anoxic replacement for UG filter in fresh water? I can't find where anyone is doing it.

Thanks alot for your reply, I really appreciate it.

 

[vanillarum]

I believe by "cple", the PP meant 'couple". I have a 46 glass bowfront, and on mine I use an Emperor 400 and an Aquaclear 70 filter, just to give you an example. I don't know what size tanks your current filters are rated for, but if they keep the water clean and your "params" are fine, I would say stay with what you have. If you want "help" with algae cleanup, albino bristlenose plecos are great for that, and they stay small enough to keep in your tank. I have 1 and it keeps the algae to a minimum. Good luck.

 

[jackiomy]

I have a sand bed and my catfish love it. I think your temp is fine. I would keep your filter media as is because you don't want to go from a really dirty tank to a really clean tank quickly. I hate UGF so I would just get rid of it and switch to sand and get some malaysian trumpet snails to keep the sand areated <sp?>.

 

[alfbennett]

get some malaysian trumpet snails to keep the sand areated <sp?>.

Now I like snails (coming from a SW background) but it is my understanding that these snails will breed asexually and load up the tank quickly. Am I mistaken? This may not be an issue, but I was informed in this thread that the clown loaches will get to big for the tank, and that will leave me defenseless.

If I am mistaken, than WOOT I get to keep invertebrates in my FW kit.

The whisper 20-40 is rated from 20 to 40 gallons. And ATM the good chemistry has more to do with large water changes recently than balance. Smaller waterchanges over the next couple of weeks, and testing every couple of days will tell me where I really am at.

Thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated.

 

[colinsk]

Once snails breed in the tank you best practice is to limit them by starvation. Gravel vac and light feedings. It can be done. I prune snails but I don't think I will ever eradicate them.

Zebera Nerites can not breed in fresh water but they will only clean surfaces. They will not turn the sand. I keep a single bridgesii in my tank with my zebra nerites. One can not breed.

I picked up snails from buying plants. If you don't want other snails and you want plants look up potassium permanganate treatment.

 

[Hooked Newbie]

I have learned that there is no such thing as a clean-up crew in freshwater (no nasarius snails to clean the substrate :-( ) so no molusks for me. Below are the details of my setup, and my questions and concerns

Tank Setup.
46 Gallon Bowfront Acrylic
2x 20-40 whisper filters.
1 undergravel filter running on an airpump.
Broken heater (I am currently heating the tank with top-off water).

Inhabetents (hold on to your shorts)
1 (albino?) catfish (seems to breath air by darting to the top then bottom)
2 Clown Loaches.
1 large fish looks like a silver dollar tetra but has a dark spot behind gill plates
3 neon tetras (very small right now)
3 might be angelfish, but I still need to look these guys up.
2 common plecostimus' (both small right now, but need to get out before they get to big)

My Suspicions.
1.) The tank is over-crowded. You are totally correct.
2.) I may want to replace the undergravel filter and gravel for a DSB (does that work in FW tanks?) A canister or even HOB work better for FW. DSBs are nearly unheard of in any moderately stocked aquarium.
3.) The sponge media in front of the AC in the filters may need to go bye bye, and be replaced with better filtration media (maybe a biowheel?) If it is not falling apart, just rinse it in removed tank water or newly treated water.

My Questions.
What is the optimal temprature for the freshwater fish I have (because the temprature was soooo low, I have only raised it and kept it between 75 & 78 degress, so I don't give the fish "Climate Shock")? 78 should be a good target.

What fish would be best to remove? IMO, both plecos, the clown loaches, the albino cat, and possibly the Silver Dollar-like fish. Would need a pic to properly ID.

Should I actually replace the sponge media, or allow it to do its bacteria thing? If they're intact, just rinse in treated water.

Should I replace, or remove the under-gravel filter? I prefer canisters, but some still have great results with UGF (or Reverse UGF).

What are some gotchas that I should be aware of when transitioning from SW to FW tank management? None really. Keep researching. If you can keep a reef, you can keep a FW tank once it's stocked right.

Thanks for your time and any comments.

The closest thing in FW to Nassarius would be MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails). They'll do a decent job of stirring fine substrate, but I would not count on them to "clean up". You sound like you're off to a great start by researching the compatibility / size issues and getting the chemistry into check! My other thoughts (aka ramblings) are in red. :welcome: to AC!

 

[alfbennett]

lol,

The hard part is going to be finding a home for the plecos...

 

[VivaLaVics]

Have any pics to help ID some of the fishes?