Yo! Yo! Need some questions answered!

[jdheff1982]

Yo! I just called a guy about an aquarum he has for sale. This is what is included:

Fluval 404, 70 gallon tank, pine stand, heaters, and lights. Al this for $450. Too me sounds like a great deal. He said that he bought this a Chistmas gift last year and she wouldn't help him keep up with it, so they tore it down and stored it. Another thing, this was a SW tank, so eveything has been run with SW. Is this going to be a problem?? If not, what do I need to do to prep the tank for FW fish. How about the filter???

I am going to his place tomorrow afternoon and see what he's got. Hope he can hold it for me until then!!

 

[NJ Devils Fan]

Thats is a great deal. I have never had any experience with SW tanks before, so I don't know what would have to be changed with the filter. Maybe just the media, but I'm not sure. I think That maybe you should also get a power filter too for the tank, like an Emperor 280 so you would have more filtration and more area for your bio load. Its up to you though.

 

[ewok]

sounds ok, but i am no expert, 70ish for tank, 90ish for filter, 100-150 for top and lights depending on single or dual tube. heaters maybe 30, the stand, bought locally could run 250ish......... that's if you shopped around for bargains....

as far as using it for fresh i think the biggest requirement for anything would be was it VERY well.

good luck

 

[stpower]

ewok

I wish we had your prices here. St. John's Newfoundland, Canada. I bought a 60G tank $225, Filstar xP2 $220, ETC...

It's an expensive hobby around here, but I like it.

 

[appaloosatb]

Go SW! It's really not as hard as you'd think, and if it's already set up for SW that's an incredible deal - maybe you could ask on the General Marine board for more info... once you've done salt, you won't want to go back, believe me! My cichlids and community fish could care less about me except when my hand is on the food cans, my clownfish eat out of my fingers! The color difference is also INCREDIBLE. Come over to the dark (er, salty) side!

 

[ewok]

the currency conversion rates figure into that i'm sure too.

these prices also depend partially on sales and being able to wait.

tanks *can* run $1 a gallon on sale around here
that filter is 90 from bigalsonline
top and lights bought locally are about 150ish for 2 tubes
heaters 30ish bigalsonline
the stand, bought locally is 250ish - bigals also sells them and some may be be cheaper

it pays to watch and wait, buying at full retail sucks, i have done it myself quite often........

 

[Richer]

I can't comment about prices... as I'm not sure how things work down in the US.

Assuming you will buy this setup:
Since it was originally a SW setup, just run freshwater through that thing for a few days (with frequent nearly 100% water changes). That should remove any salt residues within the filter and the tank.
For filtration, I would look into getting another filter. Fluval 404s are decent filters and work fine IME, but one will not be enough for a 70 gallon with a moderate stock level. Look into getting another fluval 404 (or equivilant canister), or a decent HOB filter (an Aquaclear 300/500 or equivilant will work quite nicely as a supplementary filter).

Oh, I suppose I should add. A friend of mine gave me her 70 gallon tank for free. It had tons of salt residue on it... about 1/4 inch layer of salt on the bottom of the tank. I just filled the tank halfway with water and scrubbed the whole thing down. The salt residue (after a little bit of scrubbing) just fell off in pieces and dissolved in the water. After that, I just filled the tank with freshwater, drained it, and repeated for a few times. Its been a FW plant tank since the beginning of September, and I've had no problems with it =)

HTH
-Richer

 

[jdheff1982]

Thanks for the responses. I will probably get the setup, just hope the owner can hold out until next week when get paid!! Again, thanks!!

 

[NJ Devils Fan]

I think he can, being that he had it for almost a year, he can hold on to it for another week.

 

[slipknottin]

*cough* that is a freshwater setup.

Im betting his SW tank wasent too successful, hence the sale.