Fed up with salt water

[tonester2221]

Hi Folks,

I have a 90g salt water tank which I'm considering converting to either an African Cichlid or South American setup. Can I utilize the sand bottom currently in place (thus maintaining some bacteria for cycling) or do I need to perform a complete tear down?

[michael_cb_125]

I would totally swap it out. Just to be safe. I doent take too long to build up bacteria in a new tank. Plus it will be totally fresh..
~Micahel

[wonderloss]

The denitrifying bacteria in salt water are not the same as those in fresh water, so there would be no benefit from trying to keep them.

[Octoman]

If you do SA cichlids, the sand could cause some trouble with maintaining a lower pH. Personally, I would much rather have some kind of gravel over sand with a FW tank because it is much easier to keep clean. I say dump it and start over.

[zy112]

I would swap it. Sorry to hear your getting out of the hobby

[Dentoid]

Originally Posted by tonester2221

Hi Folks,

I have a 90g salt water tank which I'm considering converting to either an African Cichlid or South American setup. Can I utilize the sand bottom currently in place (thus maintaining some bacteria for cycling) or do I need to perform a complete tear down?

"Considering" is the key word. What can we do to help you have a kinder, cleaner and more healthy saltwater tank?

[tonester2221]

Thanks for the suggestions!
Between the cyano and the problems keeping sw fish alive it's become a chore rather than something I've come to enjoy...

[Dentoid]

Originally Posted by tonester2221

Thanks for the suggestions!
Between the cyano and the problems keeping sw fish alive it's become a chore rather than something I've come to enjoy...

We can help you master the art of reefing if you are still interested!

[teresa]

Originally Posted by tonester2221

Hi Folks,

I have a 90g salt water tank which I'm considering converting to either an African Cichlid or South American setup. Can I utilize the sand bottom currently in place (thus maintaining some bacteria for cycling) or do I need to perform a complete tear down?

Welcome to the Cichlid group. I love them and it is so much easier to maintain a cichlid tank then a salt water tank. That is my opinion but Sas will not agree with me I am sure.
When Sas gave me his salt water tank to convert to a Cichlid tank, we threw away the gravel and basically start from scratch. We were lucky because we have a koi pond and we took the gravel from the pond for cycling.

[PEMfish]

SW bacteria is different from FW. So dump the sand. And theres nasties in there anyway. Also, the darker the sand, the better the colors of your fish will look. Chichlids prefer sand, so medium to dark brown or even black sand will be good. Don't go to fine or you'll vacuum it up. Also, watch out for sharp pebbles. You'll also want a lower kelvin light bulbs. And totally new filtration. A Eheim Pro will do you good.

[JoJo]

i would think about that heavily before making the change. I did that when we moved into the new house, after 2 months i was so mad with myself, bored with the set up & trying to figure out a way to tell my wife i wanted to buy the equipment to go back to SW.

Please take to heart the offer of help from the RS family, i annoy so many people on this thread but they keep advising me on what to do. i would hate for you to go through what i did.

[ReefGuy69]

Dont go... this hobby has its ups and downs. Take me for example in the last few weeks my tank was full of bryopsis and a bit of green hair algae, a few bits of bubble algae. And i thought i was doing everything right. RO water, weekly water changes, all 75lbs of live rock, plenty of flow, limited feeding, low light cycle, and still algae. i was frustrated. i stepped back for a moment and asked myself if i tore down the tank or put FW in it would i be happy... the answer was no. i want to succeed at this. So i got back to it. Did research asked plenty of questions here and i seem to be back on track. I know i will have more hurdles. I may have one as im typing this (Alk problem) but everyone here will help me through it and they will do the same for you. Sometimes the problems arent fixed overnight, or even in a weeks time, but eventually it all works out. Please just give it one more thought through before you throw in the towel.

[DrHank]

We all understand your frustration. There are probably many of us that have had the same problems that you are having now. We can also probably help you succeed if you want to. I would take what Jo Jo has said to heart. Don't make a snap decision, give it some real thought.

Do you want to give up because you are frustrated? If so, I suggest regrouping telling us as much as you can about the problems you are having and let us try to help. You might even want to read Melanie's chronicle.

[BoomerD]

As many readers have already told you, the bacteria in the tank won't be of much help if you switch to freshwater, BUT, if you rinse it well, the sand should be fine to use in an African Cichlid tank. Lots of cichlid keepers used to use fine crushed coral in their tanks as a buffer, pumping up the pH and carbonate hardness for their little beauties...
Definitely check into that further, as the practice MAY have gone by the wayside along with undergravel filters...
Cichlid-Forum ::

[SubRosa]

Sand can be problematic with some Africans, but is imo essential for keeping others.Large Mbuna and Frontosa for instance can wreak havoc on filters by stirring sand into solution.But keeping stuff like Furcifers and Enantiopus and other mound builders without sand is missing the most interesting part of their behavior.As long as the sand is well cleaned it's fine as far as water quality is concerned.