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John's 425 litre 'can't think of a title' conversion from salt to fresh

john6

Member
Joined
23 Mar 2022
Messages
306
Location
Scunthorpe
Finally got rid of fish and rocks (reef)
Now the project begins.
First I have filled tank which is a Red Sea Reefer 425XL with freshwater and Citric Acid and am just running equipment to give them a good clean and to clean tank tank before elbow grease is needed.
20220805_144125.jpg 20220805_144142.jpg
This will be a few weeks in the making due to time constraints. I dont know what it will be yet but choices are as follows-
Angel Fish tank
Rainbow Fish tank
Gourami Fish tank or
Community tank with a centrepiece fish.
Any other ideas my ears are open

'Scape wise I'm going for 2 different levels on both sides of the tank, with a row of stem plants to create a sort of 'S shape road' in the centre which will be carpeted.

Equipment wise I have the following (some is already on the tank from when it was a reef)-
Dragon rock
Tropica Soil Powder
Driftwood
Alfagrog
Apex controlled (ph, temp monitored. Flow meter. Leak detectors. Auto top up. Auto feeder. Will also control CO2 injection)
Automatic Fleece Filter (X-Filter 1.0)
Jebao 5000 wifi return pump
Maxspect Gyre 330 (if needed)
Red Sea Doser
CO2 art Pro SE regulator
5KG fire extinguisher
Drop checker and homemade 4dkh water
Large Bazooka_Flux diffuser
2 Radion G5 freshwater lights.
As this is a sumped tank I am going to place the diffuser right next to the return pump intake. If anybody has any better ideas how to distribute co2 in a sumped tank then I'm open to ideas.
The sump is set up as overflows into fleece filter and then through Alfagrog, then into 2 empty sections, 1 of which will have a small pump pointed at the surface to provide water agitation, then into return pump section, up through return pipe and out into tank via 2 random flow generators.
If anybody knows how to utilise the 2 empty sections than please let me know
Thats it for now I think, I will add more as i go along as i want as much detail as i can, Hope you enjoy the journey with me.
 
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hi John, certainly will be a easy to manage set up once done. Im running my 720l with a sump, and its great. I did find though, that there is more than ample water skimming etc with the overflow otherwise you'll be gassing off q fair amount of co2.
The bazooka diffuser right into the return should be more than adequate, and help to see where your flow is going.

I havent needed to use any power heads believe it or not, purely as ive positioned the outlets to give equal flow in each half of the display.

I would place 30 ppi, 20ppi and 10 ppi foam into the empty sections as that would be top notch for bacteria colonising, and particle catching, and less flow resistance than alfa grog. I found my Alfa grog to clog rather quick and flow through wasnt as ideal. Its not pourous like the foam. Plus its far easier to clean the foam. You could put alfagrog after these for a final bio boost section maybe?

I would also definitely order some clear plastic sheet for over the sump to help keep in that co2.

Good luck
 
hi John, certainly will be a easy to manage set up once done. Im running my 720l with a sump, and its great. I did find though, that there is more than ample water skimming etc with the overflow otherwise you'll be gassing off q fair amount of co2.
The bazooka diffuser right into the return should be more than adequate, and help to see where your flow is going.

I havent needed to use any power heads believe it or not, purely as ive positioned the outlets to give equal flow in each half of the display.

I would place 30 ppi, 20ppi and 10 ppi foam into the empty sections as that would be top notch for bacteria colonising, and particle catching, and less flow resistance than alfa grog. I found my Alfa grog to clog rather quick and flow through wasnt as ideal. Its not pourous like the foam. Plus its far easier to clean the foam. You could put alfagrog after these for a final bio boost section maybe?

I would also definitely order some clear plastic sheet for over the sump to help keep in that co2.

Good luck
Thanks for the advice
Not sure i need sponges as im using an automatic fleece roller.
The powerheads i can see if i need one when its set up and can see where the flow is going.
Glad you agree with the diffuser position.
Great tip about the plastic sheet, never thought of that.
Rainbow fish are favourites at the moment as i love the bosemanii
 
Ok just a small update.
Tank has been thoroughly ran through with citric acid water and has come up a treat along with some elbow grease, one 'problem' though is the tide mark, ive tried vinegar, acid, amongst other things and it wont shift, i'm beginning to think its stained the glass but anybody has any tips on how to remove it then give me a shout.
The tank is now running with plain freshwater just to flush out any citric acid residue and bits which might have just been loosened by the acid, I'll keep that going all week and changing water every day so it should be spotless next weekend. Not sure if this is overkill but its what I'm doing.
I've also decided to go with a Rainbow fish specific tank, especially after seeing @GreggZ tank, one of my favourites on here, so might have to pick his brain once in a while.
One other thing, I've seen recently Co2 spray bar, can this work in a sump? can someone point me in the direction of threads about this, if i search for it it just brings up 100's of threads about allsorts.
 
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I've also decided to go with a Rainbow fish specific tank, especially after seeing @GreggZ tank, one of my favourites on here, so might have to pick his brain once in a while.
Thanks and feel free to reach out anytime. I know lots of folks who have gone from salt to fresh. It's also complicated and takes a lot of work just in a different way. And some things in salt are counterintuitive with fresh planted. So there is a learning curve but in general a bit easier coming from salt.

I'm following along and look forward to see where you go with it.
 
Thanks and feel free to reach out anytime. I know lots of folks who have gone from salt to fresh. It's also complicated and takes a lot of work just in a different way. And some things in salt are counterintuitive with fresh planted. So there is a learning curve but in general a bit easier coming from salt.

I'm following along and look forward to see where you go with it.
Thanks
 
So after a few water changes the water is now running clear so confident the acid has all been washed away.
Plan is to drain all water and give the tank a good wipe and clean, making it look as new as possible, then at the weekend start to install all the equipment (pumps, lights, heaters, co2, apex etc.).
I am going to plan this out to make it look very tidy and hide as much wire as i can, when i had a reef tank it was just a tangled mess of wires and it really annoyed me every time I opened the cabinet door so this time will be different. I might have time to start on the scape this weekend if all goes to plan, which if previous set ups is anything to go buy it won't so I'll just wait and see.
Will take pics of tank and progress as I go along.
 
Looks great so far. I’ve also just converted from salt to fresh and so I’ll be watching this thread closely!
 
Looks great so far. I’ve also just converted from salt to fresh and so I’ll be watching this thread closely!
Ive just seen your thread and subscribed, it will be good to bounce ideas off each other as i'm new to the planted scene, except my Discus tank which is just a few easy plants scattered about.
 
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