Can I Use Saltwater Equipment In Freshwater Tank

HI everyone, I have several pieces of equipment that I would like to see if I can re-use in my new 180 gallon tank. What we are setting up is a 180 gallon tank with a 55 gallon sump below. The tank already has holes cut out for plumbing to go below to sump like a saltwater tank. We want to set it up with angels, tetras and maybe different types of sword tails. but we want to load it up with plants everywhere also. We have a Reef Octopus CR-140 reverse flow calcium reactor that I'm hoping I can change to take out ammonia and or Nitrates but need help in how to set it up, if it can be. We also have a reef octopus bio churn 120 that I have and would like to use, I'm not sure what these two pieces of equipment can actually do for my freshwater tank and could really use some help. I am going to run the bio balls and several filter elements in the sump and a new penn plax cascade 1500 canister that I will have the water inlets from 180 tank go into before entering sump. I placed 2- 300 watt heaters in the bottom of sump, I'm also running a large UV light filter with pump in sump and 2 GFO- BRS reactors with pumps to both running into sump. Can anyone explain how to set these up in a freshwater tank
Thanks everyone
Roy

 

My goodness!!! OK, so first of all, that's some pretty expensive reefing equipment you have there. The bulk of it is for churning nitrate and phosphate reducing media. Reef tanks generally want nitrates and phosphates at zero, but with plants, you'll be adding them both with your ferts, so.... why remove it? You could use bio pellets in a reactor, which could aid in hosting a healthy beneficial bacteria colony, but that might be unnecessary with your other filtration.

The calcium reactor is for adding calcium to a tank and maintaining alkalinity. Now, I'm not experienced enough to speak much on planted tanks, but again, my thinking is it's unnecessary.

If I were you, I'd sell it all! The two Octopus reactors together retail for over $500.

 

“Once you can set $100 on fire without crying, you are ready for saltwater” -A friend of mine.

 

My goodness!!! OK, so first of all, that's some pretty expensive reefing equipment you have there. The bulk of it is for churning nitrate and phosphate reducing media. Reef tanks generally want nitrates and phosphates at zero, but with plants, you'll be adding them both with your ferts, so.... why remove it? You could use bio pellets in a reactor, which could aid in hosting a healthy beneficial bacteria colony, but that might be unnecessary with your other filtration.

The calcium reactor is for adding calcium to a tank and maintaining alkalinity. Now, I'm not experienced enough to speak much on planted tanks, but again, my thinking is it's unnecessary.

If I were you, I'd sell it all! The two Octopus reactors together retail for over $500.

HI Stell1979, Thank you for answering me, I found a really nice 180 gallon tank that was pre-drilled for salt water and I had to get it. I originally wanted to set up the salt water and purchased all the equipment needed to run a reef tank with fish. Then my dog kennel really got busy and I lost any time to devote to it so it all sat, I never even ran anything. Well story short, my business shot off, we are building a new building and I need to set up this tank just to have that place to escape to, you know, well, I know freshwater fish and so that's what we are going with. I think I'll just hold onto all my saltwater equipment for my future tank, I will master that water too. So I am planning to use the 55 gallon tank below as a sump for my 180. I purchased 2 Penn Plax Cascade 1500 that I plan to have the mains from 180 go into each one before entering the sump. The sump will have 3 chambers, the first, were the water enters will have several layers of the fiber media pads. The glass partition wall will be about 1 inch off the bottom so the water then goes under and through a bag of 1000 bio balls and a bag of ceramic ring then over the last partition were I have a return pump and the two 300 watt heaters, and a large UV tube with it's own pump, and the return pump to take clean water back to 180. Does this sound right to you. I need to still figure out the lights and what equipment I will need to grow lot's of plants. I can take pics as I'm setting this up so you can see what I'm taking about and I like to get other people's options and idea's. If you have any ideas or know anyone that know's plants and how to grow them, I would like to chat with any and all people interested. Thanks a lot again, Roy

 

HI Roy! Forgive me, I intended to welcome you to Fishlore in my last post. Welcome indeed! A big tank is always reason for excitement around here!!! Your flow and filtration through the sump sounds pretty perfect to me. I have to admit, I'd love to entice you into building that reef! But I understand, and I'm glad that business is going well. I had a Saltwater tank more than 15 years ago, got back into freshwater about 6 years ago and finally, the dream of another saltwater tank came true just about 7 months ago.

I have to admit to knowing nothing about sumped planted tanks, and little about planted tanks in general, but it seems like you have lots of room to do what's best, so I'll call on some better plant keepers than myself.

Dave125g AngelTheGypsy NightShade -- Hey guys! I think you'll be better help here than I, and hopefully you can tag some others that keep big planted tanks. This build sounds like a planted dream come true.

Congratulations Roy!!! I'll be very happy to follow along and help with what I can. I am very excited to have a chance to watch this build!!!

 

Most salt water equipment can be used for fresh water, but not the other way around.Salt water equipment has to be able to handle the corrosive salt water. Your good with that respect. Just make sure everything is cleaned well. Let me go get the correct spelling of a guys username that can help you with the sump. I'll tag him in too.

 

fa4960 I was wondering if you can help out on this thread.

 

How deep is the tank? That will be a factor in choosing a light.
You can do a wonderfully lush tank with easy low light plants. This requires plant specific lights and some fertilizer dosing. Or you could go high tech with CO2 and high intensity lighting and a more detailed fertilizer regimen. I do low tech, no CO2. Lots of great plants to choose from and plenty of stuff to figure out

 

You could go with a dirted substrate caped with sand. Weather you go high tech or low tech, you can have very healthy plants. In that size tank your stocking options are nearly limitless. The only problem with some big fish is they like to eat plants some just like to uproot them. Others like to do there own aquascaping.

Lighting : LEDS are popular now. There energy efficient, long lasting, and almost no heat. There expensive tho.

Florescent: Very inexpensive. They will grow plants just as well as LED. Bulbs must be changed about once a year. They give off a little heat, but nothing like incandescent lights do.

 

fa4960 I was wondering if you can help out on this thread.

Hmm, might be a little beyond me since I am not familiar with salt water equipment at all but I will give it a go.....

I guess your stocking and water change schedule in the end will determine how much filter capacity you need and I am for sure one for massive filtration capacity but I don't understand why you want/need both 55 Gal sump and canister. A 55 Gal sump to 180 Gal tank should easily do all the filtration needed but if you do, I don't think it will work to have the canister outlet feed the sump inlet (assuming I understood you correctly?). A sump inlet would normally depend on the overflow from the tank and not being force feed from a canister, i.e. the sump only take in water when your sump return pump fill the tank to overflow your stand pipe(s). I am not sure you can control your water level in the tank and in the sump in your setup?

I have with interest looked at reactors and find then pretty cool, but difficult to get any benefit out of in a freshwater setup as far as I can see. The possible uses I have seen are a fluidised media area or a carbon filter. None of these will do much for you in terms of Nitrates though. I think fast growing plants in a sump refugium would be your best option for moving out nitrates. A heavily planted tank will also help but in the end water change is king in freshwater when it comes to remove nitrates, partly because it is much easier/cheaper than in the salt water world.

Unless you already purchased all those bio balls I would go with as much ceramic media as possible as it generally seems to have outperformed the bio balls in recent years. Personally I would love to have a fluidised sump as it seems to outperform everything else in the bio media, but maybe that becomes a future project....

Like others in the posts above I have started low tech, partly because I am only returning to the hobby and need to get my grip on it again and partly because it is not the first thing I want to battle with. Secondly, there are many great plants for low tech so unless carpeting plants are very important to you from the start I would go low tech initially. If you get an adjustable LED you can always turn it up later should you get into CO2 etc.

Hope this help.

 

I would like to second the use of porous media over the bio balls if possible. If you are looking for large size biomedia with very high porosity, you could look into Seachem Pond Matrix. It looks kind of like small rocks, and I'm fairly certain it is just pumice stone. It has the ability to host anaerobic bacteria deep inside, which will aid in reducing nitrates. It does take a long time to develop those properties, perhaps 6 months or more, but considered by some to be worth the wait.