I bought a used salt water aquarium. How can I make it safe for fresh water fish?

Question

I have a penguin 150 filter and acura 1000 heater. When I set it up before my fish died even though the ph tested ok.

Answer 1

As long as you've changed the gravel from a saltwater tank (as it is intended to maintain a high ph) the residue from a salt setup won't hurt a freshwater setup. (other than looking really bad)
Saltwater equipment is the same as freshwater just it tends to be the higher end stuff.(salt fish are worth more) so other than a proper cleaning there is nothing you need to do that is different than a regular setup. start with two fish of two different kinds ,if they die it will tell you whether you got bad fish or if you are still not correcting something.

Answer 2

clean the tank out really good with hot water do not use chemicals they leave a residue and will poison your new fish. i recommend you replace the gravel. clean out the filter with hot water. the hot water dissolves the salt. make sure you clean it out really good into the corners and such. set up your cleaned tank with freshwater new gravel and cleaned filter. now you want to start the beneficial bacteria by cycling the tank either by running the filter with no fish in the tank adding a little food every other day or by adding plants with food and when the plants start to grow you can add your new fish. never add fish to a tank that is not cycled for at-least 24 hrs otherwise they can die. running the filter adds oxygen and cleans the impurities out of the water before you add the fish.

Answer 3

What ever you do DON"T use any type of ammonia based cleaner on the tank! Use plain dishwashing liquid and a sponge scrubber. Make sure its rinsed well, allowed to dry and rinsed again.

Answer 4

wash it!!!

Answer 5

oh yes, mm ,let me see, try washing it. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!