GETTIN 46 bowfront gallon with sand!

[mushu804]

im picking up a 46 bowfront tommrow with sand in it. it was last used for hermit crab. . . can i still use that sand and how should i clean it out before putting water in it

[nebelhund]

I took a 72gallon bowfront that had been a salt water tank, brought it home, filled it with water, stirred it up, drained the water, filled it and let it sit a few days with a hang on back filter on it, cleaned it, drained it, filled it and it has been great for fresh water fish. It has south americans in it now in fact.

It had 2"- 3" of sand in it when I brought it home.


I can't say that was the right or wrong thing to do but it worked fine for me.

[jon carman]

Just rinse it with water.

[angel]

I've done that a few times, and it went bad only once. My tropheus all died. I thought it was bloat, but when we cleaned out the tank entirely there was a penny in the sand and it was there from the previous owners. If it were me I'd at least check around in the sand and be sure there's no foreign objects that would kill your fish.

[mushu804]

ok everything done i went ahead and bought caribsea cichlid gravel and aragonite coral mix and cleaned out the tank real good and put up a black flim for a background ill take pictures one this is done

[sirknight]

good move, I would have recommended replacing the sand. For the price you paid for the new substrate could save your fish, since you really don't know what could be in it and what inverts, etc were really kept.

Joe

[mushu804]

thanks sirknight now how many full grown cichlids can i fit in my 46 bowfront i know its 3 ft long

[sirknight]

Before that can be answered, I/We will need to know if you want Tangs, Malawi, SA, CA. Once you make that known we can direct you to fish that will work in your size tank.

Joe