[mskitty]

i have a 75 gallon aquarium that i would love ( maybe) to turn into salt water. my problem is the electricity goes out quite a bit here and i dont want to go to the the expense of " killing off expensive fish" just for the you know what of it.... any suggestions from fellow members would be appriciated. im trying to decide if i can make a freshwater aquarium look like a saltwater one. i love fish...btw....just a hint for us members who also grow bananas....when you do your water changes use the water on your nana trees....free fert! LOL! and yes jarred i had to throw nanas in there somewhere. lol!

 

[MediaHound]

(mskitty and I both grow banana plants)

When the electricity goes out, how long does it usually stay out for?

You can make a freshwater tank look saltwater by doing an African Cichlid tank - they come in bright colors and are very active in the water column. And they like a high PH so you can use just about any type of rockwork, like the holey rock, to make it appear as a reef of sorts.
I have saltwater tanks and no I do not use the old water from water changes as fertilizer! I have tried using the skimmate the protein skimmer pulls as thats full of nutrients, but I tend to not do it much. I still experiment with it on some plants but not much.

 

[mskitty]

sometimes its off for a few minutes but there are times when its out for hours. i had a friend a while ago that had a lionfish and the lights went out for 30 mins and got sick and died. thats my concern on spending 250.00( thats what youd spend on one here in tn.) on a lionfish and it croak. i like the look of the saltwater( goodness i miss the ocean) but i dont want to take the chance of killing expensive fish. the water for fert is from the freshwater aquarium.

 

[MediaHound]

It probably didn't die from 30 mins with no power, takes longer than that to kill one of them... but yea better safe than sorry, don't invest in expensive fish if your power company isn't reliable.

 

[goldenmacman]

bro, to tell you the truth, i wouldnt invest in a tank at all if your powers goes off so frequently... if you get a generator life would be a lot easier..

 

[nitelife]

I enjoy salt way more, but like stated above, Dont invest too much if your power is out so frequently.

 

[D & T]

You could get a back power system like computers use, its batteries that charge while power is on then takes over when power is out.

Batteries for Laptops, Notebooks, MP3 Players, Digital Cameras, Cell Phones and Cordless Phones - Buy Battery Online with Batteries Plus Store

 

[MediaHound]

Yes, a UPS battery backup system is a great idea for that situation. The main pumps could be plugged into it, there's no need for the lights to run off the backup though as they are not crucial to sustain life short term.

 

[mskitty]

thats an idea. thanks guys, i will keep that in mind when i get the tank finished and set up. im still trying to decide what kind of fish to put in it. weather its fresh or salt..... are there salt water frogs? there is so much i know and a whole lot more i dont know. and you can only google so much before it tells you...not enough information. lol. and is it true that you can make a freshwater aquarium into salt, but you cant change salt aquarium into fresh? there are a lot of "myths" out there about the saltwater aquariums.

 

[MediaHound]

You can always go back and forth, but some of the equipment you use for saltwater wont work properly with fresh water, for example a protein skimmer wont bubble up properly with just fresh water..

 

[MediaHound]

No frogs, btw!