# Changing from salt water to fresh water



## kcfehring (Aug 5, 2009)

I have had a saltwater tank for about three years and I am thinking of changing to freshwater. Can I still use the same rocks, sand, refugium, protein skimmer, etc. for a freshwater if I just wash them all down?


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## Solarfall (Jul 24, 2009)

Do you man live rock and sand? Because you'd have to "bleach" it before putting it in the FW environment otherwise you'll have a massive ammonia spike. You'd be much better off selling the rock on craigslist or something then buying new decor and getting a canister or something since you won't have LR for filtration. The skimmer won't do much good for a FW tank but it won't hurt anything. If you have a big fuge you could use it for water volume and just add FW inverts and plants. If it's a smaller fuge though, you'd be giving yourself unneccesary trouble to keep things alive in it.


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