Freshwater to Saltwater

[neaners]

A friend of mine has a 135 gallon tank, stand and canopy that he is going to give me. He currently has it running freshwater and is using 2 Hagen Fluval 404 Canister Filters. can i use these filters for saltwater as well?
Thanks in advance,
Janene

 

[baloo6969]

at first. make sure you clean them good.
alot of sand and LR, a fuge with a DSB and a good skimmer will be enought of a filter.
after it cycles, and it's up and runnning pull them out.

 

[zeroc]

lots and lots of cleaning. And make sure he's never medicated the tank.

 

[scsinet]

When cleaning all of the equipment, use a bucket of hot tap water with a cup or two of vinegar, then rinse thoroughly and let everything dry completely, including the insides of the hoses.
Nothing will survive it: Parasites, bacteria, etc. What little might survive the heat or super low pH of the vinegar solution won't survive drying out. A thorough rinsing should negate any problems from the system being previously medicated as well. If you are worried about it, run a polyfilter in each canister during your cycling.
Oh yeah... and discard all media... bio balls, filter pads, carbon, etc. Use all new cartridges and media.