Switching from SW to FW, Questions?

[yacobito]

Hello,
I recently had a big move and sadly had to sell off everything from my SWF tank. I also moved into a much more expensive neighborhood and with the economy being the way it is, cannot afford to start a new SW tank. I was thinking of converting my tank to a FW tank (maybe Cichlids). I guess I have a couple questions for anyone who has converted a tank from SW to FW.
1.Is there are good way to clean out my glass tank? (I guess the fear is there will be lots of salt left over and effect the PH).
2.Is there fear of any remaining bacteria or anything else that is good for SW and bad for FW that might be left over?
3.Any other advise?
Thanks for the help. I will return to SW tanks down the road with bigger and better!
Jacob

 

[armywife1314]

from my experience cichlids dont mind a little salt. but just scrub a lot and make sure you wipe it clean. also if you are doing cichlids dont mix the type keep africans with africans
south american with south american
etc.
with my fw i added aquarium because it helps the cichlids with their color and overall health. also with cichlids the ph needs to be higher than normal as well as the temperature.

 

[yacobito]

Thank for the reply. The info is very helpful!

 

[yacobito]

Is there any concern using either a powerhead or heater that was in my saltwater tank that still has some visible coralline algae harden on them?

 

[cowfishrule]

just wash everything with good ol' hot water, and wipe it clean.
as for the coraline, it will just dissolve, i guess.

 

[pontius]

if you're going with african cichlids, shouldn't be a problem at all. I would even use the same sand and rock and would let the tank cycle with it. the African lakes are SLIGHTLY saline (and imo, tank kept cichlids do better with a little salt) so a little bit of salt residue is not going to hurt them at all, as long as it's barely registering on a hydrometer.