72 bowfront saltwater cleaning and stocking suggestions

[mantisfan101]

Hey guys, it’s my first post and I got a 72 gallon bow front saltwater that I’m hoping to concert to freshwater but the algae is a pain to remove. I was told to try adding a water and vinegar mix to get rid of it but I wanted to ask you guys for help. I plan on spraying it down with the solution or soaking paper towels with it and applying it to the algae and scrubbing it off.
Also, what woild be some good stocking suggestions? I really want a senegal or dehizi bichir amd that is the forst fish that I am getting, probably a smaller individual about 3-4” that I’ll grow out in a seperate tank. I want to get a “wet pet” and considered flowerhorns until I realized that a 72 gallon isn’t really the best for them and that they’re super aggressive which would make changing the water really difficult. These are some possible ideas that I have as of right now and I will not combine all these species together-
Senegal bichir
Delhizi bichir
Jack dempsey cichlid(no breeding pairs)
Crenichla saxatalis(probably not a good idea)
African butterfly fish
Geophagus sp.
firemouth cichlids
Jewel cichlids

 

[mantisfan101]

Bump, Infound a bunch of barnacles and stuff ike that stuck to the inside of the filtration unit on the back

 

[mantisfan101]

Pic if it helps-

 

[tlindsey]

Pic if it helps-
View attachment 1370546

Welcome Aboard

Yes Senegal Bichir or Polys as most members call Polypterus here. Butterfly fish would work. Cichlids are tricky because it will depend on the temperament of the Cichlid. I've personally kept a group of Senegal with that male Firemouth as my avatar. If you decide to try a Cichlid I suggest a mild aggressive one. I've actually converted a Reef setup to a Freshwater one. Don't panic about the Coralline algae it eventually over time will break down after wc's.

 

[TheReefer]

Welcome Aboard

Yes Senegal Bichir or Polys as most members call Polypterus here. Butterfly fish would work. Cichlids are tricky because it will depend on the temperament of the Cichlid. I've personally kept a group of Senegal with that male Firemouth as my avatar. If you decide to try a Cichlid I suggest a mild aggressive one. I've actually converted a Reef setup to a Freshwater one. Don't panic about the Coralline algae it eventually over time will break down after wc's.

I've also converted saltwater tanks to freshwater and it's not hard to do. I just used an old toothbrush and scrubbed off what I could, it will not harm your freshwater tank. As far as stocking the bichirs and butterfly fish would be perfect and would likely get along fine. As for the cichlids, I'm not sure, some of them might work, some might not, all depends on the individual cichlid. I personally would only pick 2-3 cichlids for the tank, likely the crenicichla or the jewel/firemouth cichlid, not sure how the geophagus would go since bichirs are also bottom dwellers.

 

[DawnMichele]

Welcome to MFK!!! I keep my JD Rocky in a 72 gallon Bow front. He has plenty of room.

 

[mantisfan101]

Thank you all so much, but how would I go about cleaning out all of the barnacles inside of the filter? I’m pretty sure that all the extra shells would raise the pH and I don’t think bichirs like a high pH. Also, correct me if I’m wrong but I believe I heard somewhere that crenicichls will try to kill bichirs because of a similar body shape...

 

[mantisfan101]

Also, would the algae retain some salt that would harm the fish? I’ve tried using a water vinegar mix to get rid of some of the algae and I guess it’s sort of working. I’m so sorry for asking so many questions but thank you all so much for putting up with them!!

 

[tlindsey]

Also, would the algae retain some salt that would harm the fish? I’ve tried using a water vinegar mix to get rid of some of the algae and I guess it’s sort of working. I’m so sorry for asking so many questions but thank you all so much for putting up with them!!

The question's don't bother us but keep working on the algae with the vinegar get as much off as possible. My ph out of the tap ranges from 7.6 to 8.0 never had an affect on my Polypterus even Ornate's were fine they are naturally from the Congo River.

 

[mantisfan101]

Thanks and would the barnacle like things inthe filter unit be harmful for the water quality? I.e. would it raise the pH and whatnot.