New to Saltwater Aquariums and need some Help!!

[Murf1981]

Hello All,

I am wanting to start a reef tank and am curious if I can convert my freshwater tank to do this? I have done a lot of reading online about this but haven't found much help with it. Here is what my current freshwater tank has:

I have a 36 gal bowed front tank, a canopy with 24" flouresent bulb, 36 lbs. cruched coral sand, a Whisper EX45 coal filter, a Whisper 40 air pump, 100 W Stealth heater and digital thermometer. My tank currently houses 3 Angel fish ranging in size from 4.5" to about 3", some guppies and various tetra's.

Now I would like to get any and all advise about what equipment I need, what I can still use, and what I need to do to get started on this new adventure and hobby!! I know the first this is to get rid of the current fish and I am awaiting good homes for them to go to. But in the mean time I would like to start buying some of the stuff needed to start before heading down and talking with the local aquarium shop.

Thanks again and I look forward in starting my new hobby!!

Murf1981

[hvacman250]

Lighting is going to depend on what you want to keep. Fish only or reef. If reef, what type of corals, as they require different intensities of light. A good protein skimmer shoudl be on your wish list. A sump/overflow if you have room.

What is your long term plan. I find it better, and cheaper in the long run, to buy equipment suitable for the worst case scenario.

[Murf1981]

The long term plan is to use this as a starter to get used to caring for a saltwater aquarium and learning the in's and out's of this hobby before I upgrade the size of my tank. Any info will help thanks!!

[duramax]

its a start i would definitely purchase a good skimmer and a good filter for it, filter first then lights

[Murf1981]

Ok I will look into those!! Thanks!! So any helpful pointers on converting my freshwater tank?

[rayn]

Well if you are going to upgrade, figure out what you are going to get. Find items that you can use or dial down to use on your 36, then use at full power on your larger tank. What size upgrade are you thinking though? You won't want a skimmer for a 400 gal tank on your 36 or lights for that 400 either. However, you won't want to buy all the stuff rated for the 36, just to have to sell it or let it sit if that is your plan. If you are going to get the 36 running and leave it after you upgrade, then buy what will work.

Definately want a skimmer, lights should be T5 or MH depending on what type of corals you want. You will need live rock for filteration, and be able to get away from the HOB filters. Research what you want and the best way to get it. If you have room, get a small 20 for a QT, you could use your HOB filters there. Oh, and patience!

[bbprinting]

Also are you positive you have never done any sort of copper treatment when it was a freshwater tank?

[Tuscaquatics]

It's hard to run a reef tank without a sump/refugium. You can combat this by having a ton of live rock in your tank, but then there goes your water volume.

Definitely think about implementing a sump or even a refugium. If nothing else, you're gonna want somewhere to put your skimmer, and, if you plan to upgrade, you don't wanna invest in a good HOB skimmer that won't cut it on your new tank.

[theatrus]

Hi there.

You can convert your freshwater tank. From your equipment, you could reuse:
The HOB Filter, light, heater, substrate (your crushed coral). You can't reuse the air pump/any air stones (make a foamy mess) nor any of the fish

I'll tackle it bit by bit:

Tank. Holds water. Give it a good cleaning - vinegar soaks work well.

The hang on back will make a great place to run carbon or other chemical media. Mechanical media is commonly not used in a saltwater setup - it clogs very very quickly (due to all the various critters and stuff inherently in the water).

The light will be useful for a fish with live rock setup so you can see the fish, however is totally inadequate for any photosynthetic livestock (corals, clams, etc). This depends what your stocking goals are.

For the substrate, you can reuse crushed coral, but it will require extra maintenance which you could avoid with a finer aragonite sand. I like CaribSea Agramax Select for an easy to use substrate. Most sandbed cleaning critters won't be able to move about in coarse substrate, though coarse can be helpful for certain burrowing species (jawfish, paired shrimp gobies, etc).

The heater will heat the water, no problems there.

The air pump is useless. Saltwater tends to foam very quickly, and unless you like your water white, won't do much else.

Now, on to things you will need:

Live rock. This is the base "aquascaping" of your tank, the primary biological and waste reduction filter of your tank, and the carrier for most of the thousands of species of things you will end up with in your tank. Depending on budget, you can get a handful of pieces of LR and use dry calcium based rock (BulkReefSupply rock, MacroRocks, etc) as the rest.

Flow. Saltwater systems do best with a lot of water movement. You want to be moving at least 700gph in your 36 gallon (20x hourly turnover). Full on reef tanks aren't afraid to hit 70x or higher. This will likely mean a powerhead or two, preferably a "stream" or propeller variety. The Koralia is a good budget model, and you can move up to the Tunze Streams or the EcoTech Vortech pumps depending on wallet size.

Salt mix. I like instant ocean. Reef Crystals if you get corals.

Good water source. Saltwater is a lot more nutrient and impurity sensitive. A home reverse osmosis + deionizer unit (RO/DI) is a great way to get great water conveniently. Hauling water from a store seems silly. Tap water is a distant last place in desirability.

Next up, is things you really should get:

Sump. A subtank, placed under the main tank and fed by the means over an overflow (in a non drilled tank, you could use a good quality U tube overflow). This will let you hide lots of equipment, add more water volume for the same footprint, and add lots of flexibility (refuge, tons more equipment choices, etc).

Protein skimmer. This is almost on the must have list, but not totally essential. Remember how I said salt water foams? Well, this is a great way for removing extra proteins (waste) from the water column. By injecting a ton of air, you can get a foam which will carry out this waste and collect it in a concentrated, smelly liquid form. This is what a skimmer does. Most skimmers are "in sump" models, which require a sump. A limited number of smaller skimmers are "HOB/hang on back". There is a lot of junk, and a lot of gems in terms of skimmers. I've always liked the Reef Octopus series, which is a great price/performance area.

High output lighting. Sooner or later you will get the urge to have corals, or faster coraline growth. You therefore need high output lighting. The best bang for your buck in your tank would be a 4-6 bulb T5HO fixture, preferably a good quality one such as an ATI Sunpower. There are three things to look for: Individual reflectors per bulb, active fan cooling, and great bulbs. The ATI hits all 3 of these. I wouldn't suggest power compacts for new fixtures (bulb lifetimes are terrible), nor VHO T8 (T5HO has supplanted it). Standard output fluorescents are useless for photosynthesis (nowhere near enough output). Metal halide is always an option (if it won't be on top of your center brace, always an issue in bow fronts...), and if you have large walletitis, LED is great.

[Murf1981]

Thank you for the information that was a big help. Ok so I got a 10 gal sump how big of a return pump should I place in it?

[Murf1981]

And Skimmer size?

[theatrus]

Depends on what your overflow is rated for. You shouldn't exceed its capability, but also shouldn't run too far below its rating (to make sure its flushing any air out of the siphon). I'd wager a Mag3 or 5 would probably work well.

As for skimmers, a lot of skimmers will do well in that size system. I've always liked Reef Octopus (CoralVue). An SWC120 would also work well. I've never used but heard decent things about the Eshopps line of smaller skimmers.

[Murf1981]

Well need a little more help. Anyone know where I can get some live rock and stuff for my tank so I can start the cycle process soon? Also not too expensive don't have DEEP wallets...lol!!!