75 gal tank free...now what???

ANC · 08/09/2012, 10:26 PM

I recetly had my 75 gallon freshwater tank become free after my Oscar, big black, past after a great 12 yrs of fun. I have kept a saltwater tank in the past but up keep was insane on a little 20 gallon tank and it eventually fell by the wayside. I've been wanting to get back into it but not with the 20gal.

I'm contemplating using the 75 as a saltwater tank but have a few reservations about it mainly based on the fact that it's actually in my bedroom and I don't want to move it. I've been able to keep the freshwater tank fairly quiet enough for sleep and with very little equipment clean and with great water quality. What I'm wondering is what equipment do you think I could start up a fowlr tank with to not only keep it on the quiet side of life but also not add a bunch of heat to the room? I still have everything from the 20 gallon including approximately 50lbs of dry base rock, previously live. I know I need to upgrade my skimmer and possibly get a little more rock but is it possible to be successful with just those two "upgrades?"

Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

Dmoody · 08/09/2012, 11:58 PM

for a FOWLR, skimmer, rocks, heater, light, hydrometer/refrac., salt, RO/conditioned tap water, saltwater master test kit and i think your pretty much good to go

wcmcinnes · 08/10/2012, 12:11 AM

are you doing a sump or is this just going to be a sumpless tank?

LEDs are a great choice for a lighting option as they give off minimal heat

Empty Bottles · 08/10/2012, 12:21 AM

I think to start off with a FOWLR you will need some sand for a substrate as long as you dont want to go barebottom, and some saltwater. There's different ways to get saltwater, buy it from LFS or mix your own. Hopefully you still have your hydrometer form your 20. You can use the same heater and lights that were already on the 75. I got my sand and rock from reef rocks. From there you could get 50 lbs of rock and 80 pounds of sand for $115 total. It's the best deal I found. That should give you almost 1.5 lbs per gallon of rock and over a lb per gallon of sand, both the recommendations.

If you are going reef you will need a skimmer I don't know what size yours is but if you dont want corals you don't really need one starting out if at all. You're also going to need a test kit, I got an API and it is inaccurate, I wouldn't waste my money on another API I'm currently rebuying everything red sea, but the others are much more expensive. Even if you have an old one I'd get another yours may be out of date anyway. An API will allow you to follow the trends of your readings and when it stalls your LFS should be able to give you an analysis of a water sample.

A FOWLR shouldn't add anymore heat or noise than your current setup. If it's what you want to do go ahead and get some salt and a little LR and start cycling your base rock while you get your substrate and extra rock if you think you want a little more. You're pretty much set, if you decide to go reef there will be more that you need.

Michigan Mike · 08/10/2012, 05:42 AM

Your probably gonna have to upgrade your lights for a reef, too. But I have a 29g reef without a skimmer or sump and it's fine with the ton of live rock that's in it. I'm looking At skimmers though but Im convinced they are not necessary for leather/softy and lps reefs but I do have a handful of easier SPS too.
I guess you need to figure out if you want a fowlr. Or reef tank, and go from there.

Waddleboy · 08/10/2012, 07:02 AM

A fowlr can get messy. Some of the fish that go in there can eat more and skimmer may be required. It depends on stock. Lighting does not need to be updated to you go to a reef. A reef requires high intensity lighting and fowlr just dont. So you can save some money.

The next question is are you going for a sump or just for HOB skimmer and stuff? If the 20 gallon is a long it could make a decent sump for you. May require a tiny bit more work and some $ but not terrible since you have it already, but again this can wait and is not necessary.

Finally with substrate you need to decide if you want to go barebottom or shallow sand bed or deep sand bed. At 50 lbs you will barely just get an 1" sand bed. That would be fine for most fish but eliminates anything that would like to go play in the sand. Just something to think about.

So the good thing is it can be done the upgrade relatively easy, the bad thing is you need to decide what you want to do with it haha. Good luck and keep us updated

Mr.Tan · 08/10/2012, 08:03 AM

I know im gonna get shunned for this...but keep it freshwater! I went from freshwater for years to a saltwater tank, then back to fresh and then saltwater again...and guess what? I'm back to a freshwater planted tank.

if you are worried about upkeep, stick with a freshwater. I love it, maintanence is minimal and everything is self sustaining pretty much (which i know you know). Plus, cost is tremendously lower. I save so much money! something about a well done FW planted tank just does it for me over a reef tank.. if money wasent an option though i'd be back in a reef tank because then I could have good equipment and a nicer tank.

your choice though.

ANC · 08/10/2012, 03:38 PM

I am still considering keeping the tank as a freshwater tank and just going with African Cichlids. I loved the saltwater tank when i had it during college and was able to actually take care of it. Since graduation though with the traveling i had been doing up until the last few months it was almost impossible to keep up with such a small tank.

The 20 gallon tank is, unfortunately, a 20 high. either way i was trying to stay away from a sump and just wanted to use a HOB skimmer. I have been looking at the reef octopus models, which i have always heard great things about. I definitely have some decisions to make in the next few weeks. Thanks for the input and if anyone has any recommendations on lights, skimmers, or even stocking thoughts they would be greatly appreciated.

mgrmax · 08/10/2012, 03:49 PM

My vote, FWIW, would be a FOWLR. You can grab a decent HOB skimmer used and get yourself goin with that for a bit. Then when you are ready for corals, grab the lighting and other goodies. I am assuming its the 75 gallon wide? If so, that is a great tank for corals because the width allows for nice rock placement.

Either way, good luck with your decision.

ANC · 08/11/2012, 12:31 PM

I think the decision has been made. I'm going to go ahead and turn the 75 into a saltwater tank. The great thing is that I'm really in no hurry to get things setup and running on all cylinders so i will just start with what I have and upgrade as I can. First thing first though time to make some saltwater and get the RO/DI system hooked up. Does anyone have a suggestion on a good HOB skimmer I could start looking for? Also what kind of stocking would you guys suggest I start looking into? I love the thought of a semi-agressive tank but i also want to have some color and personality to the tank too. Thanks for all the help!!1

Michigan Mike · 08/11/2012, 02:02 PM

If I had a 75g for a fowlr I would get a lion fish and snowflake eel.

I also still love my African cichlid tanks I still have, they are awesome fish.

ANC · 08/12/2012, 08:47 AM

bump for some advice please.

dwculp · 08/12/2012, 09:27 AM

I had a 75 gallon FOWLR for quite awhile. I kept a lion, Picasso trigger, big clarkii clown and one or two others I cant think of right now.

You actually have everything you need to start except LR and sand and few pieces of equipment. You can use all of your freshwater equipment, you don't HAVE to have a skimmer, though it absolutely helps.

You will need saltwater equivalents of various test kits such as pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. In addition, you need a way to measure the salt content of the water. Get a refractometer, skip getting a hydrometer, i have never met an accurate one. A refractometer will be one of the best investments you'll make and there are good, inexpensive once on the market.

I ran mine with the following:

About 3 inches of sand
75 pounds of LR
300 watt heater
2X Emperor 400's
A couple of Maxi-Jet 1200''s for water movement.

I never had any fish deaths and kept the system going for at least a few years.

A skimmer does help, I have used a CPR Bak-Pak 2 with mixed results. The first one I had was great, it pulled loads of crap out of my small reef. The second one I had (and am still using) is temperamental at best and LOUD.

ANC · 08/12/2012, 01:50 PM

Thanks for the info dwculp, it's greatly appreciated. I finally got everything cleaned up from the freshwater tank and gave all the equipment associated with it a good washing with some distilled vinegar. Next course of action is to fix up the stand that i built for the 75 gallon so that i can use it for storage and take inventory of the equipment and materials i have hanging around from the 20 gal. The approximately 50 lbs of rock that i do have is I'm going to assume no longer live. It has been sitting in the empty tank for about 4 months now. What, if anything, should I do to prepare the rock for the new tank? Clean with RO/DI water, saltwater, nothing? I am planning down the road to purchase some live rock from either a lfs or some where online but until then I want to get the tank up and operational in every aspect possible so start the, what I'm sure is going to be a lengthy cycle period.

I was also planning on not having that deep of a sand bed, maybe only an inch or so. Does anyone have advise on a shallow bed? Would i be better off going a little deeper or the other way and not having any sand at all?

Waddleboy · 08/12/2012, 02:17 PM

DSB can be beneficial but they can also develop anaerobic spots if disturbed can wreck havoc. Some sand sifting critters will help that or even some gobies. A shallow sand bed is good as long as you dont have any fish or inverts that need a DSB. As for the rock. I quick rinse with fresh water and quick scrubbing if it needs it is all you need to do. If you want you can put it in a bucket of saltwater and begin a cycle while you are setting up your stand and such

dwculp · 08/12/2012, 06:54 PM

For a FOWLR tank, a thin sand bed is fine, although as said, a deep sand bed can help with nitrate export. However, high nitrates are not nearly the problem in a FOWLR tank as a reef tank. My FOWLR tank used to run very high nitrates, the fish grew, ate well, were happy.

You dont need to do much to prepare the rock, a wash and scrub in fresh water if you wish. I set up a FOWLR tank a few years ago for my classroom using old rocks from a reef of mine. The rocks had been sitting in dry buckets for over a year. I didnt even wash them, simply poured in new sand, put the rocks in place and filled with saltwater. The detritus on the rocks helped to fuel the cycle, took around 6 weeks for the cycle to complete and then added fish.

Driftwood58 · 08/13/2012, 01:41 AM

I am new to the hobby and was reading the thread. I am intrested in starting a reef tank and was wondering what i need to get started? I want to go quality so I dont have to replace things down the road. Also do I need to buy everything at once or can I get a few things to start and add as I go?

Waddleboy · 08/13/2012, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Driftwood58

I am new to the hobby and was reading the thread. I am intrested in starting a reef tank and was wondering what i need to get started? I want to go quality so I dont have to replace things down the road. Also do I need to buy everything at once or can I get a few things to start and add as I go?

In order to help yourself, it might be beneficial to start your own thread so we can gear answers directed at you instead of the op and yourself

ANC · 08/13/2012, 08:21 PM

Driftwood, IMO you can "kind of" piece it together as you go. There are some basics that you will need to get right off the bat including live rock, test kits, and some measurement tools such as a refractometer. I would also include some type of mechanical filter to until you are able to purchase a skimmer that would fit the tank. The one thing i learned kind of the hard way is to take your time with it. The slower you go the better the chance your going to get it right the first time.

08/09/2012, 10:26 PM	#1
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	75 gal tank free...now what??? I recetly had my 75 gallon freshwater tank become free after my Oscar, big black, past after a great 12 yrs of fun. I have kept a saltwater tank in the past but up keep was insane on a little 20 gallon tank and it eventually fell by the wayside. I've been wanting to get back into it but not with the 20gal. I'm contemplating using the 75 as a saltwater tank but have a few reservations about it mainly based on the fact that it's actually in my bedroom and I don't want to move it. I've been able to keep the freshwater tank fairly quiet enough for sleep and with very little equipment clean and with great water quality. What I'm wondering is what equipment do you think I could start up a fowlr tank with to not only keep it on the quiet side of life but also not add a bunch of heat to the room? I still have everything from the 20 gallon including approximately 50lbs of dry base rock, previously live. I know I need to upgrade my skimmer and possibly get a little more rock but is it possible to be successful with just those two "upgrades?" Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

08/10/2012, 12:11 AM	#3
wcmcinnes Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB Posts: 169	are you doing a sump or is this just going to be a sumpless tank? LEDs are a great choice for a lighting option as they give off minimal heat __________________ Wayne Rainforest of the Sea Current Tank Info: 105G Custom / 50G Custom Sump/ 6x54W ATI Powermodule/ CSC-250 Skimmer / WaterBlaster HY-5000 Return Pump /Neptune Apex /2x Vortech MP40es & Tunze 6065

08/12/2012, 09:27 AM	#13
dwculp Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Carrollton, TX Posts: 2,338	I had a 75 gallon FOWLR for quite awhile. I kept a lion, Picasso trigger, big clarkii clown and one or two others I cant think of right now. You actually have everything you need to start except LR and sand and few pieces of equipment. You can use all of your freshwater equipment, you don't HAVE to have a skimmer, though it absolutely helps. You will need saltwater equivalents of various test kits such as pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. In addition, you need a way to measure the salt content of the water. Get a refractometer, skip getting a hydrometer, i have never met an accurate one. A refractometer will be one of the best investments you'll make and there are good, inexpensive once on the market. I ran mine with the following: About 3 inches of sand 75 pounds of LR 300 watt heater 2X Emperor 400's A couple of Maxi-Jet 1200''s for water movement. I never had any fish deaths and kept the system going for at least a few years. A skimmer does help, I have used a CPR Bak-Pak 2 with mixed results. The first one I had was great, it pulled loads of crap out of my small reef. The second one I had (and am still using) is temperamental at best and LOUD. __________________ Remember, it will only get worse before it gets worse. Current Tank Info: 10 years - Currently have a 100 FOWLR

08/12/2012, 06:54 PM	#16
dwculp Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Carrollton, TX Posts: 2,338	For a FOWLR tank, a thin sand bed is fine, although as said, a deep sand bed can help with nitrate export. However, high nitrates are not nearly the problem in a FOWLR tank as a reef tank. My FOWLR tank used to run very high nitrates, the fish grew, ate well, were happy. You dont need to do much to prepare the rock, a wash and scrub in fresh water if you wish. I set up a FOWLR tank a few years ago for my classroom using old rocks from a reef of mine. The rocks had been sitting in dry buckets for over a year. I didnt even wash them, simply poured in new sand, put the rocks in place and filled with saltwater. The detritus on the rocks helped to fuel the cycle, took around 6 weeks for the cycle to complete and then added fish. __________________ Remember, it will only get worse before it gets worse. Current Tank Info: 10 years - Currently have a 100 FOWLR

08/09/2012, 11:58 PM	#2
Dmoody Artillery Drill Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Fairbanks AK Posts: 841	for a FOWLR, skimmer, rocks, heater, light, hydrometer/refrac., salt, RO/conditioned tap water, saltwater master test kit and i think your pretty much good to go

08/10/2012, 12:21 AM	#4
Empty Bottles Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 291	I think to start off with a FOWLR you will need some sand for a substrate as long as you dont want to go barebottom, and some saltwater. There's different ways to get saltwater, buy it from LFS or mix your own. Hopefully you still have your hydrometer form your 20. You can use the same heater and lights that were already on the 75. I got my sand and rock from reef rocks. From there you could get 50 lbs of rock and 80 pounds of sand for $115 total. It's the best deal I found. That should give you almost 1.5 lbs per gallon of rock and over a lb per gallon of sand, both the recommendations. If you are going reef you will need a skimmer I don't know what size yours is but if you dont want corals you don't really need one starting out if at all. You're also going to need a test kit, I got an API and it is inaccurate, I wouldn't waste my money on another API I'm currently rebuying everything red sea, but the others are much more expensive. Even if you have an old one I'd get another yours may be out of date anyway. An API will allow you to follow the trends of your readings and when it stalls your LFS should be able to give you an analysis of a water sample. A FOWLR shouldn't add anymore heat or noise than your current setup. If it's what you want to do go ahead and get some salt and a little LR and start cycling your base rock while you get your substrate and extra rock if you think you want a little more. You're pretty much set, if you decide to go reef there will be more that you need.

08/10/2012, 05:42 AM	#5
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	Your probably gonna have to upgrade your lights for a reef, too. But I have a 29g reef without a skimmer or sump and it's fine with the ton of live rock that's in it. I'm looking At skimmers though but Im convinced they are not necessary for leather/softy and lps reefs but I do have a handful of easier SPS too. I guess you need to figure out if you want a fowlr. Or reef tank, and go from there.

08/10/2012, 07:02 AM	#6
Waddleboy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 766	A fowlr can get messy. Some of the fish that go in there can eat more and skimmer may be required. It depends on stock. Lighting does not need to be updated to you go to a reef. A reef requires high intensity lighting and fowlr just dont. So you can save some money. The next question is are you going for a sump or just for HOB skimmer and stuff? If the 20 gallon is a long it could make a decent sump for you. May require a tiny bit more work and some $ but not terrible since you have it already, but again this can wait and is not necessary. Finally with substrate you need to decide if you want to go barebottom or shallow sand bed or deep sand bed. At 50 lbs you will barely just get an 1" sand bed. That would be fine for most fish but eliminates anything that would like to go play in the sand. Just something to think about. So the good thing is it can be done the upgrade relatively easy, the bad thing is you need to decide what you want to do with it haha. Good luck and keep us updated

08/10/2012, 08:03 AM	#7
Mr.Tan Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: York, PA Posts: 734	I know im gonna get shunned for this...but keep it freshwater! I went from freshwater for years to a saltwater tank, then back to fresh and then saltwater again...and guess what? I'm back to a freshwater planted tank. if you are worried about upkeep, stick with a freshwater. I love it, maintanence is minimal and everything is self sustaining pretty much (which i know you know). Plus, cost is tremendously lower. I save so much money! something about a well done FW planted tank just does it for me over a reef tank.. if money wasent an option though i'd be back in a reef tank because then I could have good equipment and a nicer tank. your choice though.

08/10/2012, 03:38 PM	#8
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	I am still considering keeping the tank as a freshwater tank and just going with African Cichlids. I loved the saltwater tank when i had it during college and was able to actually take care of it. Since graduation though with the traveling i had been doing up until the last few months it was almost impossible to keep up with such a small tank. The 20 gallon tank is, unfortunately, a 20 high. either way i was trying to stay away from a sump and just wanted to use a HOB skimmer. I have been looking at the reef octopus models, which i have always heard great things about. I definitely have some decisions to make in the next few weeks. Thanks for the input and if anyone has any recommendations on lights, skimmers, or even stocking thoughts they would be greatly appreciated.

08/10/2012, 03:49 PM	#9
mgrmax Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 376	My vote, FWIW, would be a FOWLR. You can grab a decent HOB skimmer used and get yourself goin with that for a bit. Then when you are ready for corals, grab the lighting and other goodies. I am assuming its the 75 gallon wide? If so, that is a great tank for corals because the width allows for nice rock placement. Either way, good luck with your decision.

08/11/2012, 12:31 PM	#10
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	I think the decision has been made. I'm going to go ahead and turn the 75 into a saltwater tank. The great thing is that I'm really in no hurry to get things setup and running on all cylinders so i will just start with what I have and upgrade as I can. First thing first though time to make some saltwater and get the RO/DI system hooked up. Does anyone have a suggestion on a good HOB skimmer I could start looking for? Also what kind of stocking would you guys suggest I start looking into? I love the thought of a semi-agressive tank but i also want to have some color and personality to the tank too. Thanks for all the help!!1

08/11/2012, 02:02 PM	#11
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	If I had a 75g for a fowlr I would get a lion fish and snowflake eel. I also still love my African cichlid tanks I still have, they are awesome fish.

08/12/2012, 08:47 AM	#12
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	bump for some advice please.

08/12/2012, 01:50 PM	#14
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	Thanks for the info dwculp, it's greatly appreciated. I finally got everything cleaned up from the freshwater tank and gave all the equipment associated with it a good washing with some distilled vinegar. Next course of action is to fix up the stand that i built for the 75 gallon so that i can use it for storage and take inventory of the equipment and materials i have hanging around from the 20 gal. The approximately 50 lbs of rock that i do have is I'm going to assume no longer live. It has been sitting in the empty tank for about 4 months now. What, if anything, should I do to prepare the rock for the new tank? Clean with RO/DI water, saltwater, nothing? I am planning down the road to purchase some live rock from either a lfs or some where online but until then I want to get the tank up and operational in every aspect possible so start the, what I'm sure is going to be a lengthy cycle period. I was also planning on not having that deep of a sand bed, maybe only an inch or so. Does anyone have advise on a shallow bed? Would i be better off going a little deeper or the other way and not having any sand at all?

08/12/2012, 02:17 PM	#15
Waddleboy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 766	DSB can be beneficial but they can also develop anaerobic spots if disturbed can wreck havoc. Some sand sifting critters will help that or even some gobies. A shallow sand bed is good as long as you dont have any fish or inverts that need a DSB. As for the rock. I quick rinse with fresh water and quick scrubbing if it needs it is all you need to do. If you want you can put it in a bucket of saltwater and begin a cycle while you are setting up your stand and such

08/13/2012, 01:41 AM	#17
Driftwood58 Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 34	I am new to the hobby and was reading the thread. I am intrested in starting a reef tank and was wondering what i need to get started? I want to go quality so I dont have to replace things down the road. Also do I need to buy everything at once or can I get a few things to start and add as I go?

08/13/2012, 08:21 PM	#19
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	Driftwood, IMO you can "kind of" piece it together as you go. There are some basics that you will need to get right off the bat including live rock, test kits, and some measurement tools such as a refractometer. I would also include some type of mechanical filter to until you are able to purchase a skimmer that would fit the tank. The one thing i learned kind of the hard way is to take your time with it. The slower you go the better the chance your going to get it right the first time.