Converting fresh to salt.

[FrogFrenzy]

I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank and I was hoping to convert it to salt. Could I keep the stand, tank, filter, etc? What else do I need to buy that I don't already have for my freshwater tank? What would be an estimated cost for the supplies I don't already have?

 

[Willba200]

I'm new to this too! I got a hang on skimmer for £60 a powerhead for £30 , live rock was £180 (149l tank) , live sand was £50 and my light was £150. You obviously need salt water but I can't remember how much mine was. Hope this is some help. My set up is fairly basic but I want to get more experience before I spend loads of money. My lighting is led by the way. I will post a picture

 

[Mebbid]

If you are going to do a fowlr tank then all you need is some live rock and aragonite substrate. I would suggest buying around 20 lbs of live rock which you can get from bulk reef supply for $3 / lb. If you want to go with a reef tank however you will need to upgrade the lighting system which is expensive.

It is also HIGHLY recommended to get a ro/di unit or secure some way of acquiring ro/di water from a lfs or fellow reefer in your area.

Some other things to look at is adding a refugium onto the tank as well as a skimmer.

 

[LaWoWee]

Just like you, I took the plunge into saltwater with my 20g freshwater tank. I kept the hang on filter, swapped the rocks for live rock. I had crushed coral so i didnt need to mess with substrate. I had a puffer that i was converting to salt so i increased my salinity by .002 every week. If youre not converting fish you can go full salinity but the tank will still need to cycle. I wouldnt worry about a skimmer right now until you have a heavy bioload, although you can buy used hang on skimmers for cheap nowadays ($30-$80). Price of reef lighting depends on what type/brand of lights you would want (t5, LED).