converting from fresh to salt

[ThAtGuY11]

im looking to start my first saltwater fish tank and iv been told the bigger the better.
im finding it hard to find a good saltwater fish tank, and so im wondering how hard and how much it costs to convert a freshwater tank with all accessories to a saltwater tank.


also if there is anywhere in Australia where i can buy fish / live rock / corals online?

 

[MT79]

Hi and welcome to AquariumAdvice!
Have you ever used copper meds in the tank? If so I have heard it stays in the silicone, etc. and can leach out later. Inverts such as coral, shrimp, etc. are very sensitive to copper. It is lethal even in very small amounts. You can see why this is not good.
Other than that, I would recommend using 1.25 lbs LR per gallon or more along with a good protein skimmer and a few power heads for water movement(very important, especially for corals) and the appropriate lighting for the corals you plan to keep. As a general rule of thumb you want a minimum of 12-15 x's per hour tank turnover- meaning the total gph of all the pumps together should be 12-15 x's that of the tank. Here is an article on berlin method of filtration you may find helpful-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=10

 

[melosu58]

I agree with Mike that if you can use the tank and it hasn`t been medicated, you will have to deal with the equipment problem as most of your FW equipment wont be good for SW. Here is a good article from one of our members.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=76139