filtration

[BabymeRN]

I have a 120 gallon freshwater tank, and am about ready to change to saltwater. I have 2 fluval 404 filters which I was told when I purchased them could be used for a fresh or saltwater tank. The store I spoke to about converting to saltwater insisted I need new filters. Any advice?

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
My first bit of advice is to get a good book on SW tanks. I like "The Conscentious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. Before I answer about the filtration for your tank, can you tell us what you have planned? Do you plan of a FO, FOWLR or a reef? That will make a bit of difference. By far, the best filration for SW tanks is in the form of LR. 1.5-2lbs/gal of LR will give you great biological filtration and help keep water parameters in check.

 

[electrikat]

No you don't need new filters. Those will be fine. The only thing you have that may need to be replaced is the lighting. Sw takes much stronger lighting than fw does. You will also probably want to add a protein skimmer. Some stores will say anything to get you to buy what they are selling. One lfs told my daughter the other day, that you can't use regular tanks for sw because it will eat away at the silicone seals and cause leaks. What a moron.

 

[BabymeRN]

Thanks for responding. I will probably start with FO and add LR later, so iI want to set up for both. I was just going to look for a book, thanks for the recommendation.

 

[lando]

Thanks for responding. I will probably start with FO and add LR later

You are very welcome. I would seriously consider using LR from the start. It will really make things a lot easier for you and be more benifical for the tank. Check out www.liverocks.com for some of the best aqua-cultured LR avaibalbe. Price is not too bad either. You can also look at www.hirocks.com for some baserock for you tank. It is alot cheaper to start a tank this way. Just mix half LR and hald baserock in the begining and eventually, it will all become LR.

 

[malkore]

Lando's right. If you think you're going to add LR, do it from the beginning. Whenever you add live rock, even if its supposedly fully cured, there's still a chance for die off, which means an ammonia spike, which is not a good thing.

 

[Salttanker]

Ditto on the LR. Just remember: The Fluval canisters are great, but you will need to maintain a strict cleaning schedule for them. I had the same ones as you. They get clogged periodically, and accumulate detrius which will end up back in the tank if they are not properly cleaned. As I said before, they do a great job, but I found it was too much maintenance. The LR may cost a bit more, but in time, you will thank yourself for going that route.

Mike

 

[Jonathan G.]

i fourth that on the liverock, if you want go a lil live rock and the rest base rock. im about to order some from reeferrocks.com and i've talked with the cpt. jer over the phone and he is a very very very kind and you can tell him what your looking for in rock and he will take a pic of your package and email it to you so can see what your buying. i was gonna go with hirocks.com until someone posted a pic of their shipment and lets just say it didnt look too eye friendly.

 

[AR15 guy]

How much was the shipping from reeferrocks.com? I ordered 30lbs of base rock from hirocks.com because it was cheap. 50$ shipped is a good price.