fresh to salt conversion

[nicracing]

i have a 75 gallon fresh water tank with 2 marineland penguin 330 filters. can i use these to convert my tank to a salt tank and do you really need a protein skimmer? what about my lighting? i have 2 24inch single tube flor light. i also have a 300 watt visi therm heater is this ok for a 75 gallon salt? i know i sound like a idiot but a dumb question is one not asked.
rob

 

[Fluff]

You can use everything you have if you want a fish only tank. Just clean everything up real good and get it cycling.

 

[nicracing]

what if i want to add live clams and stuff?

 

[Fluff]

That's a different matter. Your lights won't support anything except fish. Also, I would replace the filters with 1.5-2lb per gal of live rock.

 

[nicracing]

cindy i dont understand what you mean replace the filters with live rock. so the filetrs would not be needed? mind you i am a true salt rookie. i have had people tell me all sorts of stuff i need to purchase. the lighting i can understand. what about cycling, i read in another forum post that a good filter and live rockand a raw shrimp left to decompose would start tank cycling. i am used to fresh water start up. what do you recomend?

 

[Fluff]

Exactly. If you have enough live rock, you won't need the mechanical filteration. Just some powerheads to move water around and through the liverock. I never addressed your skimmer question but yes, you would want a skimmer.
You are right on with the cycling. Although, your cycle can be minimized with fresh/cured liverock. Get a good sw test kit and throw in a raw shrimp.

 

[nicracing]

now i have 2 more questions. what kind of skimmer is best and economical? and once te tank is cycled, which should take 2 to 3 weeks i assume. do i have to quarantine the first fish. is it best to install 1 fish at a time? thats when the quarantine would come into place.
rob

 

[Fluff]

The best skimmer in my opinion, and should work on a 75g tank, is the aqua C remora pro. It's not the cheapest skimmer but one of the best. And it's very easy to use. Pretty much just plug it in.
I would QT even the first fish, reason being, if it turns out this fish has ich, catching a fish around liverock is a real chore. Yes, it's best to do one fish at a time. This give your biological filter time to catch up/adjust to the extra waste before adding the next one.

 

[steve-s]

You will also need to ditch your current substrate. Most likely you have a FW gravel material. It should be replaced with something aragonite based, sand being the more prefered look.

Cheers
Steve

 

[winkyd]

wow! I am glad you asked the questions- now I have all my answers too. I am trying to decide if I want saltwater over FW. Need lots of data to decide.