How hard would it be to turn a freshwater tank, to a saltwater tank?

[sealife]

Only out of curiosity. Not sure if I will do it.
Im only looking for fish only, not coral.

My freshwater tank specs are:

- 47cm square cube tank. 103 Litres / 27 Gallons Cube tank.
- Rimless 6mm glass, clear silicone.
- Aquaclear 70 hang on back filter (custom media), 1135 L per hour/300 U.S. gal per hour.
- Custom Filter Media of: Marine Pure Spheres, Seachem Matrix, Eheim Substrat pro, Aquaclear Biomax, Aquaclear Sponge, Polyfiber.
- Eheim Jager 150 Watt heater.
- Eheim 100 air pump.
- Beamswork 300 super slim LED light. 6500K. Moonlight/Daylight option.

So with this equipment, what would I need to change, to start a saltwater tank?
Also, do I have to buy saltwater every week for water change?

Thanks.

 

[Mebbid]

With that equipment you would really just need to get some aragonite substrate, live or dry rock, bucket of salt mix, and a refractometer.

 

[sealife]

Thank you for the reply.

Is that all I need? So just change substrate to aragonite, add dry rock as tank decorations, buy some salt mix (how does that work?) And buy a refractometer (what exactly is this?)

A local fish store said aquaclear hob filters wont work at all with saltwater. Is that true? He said canister might work.

How does water change work? Do I need to buy water?

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[Mebbid]

Thank you for the reply.

Is that all I need? So just change substrate to aragonite, add dry rock as tank decorations, buy some salt mix (how does that work?) And buy a refractometer (what exactly is this?)

A local fish store said aquaclear hob filters wont work at all with saltwater. Is that true? He said canister might work.

How does water change work? Do I need to buy water?

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Sorry, I forgot to mention an RO/DI unit as well. You mix the salt with RO/DI water to make your own salt water. The refractometer measures salt levels. Also, yes an aquclear filter will work perfectly fine. The fish guy was just trying to get you to buy more equipment.

 

[sealife]

Ok thank you for your help. An ro/di unit is a bit much for me at the moment. The rest of the stuff was ok though.

Ill keep it in mind. Saltwater fish are just amazing and colourfull

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[Mebbid]

hehe yeah, I still don't have an RO/DI system myself and my tank has been running for over a year. I would recommend against trying it unless you're blessed with impeccable water quality like I am. Algae blooms usually result from most tap water use.

 

[bribo12]

Also to add to what mebbid said you can only have about 4-5 small fish in that size tank. Nothing big like tangs, angels, rabbit fish, triggers, etc. small fish like clowns, gobies, blennies, dotty backs, basslets would work though

 

[sealife]

I will most likely need ro/di unit. (Whats it do exactly)
So what fish would suit my tank, if I was to slightly understock tank. Maybe have 3 or 4 fish?

Thanks again guys

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[dominick008]

You can also use distilled water

 

[colie]

I just added a salt water aquarium to the house after years of fresh water and the one thing I didn't see mentioned here is a test kit. (Nitrate,ph,etc.)Very helpful in my experience although I think most local pet stores will test your water for free if you want to make the drive. Also buying water is about 12-15$ for 5 gallons in my area, I would look on craigslist to see if anyone's selling a good ro/di unit for a reasonable price. Good luck! It's been fun to make the switch


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[treemanone2003]

I just added a salt water aquarium to the house after years of fresh water and the one thing I didn't see mentioned here is a test kit. (Nitrate,ph,etc.)Very helpful in my experience although I think most local pet stores will test your water for free if you want to make the drive. Also buying water is about 12-15$ for 5 gallons in my area, I would look on craigslist to see if anyone's selling a good ro/di unit for a reasonable price. Good luck! It's been fun to make the switch


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I'll agree with getting your own test kit but disagree with going to an LFS to test it. Their most common response is either, "Yeah, it's good." or "Looks fine." or the dreaded, "Oh your _____ is way off. You need to BUY ______." That's just my thoughts on LFS. I always go into any LFS with "preloaded" questions to judge wether they're worthy or not.

 

[Sillyfishies]

If you have an API master freshwater test kit, email them for the saltwater chart. It's the same tests I'm pretty sure.

 

[Redwolf91]

I've tried to see if my lfs was giving honest tests, gave them some water to test, and asked if my ammonia was high, was told I need a new and much better filter, had a few words with the owner, and don't shop there any more, I had brought in distilled water to be tested!

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[jonny_raff]

I would say that the RO/DI unit is one of the most important parts of a saltwater tank! It just takes the tap water that it is supplied with and runs it through 4+ filters to remove harmful impurities that are found in the water. If you have a 4 stage unit you will get a sediment filter, a carbon block, the ro membrane, and finally the di(deionization) media. It works by first forcing water into the sediment filter which removes larger particles that could clog the carbon stage. Then it goes into that carbon block which removes chlorine and other smaller particles that could ruin the membrane. Then the water is forced through a membrane which removes 98% of impurities. Finally it goes through the DI stage which should take out the left over particles that the membrane couldn't detect. You will need a TDS meter to measure the amount of total disolved solids that are going out your product line. The meter should read 0 and when it starts to climb it means you need to change out the filters! The RO membrane will only need to be changed every 6-12 months! Thats pretty much how it works!!!

 

[colie]

I agree if you don't have a trustworthy lfs or don't want to make the drive that much. It's always better to have your own test kit especially with saltwater. I hardly ever test my fresh water anymore because I do consistent water changes and it's predictable but now that I also have a salt water things are much more unpredictable and I test at least once a week and if things were out of wack i would probably test daily. I do think you could get away without it in the first month while cycling but I would at least have something to check the salinity. Just my opinion though as a newbie to salt


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[colie]

One last thing about hydrometer vs refractometer. Refractometer is MUCH more accurate. My hydrometer was WAY off. A little extra money but much more accurate and stable


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[treemanone2003]

I've tried to see if my lfs was giving honest tests, gave them some water to test, and asked if my ammonia was high, was told I need a new and much better filter, had a few words with the owner, and don't shop there any more, I had brought in distilled water to be tested!

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Nice !!!! I like how you think. ( must be a Ct thing, lol )

 

[Redwolf91]

I believe it is my friend ?

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[treemanone2003]

i believe it is my friend ?

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