moving to sw soon & got a few questions

[Samantha_p]

hi guys,i will be turning my 125 fw wall mount into sw soon.
im looking at craigslist for a 55gal to move my fw fish. i got a
few ?'s regarding sw.
1)if i start with a fish only tank what sand is best?
2)in a fish only tank can i use the cliffs,fake rock that i was using
when it was fw?
3)i got a rena xp3 canister can i use it,what changes will i needto do
to the canister?
4) if i decide to go with fowlr what's the minimum amount of rock i can
use?
5)what fish can i put in a fish only tank(will a tang and clowns do ok)
thanx guys your feedback is much appreciative

 

[mr_X]

slightly larger than sugar sized, aragonite based sand is best. anything larger and detritus will accumilate in between the granules, any smaller, and it will move around a lot in the currents.
yes, you can use the fresh water ornaments if you like, but if you are going to be purchasing live rock, then you might just aquascape that and see how it comes out.
you can use the cannister filter without making any changes to it. i would clean it weekly.
they say a pound to a pound and a half per gallon as far as live rock goes, but remember, live rock is nothing more than very porous surface area for bacteria to reside. the more you have the better off you are- providing there is adequate flow and not many dead spots where particulate matter can settle and cause issues.

a tang or tangs will do fine in a 125, as will clowns. research the individual fish you like before adding it. for instance, some tangs aren't big swimmers and spend their time near rock and don't get too large, like scopus and yellow tangs, and will do fine in smaller tanks, and other tangs are found in the water column and get quite large, and are only suitable for larger tanks, like the clown tang and sohal. these are quite aggressive in closed systems.

 

[melosu58]

Good info by Doug. Also read this good start up link.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-and-tips-for-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html