Switching from freshwater to saltwater!

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RyanBenson

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
627
Location
Texas
The title says it all! I want to switch from fresh water to saltwater in my 55 gallon tank! I talked to a guy at my local, privately owned, fish store today and he said a sump isn't necessary unless I'm planning on having a big stock! I do plan on getting a skimmer though! He did tell me to replace my filter pads, remove my bio balls and replace them with Purigen and remove my ceramic circles and replace them with something which I have forgotten the name of. If you haven't picked up on it yet I have a
Not one but two canister filters...a Marineland 360c and a Marineland 160c! I have an extra 40lb bag of live sand sitting in my room! Any tips on how to make this transfer?? I also plan on doing a fish less cycle! I will buy a API saltwater test kit and a salinity tester.
 
I am also getting a tank together. I decided to go with a sump because it will help increase the amount of water in working with and leave more room for errors. If you plan on keeping corals then a sump is the way to go.

I will be following this feed because I would love to see the progress of someone else that's just starting up.
 
id really try to do a sump/refugium if your budget and physical size constraints allow. not only does it add volume for stabilization as Conejo mentioned, but it also offers an out-of-sight place for the majority of your equipment (heaters, probes, skimmer,etc). it also offers a place to house macroalgae, which feeds on excess nutrients in the system, further helping to keep nitrate levels from soaring high. if I can recommend anything to a newcomer to the saltie side... its this: spend good money on a quality skimmer. skimmers add a whole other level of stability to sw tanks when added. going cheap or trying to save money in this area will only directly reflect itself in the end.
 
I am also getting a tank together. I decided to go with a sump because it will help increase the amount of water in working with and leave more room for errors. If you plan on keeping corals then a sump is the way to go. I will be following this feed because I would love to see the progress of someone else that's just starting up.
awesome! Ill check out your thread for extra tips! Also if I post something and you have a tip regarding the topic that would be cool too!!
id really try to do a sump/refugium if your budget and physical size constraints allow. not only does it add volume for stabilization as Conejo mentioned, but it also offers an out-of-sight place for the majority of your equipment (heaters, probes, skimmer,etc). it also offers a place to house macroalgae, which feeds on excess nutrients in the system, further helping to keep nitrate levels from soaring high. if I can recommend anything to a newcomer to the saltie side... its this: spend good money on a quality skimmer. skimmers add a whole other level of stability to sw tanks when added. going cheap or trying to save money in this area will only directly reflect itself in the end.
ok! I'm going to run by my fish store today and get prices so I have a good estimate of how much it will all cost!
 
As far as looking at buying a sump at a fish store, I would strongly encourage craigslist or even DIY sump. That will save you money in the long run. Plus you could ideally build what you want :)
 
As far as looking at buying a sump at a fish store, I would strongly encourage craigslist or even DIY sump. That will save you money in the long run. Plus you could ideally build what you want :)
I will definitely check craigslist! Thank you!! Did you make your own??
 
id really try to do a sump/refugium if your budget and physical size constraints allow. not only does it add volume for stabilization as Conejo mentioned, but it also offers an out-of-sight place for the majority of your equipment (heaters, probes, skimmer,etc). it also offers a place to house macroalgae, which feeds on excess nutrients in the system, further helping to keep nitrate levels from soaring high. if I can recommend anything to a newcomer to the saltie side... its this: spend good money on a quality skimmer. skimmers add a whole other level of stability to sw tanks when added. going cheap or trying to save money in this area will only directly reflect itself in the end.
Also, which kind of Refugio's would you recommend? I have a 55 gallon tank.
 
Make your own sump. It's too easy and cost effective not to!
 
What happened is I went to my lfs and he wanted 120 for a 20 gallon. I was looking around for a fish tank I could convert into a sump on CL and found a DIY sump 20 gallon for $30 so I just got that. Check out some YouTube videos for some easy ways to make one.
 
RyanBenson said:
Also, which kind of Refugio's would you recommend? I have a 55 gallon tank.

Buy a tank (id go 20g or so) then have a shop cut acrylic or glas baffles, then silicone them in. Theres videos on youtube and its dirt cheap
 
Make your own sump. It's too easy and cost effective not to!
What happened is I went to my lfs and he wanted 120 for a 20 gallon. I was looking around for a fish tank I could convert into a sump on CL and found a DIY sump 20 gallon for $30 so I just got that. Check out some YouTube videos for some easy ways to make one.
Buy a tank (id go 20g or so) then have a shop cut acrylic or glas baffles, then silicone them in. Theres videos on youtube and its dirt cheap
Looks like I'm in luck! I have an empty 20 gallon that I used to have a baby tiger Oscar in but he out grew it! Would I need to do any drilling? If so I can possibly make it out of that! I need to figure out if it's acrylic or not though!
 
Well, I couldn't find an actual how to video. I searched for about an hour and a half and all I got my searching "DIY 20 gallon sump" and "How to make a 20 gallon sump" were videos of people showing off their sumps they made. They didn't tell me how to exactly make one! Does anyone have a link for instructions?
 
On YouTube type in DIY sump and the first video that pops up is a step by step
 
So my 20 gallon tank is a tall... I can't make a sump out of that so which sump would you recommend? Also which protein skimmer??
 
Just go on Craigslist the bigger the better. Shoot for 20 gallon minimum I'm looking to get another one larger as well.
 
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