Taking the plunge to Salt water

[sudz]

Hey all - Its been ages since i've posted! (I think well over a year or so)

I still have my 44 Gallon Perfecto tank, Fluval 304, 250 watt heater, 96 Watt 6700k bulbs... Lightly stocked, Naturally planted tank. its pretty much No maintenance, and I have a great balance.

However... I'm moving.

Last time I moved, I had very limited success. 50% loss over 3 months.

Right now, I'm down to a bunch of black tetra's, a couple ottos, a large rainbow and a dwarf rainbow and a congo tetra. I'm going to put them (and the plants) into a 20 gallon tank for the bedroom. I want to convert the 44 gallon to a saltwater!

So, that being said... I'm going to be taking the slow route - Saving up money to slowly build a SW tank.

I understand the filter is "workable" for now (although not ideal for a SW tank) Heater is fine, Lighting needs a new bulb, but its 3 years old now and "spent". 50/50 bulb?

The idea is that it will be a LR tank with a couple (1 to 5) fish. No crazy corals, just the odd feather duster or polyups and such. I'm actually assuming most of it will come from the frags and live rock.

Protien skimmer - I'm seeing in tank, HOB, Sump, etc... I'm thinking in Tank or HOB right now... Any recommendations? Ease of use and quality are primary. It'll be lightly stocked at all times, so its not a matter of which one provides the best output.

Which brand is the best bang for buck?

 

[melosu58]

Octopus brand skimmers are the best. IMO

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with Mike's suggestion of skimmer. If you use the canister I would replace the media with LR rubble and eliminate any sponges that are in there completely. As for lighting I would go with 1 10,000K bulb and one Actinic bulb. You could replace the actinic with a 50/50 but it might be a little too "white" looking. Just have to mix and match to get the best look for you. If you are planning on corals down the road well then some changes would need to be made.

 

[sudz]

Hrmm... Issue is its a single 18 inch bulb. 4 square pin. Kind of rare. It was the most output I could get out of 18 inches. (No "that's what she said" jokes please )

 

[Ziggy953]

In that case 50/50 for sure.

 

[sudz]

KK. I won't have a sump for this - So its looking like HOB protien skimmer. How annoying are they in terms of Noise? I had an AC100 for this tank a while back, would it be comparible, or worse/better?

This is what I'd be looking at...

http://www.saltysupply.com/Reef-Octopus-Hang-on-Back-Protein-Skimmer-BH-100-p/oc6111.htm

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Sounds like a power compact bulb. It is a quad tube 16"? Should be fine with a 50/50 for FOWLR, but if you ever wanted to go reef, you might need more light. Save up for a T5HO fixture or LED, a couple years down the road it will be a lot cheaper to go LED and no yearly lamp replacement needed.

 

[sudz]

Yeah... this is the bulb Id need. (when I first got this rig... a bulb was 95 bucks! nice to see prices dropping...)

50/50 Power Compact 4-Tube Quad Lamp - Square Pin - 96W - 16 in. | Compact Fluorescent Square Pin Bulbs | Bulbs & Lamps | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

 

[Ziggy953]

I think for the setup you have and the things you have listed you will do fine with that bulb and fixture. Go much further into the coral realm and you might need to upgrade lighting but for now that will get you started.

 

[sudz]

Excitement! Now to save up and wait for the move!

 

[the_fish_man]

Well doesn't look like any one has welcomed you yet
Welcome to the other side.

 

[the_fish_man]

Here is the mini darth vader lol

 

[sudz]

Look what I picked up for 34 USD Shipped!

Power Compact 96 Watt 4-Tube (Quad) 50/50 BRAND NEW on eBay.ca (item 360323252628 end time 27-Dec-10 09:47:02 EST)
(a 50/50 bulb that Big als wanted 95 dollars for)

 

[Ziggy953]

Nice pickup!!

 

[sudz]

Alright- So here's what I'm thinking... MTS time...

The fish I have now will fit into a 20 gallon - I'll pick one up cheap and use my old AquaClear 70 (set to low) and a 100 watt HOB heater I have. I'll move the guys over, and tear down my "big" 44 gallon tank. When I set it up at the new place, I'll just leave it empty for a few weeks until all the furniture placement is finalized. at that point, I'll begin aquiring the funds and parts for the saltwater setup.

I made the stand myself 3 years ago out of 2X4's and a piece of plywood - There's no room for a sump, so i'm going to have to go sumpless FOWLR. Is this common?

I will have the fluval 304, and a HOB protien skimmer. (probably that octopos one) I also have a Fluval powerhead I can put in there.

I'm hoping to keep maintenance down to a maximum of once a week. Sound feasible?

My question is... If I were to START a saltwater tank, which would be the best way to do it?

It'll be a work in progress for a year, but I don't want to put anything living in there until it can sustain it.

For example, Can I use the 50/50 bulb, dead substrate (from a bag), the fluval 304, Saltwater, and some frags/live rock to start?

I guess what I'm looking for is my "order of purchasing" list in terms of priority.

For exmaple, (knowing that I have a tank, a fulval 304, 50/50 bulb, Heater, and am going sumpless)

50/50 light, Substrate, Salt, hydrometer, Live Rock, Protien skimmer, Fish, Frags?

Forgive me if these are super noob questions - Always been a F/W person and this is my first foray into the light/dark side.

 

[sudz]

OK... well I went to two LFS... they both said "Don't go sumpless. You will regret it and kill a lot of fish" (in a nutshell)

They told me to buy a sump, 250 dollar skimmer, 100 dollar refractometer, new halide? lights and ditch the hood. I asked Big Al's about LED lights, they said they aren't good for growing corals, as they are too expensive and they don't carry them.

Bottom line... Should I just sell my current setup and start basic? a 24 gallon nano cube with its one built in Fuge in the back? Isn't that sumpless? how come they sell those?

The LFS's totally scared me off doing this - I thought I was prepared, but by the time I was done there they had priced me out with nearly 900 bucks worth of stuff that was all "critical" To their annoyance, I walked out, as... Well, I don't have 900 bucks!

 

[abdhalim2]

Hey sudz......any of offers that u get from your LFS, i would buy that refractometer...its more accurate than swing arm hydrometer....other than that, its up to...
for FOWLR tank, i had fren did that without sump...but with 2 canister running....and he also had some corals...good growth...the matter is, u need to maintain that canister...that will also incur in cost for monthly....
about LED lights, IMO depends on what type of LED....if the cheap with 50k hours livespan,i think its not good because of other factors such lumens, etc...better go for t5HO which use less electricity than halide...im not good in lighting...then lets the expert talk for u...

just my 2cents...oh, dont forget to get test kits....

 

[Smitty]

100 for a refractometer seems really high. My LFS sells them for 50 and I think you can even do better than that on ebay (think I've seen some for 30 or so). What size tank? If it is the 20 gallon you mentioned above then I don't know if a skimmer is needed...

 

[melosu58]

Saltwater Aquarium Salinity & Specific Gravity Testing: Portable Refractometer

Half the price.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

NEW! Salinity Refractometer 4 Aquarium Ocean Hydrometer - eBay (item 370467133416 end time Dec-23-10 01:47:22 PST)

$20 + $7.50 shipping. This is the seller I bought mine from and I'm happy with it. They also sell versions with lighting built in and other versions up to $260