Switching to Saltwater

[tdubrow]

This is my first post so I want to start off by saying Hi to everyone. Finally going to make the switch to saltwater and I just have a few questions.

For starters, I've been keeping all types of african cichlids for the last 15 years so I'm definitely not new to aquariums. I also know quite a bit about saltwater setups but I just never got around to spending the extra money on things you would need for saltwater.

The tank I'm thinking of switching is my 75 gallon. Would like to make it into a fowlr tank. The tank has a 600gph overflow with a 35 gallon wet/dry filter. I also have tons of lace rock which I use in my cichlid tanks.

My questions are as follows

1. I know many people say not to use a wet/dry filters because they say its a nitrate factory but I will be way understocked and I'm used to doing weekly water changes as it is with my messy africans. Its also a perfect option right now as I have plenty or room in the sump area for a skimmer. Will this filter be sufficient? I will also add powerheads as well.

2. My main concern is the water source. I currently have well water which is perfect for my africans since it settles around 8.0ph. I know this is probably not a good idea to use this and should probably setup an RO unit. Will RO water be fine for a fowlr or do I need an RO/DI unit?

3. Lastly, I was thinking of using 1/2 lace rock for base rock and 1/2 live rock. Since I have tons of lace rock it will save me quite a bit of money. Will this be a bad idea?

Other than that I pretty much have it covered. Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[thincat]

You can use a wet/dry for a FOWLR setup. If you change to reef then the wet/dry must go.
2) Check out the price differemce between an RO & a RO/DI...not much..so I would go with the ro/di unit.. check the prices on ebay or BRS (bulkreef supply.com)
3) You could even go with 3/4 lace rock and 1/4 LR
Lastly with a Fowlr you really don't need a skimmer, but since the tank is 75g I would highly recommend it.

 

[tdubrow]

You can use a wet/dry for a FOWLR setup. If you change to reef then the wet/dry must go.
2) Check out the price differemce between an RO & a RO/DI...not much..so I would go with the ro/di unit.. check the prices on ebay or BRS (bulkreef supply.com)
3) You could even go with 3/4 lace rock and 1/4 LR
Lastly with a Fowlr you really don't need a skimmer, but since the tank is 75g I would highly recommend it.

Thanks so much

 

[melosu58]

Read this for Sw equipment needs.

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

 

[austinsdad]

What's wrong with just a sump with rock pieces instead of the wet/dry and the bio-balls that add nitrates over time?

 

[tdubrow]

What's wrong with just a sump with rock pieces instead of the wet/dry and the bio-balls that add nitrates over time?

Nothing wrong with that I guess. To be honest, I never understood the argument about wet/dry filters being nitrate factories. I never once had nitrate problems in my overstocked African tanks while running a wet/dry filter. Of course I did weekly 30% water changes. My nitrate would never be above 10ppm and they rarely got that high.

 

[austinsdad]

It's the bio balls I hear that accumulate stuff over time and add to the trates.

 

[mfdrookie516]

i would think you could still use a "wet/dry" in a sense, if you used lr instead of the bioballs...

 

[thincat]

It's a whole different set of bacteria between a fresh and salt setup. A wet/dry would be okay with a fish only setup. In an SPS reef you would want the nitrates to be at or about 0.

 

[tdubrow]

So the majority thinks I shouldn't use the wet/dry? Maybe I'm crazy but I don't see it being a problem if I keep up with my maintenance.

Then again I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to this so if live rock in the wet/dry filter instead of bioballs is the better option then maybe I should go that route.

 

[austinsdad]

yep. use the wet/dry and reaplace the bio balls will small rock rubble.

 

[tdubrow]

Ok so heres my wet/dry filter. 30 x 12 x 17

I know the live rock rubble will need to be submerged in water so I guess I have to just place the rock on the bottom below the bioball area. Right now I have an area of 12 x 12 inches with 5 inches of water height. Will that be a big enough area to fit a sufficient amount of rock rubble? Is there anything that can be put in the area where the bioballs are? If I leave it empty I think it would be pretty loud because of the water dripping all that way.