converting a 70g freshwater into a saltwater

[roydesilva]

ok im thinking of converting my 70g freshwater into a saltwater reef tank. im wanting corals, anonamies, fishes etc... i have a 300w heater, a eheim classic 600 and i single fluro 4ft light. what else will i need?

how much live rock will i need? and how many fish and coral can get?


and im thinking coral sand for substrate? or is there anything else? and how do i go about setting it up? what are the basic steps...

i dont care about money as both my parents are surgeons and they want this tank to be awesome as it is going in out living room. and is it hard work to keep a salt water aquarium?

plz answer because i dont wunna go into this then end up killing everything

 

[furrymurray]

Ok. Where to start? Ok, you are going to need a skimmer, powerheads, and better lights, especially if you are wanting corals and anemones. I would also wait for the anemones until your tank is more mature. At the very least 6 months old. Other beginner corals you can get once the tank has cycled. It is recommended that you get one pound of live rock per gallon of tank. They have different substrates and each one has their own pros and cons. I recommend researching tons before you start. Saltwater is a lot more difficult than fresh water. The corals and fish are more sensitive to changes than freahwater fish. You have to do more testing with saltwater compared to fresh and you cant skip on the water changes IMO

 

[Tony30gal]

You might regret switching from freshwater to saltwater. Maybe get a 30 gallon tank and start testing in your basement and such. I switched over my main tank and have deep regrets over it because I am still getting rid of all the problems through it all as i learn

 

[dmolavi]

I have a 56 gallon FW that is staying fresh for now, while spinning up a 20 gallon SW tank (FOWLR for now, reef soon).

Starting small has it's pros and cons:

Pros
- Not as expensive to start up.
- Allows you to learn on a small scale

Cons
- Tank is much more susceptible to parameter swings due to smaller water volume. I'm staying on top of things, so it hasn't been a problem.
- No way to have as many fish as in a larger tank. At first, my kids were "is that all?" but they've learned.