I am considering moving straight to saltwater.

[N757QQ]

Hello all.

I am new here. I am also new to the aquarium world. I have been around salt & fresh water aquaria quite a bit. My brother & a friend have kept saltwater fish.

I decided, since I have always thought aquaria interesting, to start researching a while back for the eventual purchase of a aquarium. I bought a used 55g with everything included, ready to go. I cleaned it thoroughly, not using any chemicals, just elbow grease & water. I decided to go freshwater, and intended on building a display tank of peacock cichlid.

Long story short, the aquarium is cycled with fresh water in it now. I have a very specific list of fish that I am looking for & cannot find them for sale anywhere that I am not buying full grown adult males, or unsexed juveniles. I specifically want males, at the youngest I can get (in case anyone cares about the reason behind my asking). To that end, I have started considering just going straight to salt water, which is my ultimate goal. I want a reef tank, I think the coral is amazing.

Is it reasonable, with no experience, to go straight to saltwater? I am willing to read, and ask questions before I put a fish in water. I certainly do not want to hurt fish due to my ignorance.

I know that lights will need to be upgraded, and have read a little bit about the LED lights, and I know the lighting is significantly more important for reef tanks than otherwise. I have an API saltwater liquid test kit that I got from my brother. I know I need powerheads.

I have a 75g & 30g Aqueon HOB on the tank currently. If that sufficient until I get a sump set up?

What else will I need? I have a few large pieces of Texas holey rock & a 1" bed of sand substrate. Will I need to add more sand? Remove the rock? I have no idea what type sand it is.

I know most people will suggest I stick to freshwater, which is fine. I am simply asking because this option is on my mind.


Thanks,

N

[Mrc8858]

If you wanna start out SW then more power to you. It's more the fear of beginning this endeavor that keeps people away then the actual difficulty. Once a system is running and stable you can pretty much sit back and relax. I would reccomend that you begin as fowlr but choose your stock accordingly to house corals down the road so only reef safe fish. Once you get a handle on matching water parameters and the basics and you feel you can keep a stable enviroment begin adding some small corals to test it out. If/when they thrive your on the road to owning your own reef .... Patience is a key though and questions never hurt so just keep us around and we can guide you through step by step. There will always be someone around willing to help out as much as possible so goodluck and hope to see you on the salty side real soon

[N757QQ]

Thanks Mrc8858.

I had thought about that exact thing. I think I will be on the salty side sooner than later. Guess I'll be reading a bit over the next few weeks, preparing.

Thanks again,

N

[Mrc8858]

Originally Posted by N757QQ

Thanks Mrc8858.

I had thought about that exact thing. I think I will be on the salty side sooner than later. Guess I'll be reading a bit over the next few weeks, preparing.

Thanks again,

N

No problem keep us updated and if your ever stumped on something you know where to come

[Sniperhank]

Sounds like you are on the right track. If you are going to want coral, I would invest in a good lighting unit right off the bat. There isn't any reason to buy 2 different lighting units, that is unless you already have a PC one that you can use until you decide to go reef.