From Fresh to Salt

[ThaBigCheese]

I'm looking to change from a Freshwater tank to a Saltwater tank. I've been researching for a couple of weeks now and this is what I have or think I will need. I am running a Penguin Bio Wheel 330. Oh, this will be a fish only tank. I will need to get sand, live rock, a protein skimmer. Are there any other things that you can recommend to get it going? The fish will be community as well....Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[fishfreek]

what size tank.

you will need salt, heater, hydromoter, power heads, saltwater test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, alkinity

 

[ThaBigCheese]

Oh yeah...I have a standard 55.....so is it ok to use the filter that I have?

 

[Infinity]

Well, I have a 50 gallon. And personally, I felt the need to go "overboard" with the filteration needs. Magnum 350 and emperor 400.
I'd recommend an Emperor 400 atleast.

 

[Red Virus]

I just switch my 55 gal over from FW to SW two weeks ago no problems here so far. just scrub it out good with some bleach. the bleach well disinfect the tank. just make sure to rinse it out real good if you still smell the bleach its not rinsed out good enough. I use the same filters from when it was a FW tank. I have 3 filters on my tank 2 PH for water movement.

 

[illuminum]

What are powerheads, protein skimmers, and hydrometers? I have a little 12 gal freshwater and am thinking about getting a considerably larger tank for SW stuff and am curious as to what I would be getting myself into.

 

[BillyZ]

Powerheads (PH) are small pumps that sit inside your tank simply to move water around. SW tanks require a lot more water movement for the fish to feel like they are in a natural environment.

Protien Skimmers (PS) are devices that circulate millions of tiny bubbles in a swirling column of water. Small amounts of Disolved Organic Componds (DOC) then attach themselves to the tiny bubbles which then rise to the top of the protien skimmer and are collected in a cup for disposal. This is the same foam you see washing up on the beach some times.

Hydrometers are simple tools used to measure the amount of salt in the water by measuring it's specific gravity (sg)


For beginners to SW a larger tank is much easier as the larger water volume gives a little more leway while learning good husbandry habbits.

 

[fernzpat]

BC,

I have a 55 using the exact same filter as its main filtration, but it also has an undergravel filter that will be used when needed with a couple of powerheads. I also plan to use a small hang-on protein skimmer when the bio-load (number of fish) gets a little higher.

Is your filtration enough? It depends on how may fish you are planning to get (go slow) and how many water changes you are realistically going to do...

-Patrick

 

[fishfreek]

I would strongly encurage not using the UGF. They will be more trouble than help with your saltwater setup.

 

[r95rdstr]

Before you make the switch, do your homework. Read, read, and read some more. There's alot of good info in this forum, plus others, too. After a couple of weeks of reading for an hour or two a day, you'll start to have an idea about keeping saltwater tanks happy and healthy. Saltwater doesn't require much more work than freshwater, but everything must be precise and you must have alot of patience. Cycling a tank takes a month minimum, but usually two or three months.

Happy reading!!