Converting A Tropical To Marine

[psycopop]

Hi Guys,

Even though I am fairly new to these forums, I have been keeping fish for a few years and the MTS has definately kicked in with me recieving my 5th tank this week . However, I have caught the bug which has found me in these parts of the forums where things start to get alot harder, and I'm getting very eager to start with my first marine tank.

I have been swiftly talked out of getting a new nano sized tank, as I dont think I'm experienced enough to keep fully ontop of things (well, when I first start the conversion to marine) to keep it 100% stable. So I'm looking at converting my largest Tropical tank to Marine, and hoping the extra space can counter some of the mistakes I'm possibly going to make as a marine beginner.

The tank is a Juwel Rio 300, so a nice sized 300 Litres of space to play with. It comes with the built in filter (more than willing to remove it ), and I also run a Eheim Pro 2026 (which I've been told is no-where near enough output for that sized a tank). The lights are only slightly upgraded for the growth of tropical plants, but will most likely have to be replaced for a marine setup.

Im looking at a FOWLR setup at first, and once im confortable with that I may look into a reef setup in the future. The biggest problem I do have is I'm looking to move house within the next month orso, so most of my money will be going into that. So is their any way that I can setup slowly by buying the various additions in bits and upgrade as I go, or will that cause a problem for my setup in the long run (and will it be more costly in the long run).

Basically im looking for the cheapest/best way to spread the cost way of converting without doing anything wrong.

Any comments are greatly appreciated

 

[ox5477]

The biggest problem I do have is I'm looking to move house within the next month orso,

I would say wait until you move to even set-up this new tank. marine environments are sensitive and why take the risk of setting it up and right when everything starts to settle in, you go and mix everything up and put stress back into the equation. Thats just what i feel is best for right now since you know your moving.

Def go fowlr to get your feet wet. Some membe of the marien section of tff say that it is easier than fresh water. I'll agree in respect to the fact that alot of fresh water diseases obv can not live in saltwater so the chance for illness it would seem decreases. But there are plenty of other areas to go wrong. Idk, they are both a challenge in different ways.

And i guess I should mention, cheap is not usually a word you want to use in a marine post... haha There are alot of DIY things you can do but somethings you just can't get around and will def cost much more than freshwater set-ups.

 

[andywg]

Look into DIY live rock, that will save you a lot of money in the long run. 5 parts crushed oystershell to 1 part portland cement with a little bit of water. Let it cure off in freshwater for a few weeks, changing the water every so often. Once the rock stops changing the pH of the water it is good to put in the tank (placing it in your toilet cistern means it gets flushed through many times a day).

Also, when doing lights, look into buying industrial units and then just buy marine bulbs. I got 2 150W MH units for about £75 from ebay. All I then had to do was change the bulbs (where our forum sponser petpirates comes in handy).

 

[psycopop]

The biggest problem I do have is I'm looking to move house within the next month orso,

I would say wait until you move to even set-up this new tank. marine environments are sensitive and why take the risk of setting it up and right when everything starts to settle in, you go and mix everything up and put stress back into the equation. Thats just what i feel is best for right now since you know your moving.

I was waiting until I move before I even thought about converting the tank to marine, as this would be the ideal oppertunity to move the current tank inhabitants around during the move.

I know a marine is a quiet expensive setup to start on, but I'm getting a rough outlook at what equip I will need so I can see how much I need to spend on the various items. My main confusion at the min is if i need to fully set up the tank with all the equipment straight away, or can I add bits slowly as the tank progresses, increasing things like the live rock and adding extra equipment as my setup needs it.

I also dont have much idea of how much it will actually cost me to get up and running - I have recieved a bit of conflicting advice and the availability of LFS's in the area that will supply Marine is rather limited .

 

[shibby]

i believe u can add extra lr as you go along, i started with 12kg then added 5kg a few weeks later, but it needs to be fully cured.

and for total cost its can range massively. the best thing to do is to keep your eye out on ebay and local trade its to get good bargains!

live rock costs range from £9.99 a kilo to £15 a kilo here! so thats going to be the main expense, i spent more on live rock then it cost for my tank, heaters and powerheads!

and as for extra equipment you could add more along the line like better lighting if you want to move into corals.

 

[kkyyllee]

you can add live rock as you go along but its easier just to add it all at once so you dont have to worry about makeing sure its cured

 

[ox5477]

You can add more lighting and rock as you go. You can also add a refugium/sump later on as well. You need enough filtration (lr and/or filters) for your stocking, heater(s), and water movement from powerheads/wave machine/return from sump/refugium.

 

[andywg]

You don't have to make sure the LR is fully cured if you add as you go, just make sure you never add more than 30-50% of the amount already in there. Then the die off is dealt with nice and easily.

You can indeed start out small and build up. My larger reef looks bare as I just threw everything from the old small tank in, so there is plenty of room, I am gradually adding enough substrate and then some big lumps of live rock. After this I will be adding the fuge and the rest of the sand needed for the DSB.

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, you can totally go slow

My only suggestion is to decide first off if you want to have a sump with the tank, as that should be fitted before any water even goes in the tank