Converting From Fresh To Marine

[Dalejr_802]

well i had my 50 gal set up as a frshwater aquarium and im trying to convert it to a marine aquarium. right now i have a fluval 404 its for 100 gal tank a 150watts submersable heater. so how much do u htink it will cost me to convert it my budget is only up to $200 and wat else do i need.... is a live sand neccesarry and benifitable to my tank and what are some of the precaustion that i need to be aware of to keep my fish not die because i have a friend who spent $5000 then his fish later die one by one

 

[Chac]

Have a read of Converting from FW to Marine
The tank on that post is roughly the same size & hopefully this will explain a lot

It is highly unlikely that the sand bed had anything to do with your friends livestock problems



Live rock is more impportant than LiveSand & for your size of tank you will need around 20- 25kilos

 

[Mr Miagi]

Well, due to your limited funds, I think you should gof FOWLR, Fish Only With Live Rock.

You dont need to skim, although that could be beneficial. A cheap HOB is the classic Prizm by RedSea I think. After you buy your aragonite sand (or another substrate of your choice which is suitable for marine) you need to buy live rock.

Just those alone and you over budget. Not to mention test kits, refractometer, powerheads, RO water, a light globe (this is assuming you already have a fitting for atleast 1 T8 globe) food, and the fish themselves.

Overall I think you wont be able to accomplish a marine FOWLR with $200. Another alternative is joining a local marine society. This way you can pick up cheap equipment/live goods when it comes up for grabs, rather than paying sometimes rediculous store prices.

 

[Dalejr_802]

so what are the things that i need for now and things that i need later on..... and how much will it cost me to convert my tank.... i appreciate ur help

 

[Chac]

The items you will need from the kick off are

Refractometer or Hydrometer
Test Kits (Ammonia, Nitrate, Nirtite, pH, Phos- Salifert are generally considered the best)
Thermometer (Digital are better)
Skimmer (IMO a Skimmer is a very important requirement in a 50g)
Powerheads/Streams (20x tank volume)
Lighting (Dependant on what coral species you keep)
Liverock (20 – 25kg)
RO Water (DO NOT USE TAP WATER)
Mixture of Foods
Books
Nets
Salt
5g RO Containers
Water Change Equipment (Buckets, Hose, Spare Powerhead & Heater)
& loads of Research


Have you used any Copper Treatments on your Freshwater Fish as copper is deadly to all Marine Inverts

 

[Dalejr_802]

do i really need a skimmer n how much do those thing cost.....so wat kind of water should i use

 

[Chac]

do i really need a skimmer n how much do those thing cost.....so wat kind of water should i use

If you want to do a proper job then a Skimmer is a must IMO

My recommendation is either a Deltec or Aquamdic Skimmer

RO Water should be the only water you use

 

[grover19]

do i really need a skimmer n how much do those thing cost.....so wat kind of water should i use

I would say a protein skimmer is a MUST!!!

Ive been running a SW tank for the last 8 months, and ive only used tap water, and the only accident ive had was an ammonia spike because i didnt have a protein skimmer. IMO RO water is better, but its just recommended, if your fish stay happy, then maybe they wont care if they are in tap water.

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.

 

[Chac]

do i really need a skimmer n how much do those thing cost.....so wat kind of water should i use

I would say a protein skimmer is a MUST!!!

Ive been running a SW tank for the last 8 months, and ive only used tap water, and the only accident ive had was an ammonia spike because i didnt have a protein skimmer. IMO RO water is better, but its just recommended, if your fish stay happy, then maybe they wont care if they are in tap water.

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.

Using Tap Water wont necesserily make you fish 'Happy' or 'Unhappy' what it invariably does is introduce high levels of phosphate (amonst other things) into your tank

Phophates which algea feed on, all you will end up doing is fighting the Algea for 2 weeks then adding more tap water & phosphates for more algea to grow

IMO RO Water is the only way to go - why do it if you aint gonna do it right

 

[Mr. Blenny]

50 gal convert to marine
i have a fluval 404
150w heater
how much to convert it budget is only $200
wat else do i need
is a live sand neccesarry and benifitable to my tank
what are some of the precaustion that i need to be aware

you can begin to convert this for what you stated. everything is not needed all at once and quite honestly, you probably will never have everything you will want to get eventually for this hobby, unless you have access to unlimited funding.

needed to start:
salt (petsmart matches online prices in store)
sand substrate, seed with live sand from established tank
kits - ph,ammonia - you will hardly ever use nitrite kit once tank is cycled.
hydrometer
powerhead for internal water movement
sump (not needed but recommended) any rubbermaid bin will work
spare heater
RO/DI unit - this will be beneficial to keep nuisance algae from taking over

look for a local reef/fish club where folks will be selling used stuff.. at the very least purchase from mailorder.

fish selection and patience will be key to early success. best to post what fish you would be selecting prior to purchase or again at very least research the boards for information.
hint early on: ovoid butterflyfish.
good luck

 

[Chac]

50 gal convert to marine
i have a fluval 404
150w heater
how much to convert it budget is only $200
wat else do i need
is a live sand neccesarry and benifitable to my tank
what are some of the precaustion that i need to be aware

you can begin to convert this for what you stated. everything is not needed all at once and quite honestly, you probably will never have everything you will want to get eventually for this hobby, unless you have access to unlimited funding.

needed to start:
salt (petsmart matches online prices in store)
sand substrate, seed with live sand from established tank
kits - ph,ammonia - you will hardly ever use nitrite kit once tank is cycled.
hydrometer
powerhead for internal water movement
sump (not needed but recommended) any rubbermaid bin will work
spare heater
RO/DI unit - this will be beneficial to keep nuisance algae from taking over

look for a local reef/fish club where folks will be selling used stuff.. at the very least purchase from mailorder.

fish selection and patience will be key to early success. best to post what fish you would be selecting prior to purchase or again at very least research the boards for information.
hint early on: ovoid butterflyfish.
good luck

You will still need to moniter your NitrIte Level at the beginning so you will need a test kit for it regardless of how often you use it

& Live Rock is a must as well

 

[Dalejr_802]

whats IMO RO Water

 

[Chac]

whats IMO RO Water

IMO = In My opinion

RO Water = Reverse Osmosis Water

 

[Dalejr_802]

what kind of media do i put on my filter (fluval404) or do i just use the same one from my fresh water aqua

 

[Dalejr_802]

so where do you get RO water

i found this light on this website http/www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageA...WPROD&ProdID=13 and do you guys think this is a good light to use and it say its a CF light (comapct flaurencent light) so is this light good, would it last long and stuff

i also found this protein skimmer http/www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageA...PROD&ProdID=245 should i buy this one