Converting From Fresh To Salt

[fishlove75]

Hello, I have been keeping fresh water tropical tanks for approximately 5 years now and would realy like to convert my 55 gallon to a salt/reef tank. Fisrt of is this possible to do with a standard 55 US gallon tank? Second I have absolutely zero knowledge regarding marine/reef tanks, so what exactly do I need to purchase to make this work? Remember complete newbie to marine tanks have no idea about equipment, tank parameters, cycling a filter for a reef/marine tank, ect. Also if I can use my standard 55 gallon tank, what type of fish can I put in? Any and all advise is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Edit - this probably will not be attempted for at least a year or maybe longer.
Edit 2 - Also, I have my 55 gallon currently set up as a fresh water tank and it is on a standard 55 gallon stand. Would that stand still work for a reef tank or would the weight of all the rock be too much for a standard stand (wooden from walmart)?

 

[woody88]

Hello, I have been keeping fresh water tropical tanks for approximately 5 years now and would realy like to convert my 55 gallon to a salt/reef tank. Fisrt of is this possible to do with a standard 55 US gallon tank? Second I have absolutely zero knowledge regarding marine/reef tanks, so what exactly do I need to purchase to make this work? Remember complete newbie to marine tanks have no idea about equipment, tank parameters, cycling a filter for a reef/marine tank, ect. Also if I can use my standard 55 gallon tank, what type of fish can I put in? Any and all advise is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Edit - this probably will not be attempted for at least a year or maybe longer.
Edit 2 - Also, I have my 55 gallon currently set up as a fresh water tank and it is on a standard 55 gallon stand. Would that stand still work for a reef tank or would the weight of all the rock be too much for a standard stand (wooden from walmart)?

The 55 g will be ok. Not sure what 55 is in imperial gallons so it might be nano size but someone else is bound to tell you on here anyway
Regarding the advice, it would take me all day to explain as marine is a lot more involved than trops.
If your not starting the project for a year then my advise would be to spend that year researching marine tank setup and maintenance.
A good start would be to read the journals on here as you can see how people have setup their tanks and all the ups and downs they've had. They're really helpful and you can pretty much learn the basics from them.
The initial setup can be a pain and then you have to get into a routine of regular maintenance, but it's well worth it in the end when your rewarded with a beautiful tank.

Don't be afraid to ask questions on here as we are all a friendly bunch and will try and help you out as much as we can.

Quick equipment list

Heater
Protein skimmer (mechanical filtration)
Filter (live rock rubble in media bag / phosphate remover in media bag)
Powerhead/s ( need to aim for 20x turnover the capacity of the tank)
Live rock (preferably 'cured' as this will reduce your cycling time)
Live rock is your biological filter (heart and lungs of the tank). Bacteria living in/on it will eat ammonia, nitrite and other waste toxins produced.
RO water (not tap water)
Containers to house water or an RO unit
Reef salt
Refractometer for measuring salinity level (don't use hydrometers) they inaccurate.
Test kit (either API or Salifert are the best ones)
Substrate (coral sand/aragonite) don't fall for the "live" gimmick as it ain't li e when you buy it
And last of all..........patience.........and lots of it.


Just the basics are listed above but depending on what type of setup your after (fish only/fish only with live rock/reef)


Good luck, keep us posted and welcome to the hobby

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of the forum

Seffie x

 

[fishlove75]

Thanks guys. I have started to do some research, just seems so overwhelming. Nice to know you are all here if I need help.