Conveting Tropical Freshwater To Marine

[ash90]

I am thinking about gettin rig of the fish in my 27gal tank and turning it into a marine as i have always wanted then but never been able to get hold of them due to no where nere me selling them so now there is a new pet city store opened that sells marine as well as a lot of specilist like snake heads and rbp etc etc.
So my question is what will i need to convert it as well as salt lol what sort of money would i be talking to do this and what would i be able to keep in it as i really like clowns and damsels.
cheers guys

 

[ben1987]

to keep clowns and damsels you would not need to spend that much.

Salt
Ro water
Test kits and refratometer
Live rock preferably
power head

 

[Yuma]

[font="arial][size="2"]Welcome to the salty side. [/size][/font]
[font="arial][color="#222222"] [/color][/font][font="arial] [/font][/color][color="#222222"][font="arial][size="2"]I'm about 6 weeks into my saltwater tank. It's loads of fun, and interesting to watch the entire ecosystem develop and mature. There are lots and lots of resources here for you to read through that can provide you a lot of information. The journals are a great place to start, look for your tank size, fish/corals you want, etc. and start reading.

[/size][/font][font="arial][size="2"]Agree with Ben on his list. I would also recommend considering the fowlr (Fish Only with Live Rock) route as the natural filter of the live rock can't be beat. Plus....if you're like most of the rest of us, you're probably going to eventually want some corals....even if it just be a few mushrooms or soft corals...they really do add an interesting element to your tank and most are very hardy so they are easy to take care of. That being said Live Rock is going to be a must. Best bet is to keep an eye out for someone local taking down their saltwater tank and buy it second hand from them....be full of all kinds of goodies, but most importantly the beneficial bacteria that you want.[/size][/font]
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xxBarneyxx posted a really good summary of things that you need to get started. It can be found in this thread:
http/www.fishforum...s-lots-of-help/[/size][/font]
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[font="arial][color="#222222"]There are lots of things, especially equipment, that are definitely ok (and much cheaper) second hand. I'd buy NEW test kits, unless you find someone that can tell you definitively when they were purchased and they are like new. Water quality is paramount to a great ecosystem and you don't want to take chances with an old test kit.. RO water is a must in my opinion. The other equipment, like powerheads, refractometer, skimmer, etc. can all be found cheaper second hand.[/color][/font][font="arial] [/font][/color]

[color="#222222"][font="arial][size="2"]A couple of notes about the 27gal tank. You're not going to be able to keep very many fish. If you look through recommendations on some of the other threads you're going to see that there's really only room for a few different species, and then only in small numbers(1 or 2 of each). I've also read that damsels can be mean little buggers so you might want to consider some other options depending on what's available to you in the new store. I am definitely not trying to discourage you...there are lots of great fish and inverts that can be kept in smaller tanks. Get to be friends with the fish department in the store...my bet is that they can probably order you just about anything you want.[/size][/font]
[font="arial] [/font][/color][color="#222222"][font="arial][size="2"]One other thing about the tank. If you have every used any copper based medications, treatments, etc. in the tank, you're not going to be able to keep any corals in there as the copper gets absorbed by the silicone and leaches back into the water over time, so keep that in mind going forward as well.[/size][/font]
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[color="#222222"][font="arial][size="2"]Best of luck to you, it's great fun, and I'm sure there are others on here that will add their ideas/suggestions as well.[/size][/font]
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[color="#222222"][font="arial][size="2"]Yuma[/size][/font]
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[seffieuk]

Ash, look forward to watching your progress

Seffie x