Fish only to reef

[Zorba]

When doing a marine tank, is it possible to start it as a fish and live rock only tank, then after a while, upgrade it to a reef tank, buying all the necesarry lighting and stuff. or do you have to totally decommission the tank and start again if you want to add coral?

 

[3fsh]

It is definitely "possible" to start with a fish only setup. IMHO, it is easier to start as if you were going to build a reef, and then do it later on. I was going to turn my Eclipse 25 gallon into a reef tank when I realized what a hassle it would be to re-do the lighting. So now I have a 30 gallon that I am going to start with all the reef-necessary equipment so that I can do the reef later on. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Navarre]

An upgrade can easily be achieved to a ree fsetup as long as you stick to 1 very important rule.

DONT add anything to the tank when its fish only that will later be toxic to inverts. Many medications contain copper based products. This is superb for fish only but its a killer for corals and inverts. The problem with such treatments is that it can soak into the sand and rocks meaning it may leech back out later on and kill the livestock. If you choose fish only a good code of practice is to treat it like its a reef setup even if its not one.