New 90 Litre Saltwater.

[gmc1]

I have just changed my fluval Roma 90 into a saltwater tank.it was my grow out tank for my two parrot cichlids.they have been rehomed as the new 70 gallon had to be forgotten about.
I am totally new to this so I will add a few photos of what I have done up to now.
And cross your fingers for me.
So long.they were great fish.

 

[betta fish]

Good luck 

I used this tank when I went marine too, had it for around 2 years then had to break it down due to the cost and foolishly not quaranteening a new fish which led to a disease outbreak that killed my beloved clowns 

 I really miss it though, the tank is now home to a hamster 

 

[gmc1]

Tank emptied.cleaned with white vinegar solution.
Cut a small piece out of rim of tank to make space for internal skimmer.
Connect new ro unit to boiler.

 

[gmc1]

Took 3 days to make all the ro for tank.
Filled up and tested equipment.hydor nano slim skim.2000lph wave maker.aqualantis led strip.
Added appropriate amount of salt for full tank and ran for 24 hrs.then added sand using my trusty plastic bottle
By this point the dog was getting fed up with the tank.
Took time to let sand settle.
Live rock was added yesterday.No critters as yet.have 500g of live sand coming tomorrow to aid the cycle.so that's how it stands just now.until it cycles.

 

[betta fish]

Looking good, there is so much to learn and know about marine tanks but it is a joy to do so, I must say I am slightly envious of you 

 how have you got the RO unit hooked up to the boiler? we had to tap into the mains pipe to attach mine via a saddle valve and initially I had issues with the pressure through the unit so I invested in a booster pump, it really quickened things up! I had a DI cartridge as the last stage which really helped bring my TDS down to zero from the inital water reading over 400 at the tap 

 

[gmc1]

I hooked it up to the extra water flow pipe.the one that you use to add more water to achieve more pressure.

 

[gmc1]

Betta fish.did you use digital Tds meter?

 

[betta fish]

Yes I did, it was one of those hand held ones that just get dipped in to the water, interesting about the boiler never knew you could do that, ours isn't in a cupboard though it's in full view in the kitchen so I guess it wouldn't have looked that good!

 

[simonas]

Good luck, marine tanks are amazing. I've only just shut mine down after 5 years and am missing marine already.
The main piece of advice is go slow, especially with a small tank as it will be difficult to kee everything stable in it. You have the choise of some great inhabitants in there but I would certainly recomend a yellow watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp combo they are great.

 

[gmc1]

Thanks guys
Oh and the boiler was just pure luck.

 

[betta fish]

Oh yes def recommend the pistol goby combo I had a yellow watchman goby initially but sadly he died before I could get a shrimp for him then I got a fan shrimp goby which is rare in the trade, I had no idea neither did the shop, he had been there ages over looked by people and he paired with a randalls pistol I got, they were great to watch

 it is best if you can get the pair together as sometimes they don't always pair.
I also had a wild pistol that got delivered with some live rock I ordered, though this one never paired, it is amazing how resilient they are, it took me over a year before I actually saw it! I def heard it though, the noise they make is very loud for such a small creature! I had thought there was something wrong with my tank when I first heard it 

Here is my pair

 

[gmc1]

Yeah they look great.I was initially thinking of the ywg,that face haha.my sandbed isn't that deep but the rock has a few good lower hiding spots.Will see how the tank goes.
Hopefully see some critters from rock soon.I had.25 of ammonia last night.Will leave it a few days and check again.

 

[gmc1]

New led lights in place.both aqualantis led lights in place.quite impressed.One 6000k.One 25000k.56w
A few snails coming out of rockwork now

 

[gmc1]

Cycles well under way

 

[betta fish]

Looking good,  I had good nitrate readings at the begining but once I was stocked I struggled to keep it below 40ppm which is not a disaster in a marine tank but I would have been happier for it to be lower, I'm impressed with the light unit you have, I had to make do with T5s, led would have been better, do they plug directly into the light tube socket of the Roma?