Salwater setup, 1st time need help. I know nothing about ..

[lucky777]

OK this is the deal I have had fish for about 12 years but never salt water and I know nothing about it. Please bear with me and try not to insult me.

This is what I currently have.

55 gallon tank, fluval 304 filter, couple of powerheads, 300 watt heater, lights, air pump.

What other equipment should I buy to convert this fresh water setup to salt water.  What kind of equipment do I need?  

Do you know of any good books or websites that would be good for beginner salt  water enthusiast?

Any help or tis to getting started would be great thanx guys

[AdamR]

www.aquariacanada.com is all about saltwater, there are several beginner guides.

[Nelson]

OK this is the deal I have had fish for about 12 years but never salt water and I know nothing about it. Please bear with me and try not to insult me.

This is what I currently have.

55 gallon tank, fluval 304 filter, couple of powerheads, 300 watt heater, lights, air pump.

What other equipment should I buy to convert this fresh water setup to salt water.  What kind of equipment do I need?  

Do you know of any good books or websites that would be good for beginner salt  water enthusiast?

Any help or tis to getting started would be great thanx guys

You first have to determine what type of salt water setup you want - fish only (no corals) or a reef tank (corals, invertebrates etc.).  Each has it's own requirements, the reef being the most expensive and challenging one.  I highly recomment the Aquaria Canada web site.  It's owned and operated by a person in Hull that is also in the business of selling livestock and equipment.  Most of the local SW aquarists (myself included) and many from Quebec buy from him.

Nelson

[NjOyRiD]

www.aquariacanada.com is all about saltwater, there are several beginner guides.

its the best! they helped me a lot trust me

[rockgarden]

Just remember four things about salt water propositions and you should be fine.

1) Light (you need humungous amounts of it)

2) Water flow (you need humungous amounts of it)

3) Patience (you should have lots of it - Nelson has none but having fun anyways )

4) Money (don't even try to keep track of it !!! )

Other more specific questions will be happily answered here or at AQ site (among others).  

I practice the "almost-no-technology" approach to SW hobby and there are others who have more water treatment equipment in their houses than the most cities can afford.

Therefore, consider all responses that you get carefully.  

The final decision on all purchases is yours alone .

Ron

[az]

.....

55 gallon tank, fluval 304 filter, couple of powerheads, 300 watt heater, lights, air pump.

What other equipment should I buy to convert this fresh water setup to salt water.  What kind of equipment do I need?  

.......

i dont think you need anything else if going fish with live rock setup! u are well equiped already!

[ray]

Hi I don't normally post or offer advice on SW but I'm seeing a lot of people w/ interest.There is really no mystique in my opinion to keeping SW.
The equipment you have would be fine for keeping a fish only tank,the only extra item you really need is ahydrometer and test kit.If you are plannig going reef then it would be best to plan in advance so that you don't buy unnecessary or insufficient items such as lighting,thereby avoiding extra costs.
Theonly other item I'd consider is substrate which like in many cichlid tanks will help buffer PH.You are best using a calcium carbonate iearagonite or you can use BOmix from local Rona.This is a fine sand and is silica free,the only problem ismay blowaround.I also find that many people have inadequate cleanup crews which usually consist of at least 1/2gl.(I go higher).
What it all really comes down to is how carefully you maintain your parameters.No amt of equip will make up for negligence,but only delay the inevitable crash.As many have stated is all good advice,and go slow.Beyond that there is no limit to what you can spend.I'vehad success w/ just about every typeof  filtration and also problems.
The more you read the more different approaches you will find.Again these are only MY OPINIONS.I'll try shortly to post a pic of a 10 gl eclipse setup that I've maxed out.It includes a brain,plate,mushrooms,xenia,star polpys,leather umbrellas,finnger leather,kenya tree and more.Also has2 skunk clowns,orchid dottyback,serpent star and many snails and bluelegs.
Good luck w/ your endeavour.
Ray

[Nelson]

...and don't forget to check with Ray for liverock and good used equipment.  Thanks to Ray I was able to start in SW with much less cost than many who take the retail route.  Having said that, I've managed to lose complete control, but that's me.

...and Ron, I'll have you know I have developed quite a bit of patience.  Now I'll struggle over a decision for minutes as opposed to nano-seconds :lol:

[rockgarden]

Lucky 777:

If you go into Marinescape on Carling you can see three established marine tanks. One is the nanocube by the cash register, the second is in the centre of the floor as you walk in and the third is at the back of the retail space. Each has different levels of lighting and different levels of corals (different types, hardiness, lighting demands, etc) that you can have under different levels of lighting.  Not etched in stone but a useful visual guide.

If you want to know about bulkhead fittings and related matters, speak to Nelson as he probably has the most recent experience in that area.

BTW - OVAS SW folks are located all over the city while some others live in remote corners of eastern Ontario and Quebec  that precious few have ever heard about. Adding a general location to your profile would help us all direct you to the closest place or tell you whose tank might be useful to look at to help you with your decisions.

Ron

[lucky777]

thanx everyone for your advice.  I will probably start with a fish only tank.  What exactly would I need if I go that route.

[DARKPHREAK]

I suggest reading abit more...

[lucky777]

ok thanks anyway

[DARKPHREAK]

Lucky,

The only difference between a Fish only tank and a reef tank is the lighting. You don't need as much light to keep fish. All the other equipment is needed, live rock, power heads, test equipment.

On your 55 your going to need 50+ pounds of live rock, 2-3 300gph power heads, heater and basic lights more then likely provided with the tank. You don't need to run the Fluval or air pump. If there's a chance that you'll want to run corals you'll really need to upgrade the lighting abit.

Once you decide to start the tank mix the salt in the tank for a few days and then buy quality live rock and put it in. Test the water for any part of a cycle and once the cycle is over start with a small cleanup crew consisting of snails and hermit crabs, wait a few weeks then get your first small fish. Keep in mind you wont be able to keep alot of fish in the tank, maybe 2 or 3 small ones like gobies or firefish. Then you'll just need to go weekly water changes and make sure everything is stable.

If you have anymore questions... ask away

[rockgarden]

Adding to what Dark has said, expect lots of dust in the water when you add the substrate.  Tough to avoid because the aragonite is very crumbly (friable). Unlike FW gravel which is normally coated or a hard granite, pre-washing of the aragonite doesn't help all that much. Will clear fairly quickly (a day or two).  Edit: Various brands of aragonite  substrate are sold in Ottawa.  SOme are coarser, some are finer.  I don't thaink that that makes much difference in most applications.  The aragonite in the picture happens to be a mix of coarse and fine.

The attached photo is the start of my fourth reef tank which will house a few small fish but will be primarily be for soft corals and low end hard corals which don't require higher intensity halide lighting.

Just to give you an idea of where the lighting level would be for a medium lighting set-up for a reef, once it is fully up and established, I expect that I will be running four or six  4ft T5HO's on this 50 gallon reef (220-300+ watts).

Fish only tanks require less light, reefs supporting sps corals require more light. In lower light tanks some corals will still survive reasonably well (mushroom corals, for instance) but won't grow and multiply as quickly.

Ron

[plecoguy]

WOW.........Can't believe no one mentioned a skimmer.....You cannot have a marine tank without a protein skimmer!!!!!!!!

[DARKPHREAK]

Wrong. You can replace the skimmer with waterchanges and low bioload.

[rockgarden]

WOW.........Can't believe no one mentioned a skimmer.....You cannot have a marine tank without a protein skimmer!!!!!!!!

I do have marine tanks.  I don't own a protein skimmer.  Do I need to call on witnesses to come forward ?

See my avatar.  That is just one of the more than 40 corals that survive quite nicely in my 40 gal . A few other photos attached.

Not trying to start a war here but ... apparently my approach is different than yours.  

The original poster wondered what it would take to set up a marine tank.  IMO a skimmer might be nice and in many circumstances necessary but not a mandatory piece of equipment in all situations.

With what I want in my marine tanks, I am so far living without a skimmer and so are my corals. (I also break other marine tank RULES but I'll save that discussion for another time.)


Ron

[plecoguy]

All I meant was that someone with no experience keeping marines should have a skimmer. I've been keeping marines for a loooong time and find a skimmer an invaluable piece of equipment. No, you don't NEED one.....but with the expense of a reef tank, why not??