trying to convert a fw tank into a sw tank!!!

HI EVERYONE IM NEW TO THIS FORUM AND WOULD LIKE TO TRY A SMALL SW TANK SETUP BUT DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SW TANKS. I HAVE A 20 TALL GALLON TANK AND JUST WANT TO START OUT SMALL TO GET THE HANG OF THINGS AND THEN UPGRADE.[b]HELP!!!!!!!!!

kool!!!
ok to start a SW tank yourll need a cpl things! as u may already know!
SW is more expensive than FW tanks and their upkeep is a lil more complicated but once you get the hang of it its just like maintenance on a FW tank!
to have a good salt tank youll need :
1: good water movement and flow!
2:lighting! if you plan on goin reef you will need a real good light for coral growth(keep in mind that you get what you pay for! if you cheap out on a light system then your corals wont put out as much color as you want them to or they will die! some corals demand a really hight intensity light like Metal Halides and those can get pricey!) but if you plan on goin FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) your good with any Flouresant lightng
3: filteration! try and read up as much as you can b4 starting a SW tank for their are many different ways to filter you aquarium!
you can go with regular HOB (hang on the back) filters to run and clean your water
another way is to use biological filtration, this is done by adding live rock and live sand to your tank all the good bacteria filter your tank for you. now if you go in that direction youll need about 1-1.5lbs of rock and sand per gallon
you can slo use a sump or wet dry filter that goes under your tank! that way you can hide everything (heaters, filter media, etc) in the sump and not have it show in the diplay ttank
another way you can filter your tank is by using a refugium!
also depending on your bio laod (amount of fish in your tank) you will need a protien skimmer
a skimmer sucks out all the absorbed fish waist in the water that regular filters cant get.their is a HUGE argument over these beeing neccessary in a SW tank but that always depends on what and how you wanna run your tank! with a 20 gallon youll only be able to house 3-4 fish. now with that you can just do about a 29% water change a week to keep your water levels (parameters) in check
but!! having a skimmer is also very beneficial! it produces more oxygen in the water and helps keep it cleaner resulting in less water changes!! lol
another ways is by having a CUC (Clean Up Crew)
this involves snails, crabs, shrimp, cucumbers. your CUC will also have an effect on your bio load!

ask as many questions as u want as you go fourth on your SW journey!
Good luck and post some pics!!!!!!!

shot you a PM

wow alk ur really into saltwater i hav a question too, i hav my 55 with all the freshwater stuff, how hard would it be to transform it into a saltwater tank? if i do live rock and sand. and with my lighting could i change the bulbs into something for coral life? i want to do saltwater soo bad but i dont know wat and how much it would cost me to change it, and how many fish can i put in there and wat?

lol pillie!!!!!
just read what i posted above!
you can convert your tank! just make sure you clean up real good.
for a 55g i think you would be ok using 2 emperor 400s on each side just put some LR (live rock) rubble inside em.
as for lights like i said in my 1st post! you get what you pay for! lol dont expect your tank to thrive if you cheap out on lights
what kind of lights are you running over your tank?! you might be able to get away woth some PC lights Coralife brands lights are always fair priced!
also im sure that if you look on CL youll find somthin at a good price. just keep searching. my 20L mini reef is made up of welfare items!! lol all of which i found on CL dirt cheap or from a freind at a good price!! some things were even free like my LR and sand! im always on CL!
also if and when you go SW your LR (besides your light) is goin to be a lil pricey!
another reasone to check out CL ppl are always trying to get rid of it!
for a 55G youll be able to house a good amount of fish! more than a 20G anyway. read my 1st post bout the skimmer!
its not hard once you get goin! i think tha hardest part was trying to get started! especially if your on a budget like me:)
its taking me about bout a year to get this dang tank started iv been telling nitty bout this since last year!! lol

well i hav a 566 budget for each month so im not to dire in budgeting and thats not including my paycheck form work. it doesnt matter anyways at least i got the info to do it wen i can get another tank!!! my bf is wanting his oscar, he wont budge lol. so ill hav to wait til we get a bigger place, it will be a yr from now but by then we'll hav a 3 bedroom house and a good size backyard and all bc of my bf's aunt and uncle want to move out of country and they said we could rent it round 500 a month!!so more tanks!!!! lol maybe ill get another 100 to transform into a saltwater.

Pill, that will give you the time to get everything needed so when your ready you will not have to wait. It will also give.you time to research the fish you want to keep, and the filters you want to use. Craigslist is my friend when i am looking for used equipment.

ya def ill keep looking at fish that i want to buy for the size of tank that i will be getting. thanks so much yawl, ill def look into it more wen the time comes, i may even just buy a tank with everything lol.

if you look on CL you can find whole setups for sale !!!
theirs always ppl selling 55G tanks fullyt established and with everything you need for like 150$
if you look you can find one now!!! but read up 1st!!! lol
i read and read for about a year b4 i even started mine! im still reading up on stuff!

I don't need to read up I just ask my friend.

hahaha i wont be able to get a tank now anyways. my 100 was my last. im not allowed to get another tank but wen we do move into my bfs aunt and uncle house wen they move out of country i will be prodding for more tanks lol. if they dont move close ta a yr then wer going to be renting a house then. all in all ill be waiting quietly until the chance comes up lol

I also did a lot of reading up b4 I started in sw. I even talked to some people that did sw. Some of those told me to start by breeding fresh water fish. That way you get used to the work required by a sw tank.

does my swordtail breedin count lmao well im trying to breed my bettas, at this point i got my multis trying right now. i will try to do discus wen i get them and wen they grow up. i will be asking u guys oodles of question wen the time comes tho. and ill read up on it as well.

Hmm fresh water really??
wat did you start off with?

me freshwater my 55 is still full with my community fish, once i get my 100 ready for them they will go in there.

alkomist wrote:

Hmm fresh water really??
wat did you start off with?

Guppies then cichlids.

LOL thats funny!
how do you compare guppies with SW ?

Water parameters. Had to keep the water right for breeding. Constantly checking and making adjustments, just like sw.

wow thats kool had some guppies but i lost them wen i first started my tank

hm!! pretty good way of practice!

yep def is a good way to pratice!!! maybe ill try and do that lol

its not hard just certain items that other peps have posted would work jsut wont be able to put many fish