freshwater to salt?

First topic message reminder :

Should I turn my freshwater 55 gallon into a saltwater tank?

I like the fish I have but I can only really have one big tank, and lately I've been getting into saltwater and it just seems really cool to me and a small 10 gallon tank would be harder to maintain than the 55 and I know I'd want to expand on it later... I've pretty much done all I can do with cichlids in the past and I think I'm ready to step up...

anyone think I should make the switch?

its one of my sources. not the only!
and all my stuff works! iv tested everything i bought or have recieved! exept the skimmer i got in that box of chemicals and food! that thing is funky as hell and i dont really plan on using it! i plan on goin skimmer less anyways on my nano when i start it again
i didnt say all you need is 50$ bucks and youll be good!
i just said that out of all the stuff i have i only spent bout 50$ if the dude looks hard enough hell find what he needs at a good price!
i didnt say "oh get 50$ and buy everything you need and with the change buy a couple onyx clown fish, and throw a maxima clam in their aswell...you should have enough!"
sheesh

alkomist wrote:

not if your a craigslistaholic!!!!!!!!
dude i can easily set up 2-3 sw tanks right now!!!!(i cant set them up right now though becuase im living in a tiny @$$ 1bdr place and i have NO ROOM FOR ANYTHING! i cant wait till i get a bigger place) all the equipment i have i spent like 50$ TOPS!! and nothing i have is cheap china or walmart brand sh!t iether lol
i have everything from metal halides to compact flourecant to chemicals rocks sand tanks pumps filter heaters etc........you just have to look! so if it gets expensive its on you lol

sounds familiar

yep:)

now i'm thinking 10 gallon nano-reef dunno if I can part with my cichlids, I have some really nice ones...

lol i think it would be better starting off with somthin small!
that way you learn how to deal/manage your water parameters! they craze out in a smaller body of water! if when you learn how to controll em your golden!:)
youll be able to handle a 55g no sweat!

Hey Dc, back to your original question. We both started asking some salt water questions on here a few weeks ago. we both seemed to be in the same boat. Wanting to start a sw tank but not a huge one and not a ton of cash to dump into it. My goal was atleast a 30-40 gallon set up for 300 or less minus fish, cuc, ect. well i scored a second hand tank and stand, someone on here donated to me a couple powerheads, and i bought a new filter, heater and bag of live sand. All of that totalling just over 200. I know i still need to get rock, and a light. My wife is going to get me a light for xmas which im sure will be around 100 bucks(god bless her) but i think if you find a tank and are patient you wont have to get rid of your cichlids. i have a 90 gallon african tank that i wouldnt have taken down to try this. I think if you do the 10 gallon you run a higher chance of coming home to a dead tank one day. Why not look and try to find a good deal on a tank and keep what you have now.

And btw alk you are full of IT if you think you are going to start a sw tank for 50 bucks. And if its that tight for you where you can only spend that to start it i dont think you should be spending your money on that. save it for school lunches or something

wife won't let me get more than a 10 gallon... :(

gotta work with what I'm given...

what light are you using? i really like the look at the marineland LED fixtures, i want one for my cichlid tank, but also the reef one for my lil 10 gallon that I don't have yet but eventually will...

lookin at my crocodile skink tank which is a 10 gallon, it's actually a decent size for 2 fish a crab and a lil reef. won't be too bad!

Yea i know that feeling. My wife said no more tanks after the 90 and 110 but i kept going and looking at salt water fish and she actually suggested getting another tank just not as big as my others. Maybe if you take her and show her that a 30 isnt hat much bigger and explain to her how much safer it will be to have a little bit larger tank

Marineland leds are kinda price up side is you buy it you are good...I have seen tons of dual light t5-ho lights new for less than $100 you want the t5-hos not the t5-hes which are a little cheaper. Also care alot pet sells t5 bulbs for about $10 for actinics 10,000k and 50/50s. I use a hagen powerglo 4' dual t5 and that sucker is bright lights up my 150 no problem (but then again it is fresh water).

There are people on here who can help you but may hesitate to join in the argument. $50? No, I don't think so.

I do admit I didn't go the CL route. I didn't take a risk of a leaking tank or something poisoning my future fish so that my hobby would be ruined before I got started. I found a new fish store in my area that was advertising saltwater only. I thought that was pretty cool. We went in (anniversary weekend ;) ) and ended up leaving with so much info it was crazy. I spent that week searching over what he gave me and couldn't find a way to buy it cheaper anywhere unless I went used. So my whole 29 gallon setup with oak trim tank & oak stand, HOB filter, Koralia powerhead, 40# aragonite, and a low cost flourescent light cost me $325.....brand new! I have upgraded the light since then to one like this.... http://www.marinedepot.com/Coralife_Aqualight_Dual_T5_Lamp_High_Output_Fixture_24_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-Coralife-ES08600-FILTFIT54U-vi.html except mine doesn't have the legs. And at the same fish store I paid $45 for this light! He then gave me 20% off my first two purchases of live rock and my first clown fish for free.

Yeah I have about $700 in it now but that included almost 50# of live rock at (used to be $4.99/lb) now $6.99/lb. And all my livestock (ocellaris clown, black ocellaris, firefish, sand sifting star, coral banded shrimp, hermits & snails).

So yeah it is expensive somewhat but if you watch what you are doing you can do it. I know that I can't put SPS corals or clams and the like in my tank with that light but right now I honestly don't think that I am experienced enough for that. My next upgrade will be a skimmer probably.

I'm just trying to say .... there are more ways than one to build a tank. And I am of the thinking that the bigger the better. Sure having a small tank will allow you to see your fluctuations quicker but it may also be so quick that you are left with a dead tank and a blank look on your face. The bigger the tank the better. That way you can see the problems beginning and have a chance to fix them. Crashing tanks are probably a big cause of people leaving the hobby or it getting the rep for being extremely expensive.

In 14 months since I set mine up I have lost two corals (to my own dumbness of putting them too close to a watermelon 'shroom) and I lost two fish (a gramma and a lawnmower blenny). The blenny didn't eat algae and I think died from eating fish food. The gramma only lasted 3-4 days when I bought it. Just go slowly and take your time and ask questions (even privately if you don't want to hear cr@p about it). All my corals were under $10. I only buy small frags so that I can put them in my tank and watch them grow. Sure it would be wonderful to have thousands to just have a complete 10yr old reef in my living room but that is not my life. I like to do it myself and watch what happens.

Well said. I agree completly and all I have is a tank full of cloudy sandy water. So I see why everyone says be patient. Lol. I've gotta be patient just to see the back of my tank. I've found it's good to read but better to ask someone who has been in the game for a while.

Exactly, just be patient. It will suck looking at a half-completed tank, but its apart of the game. Patience and Research. Make sure you know EXACTLY what you are putting in your tank. Because everything from a cute little shrimp to a piece of coral can wipe out your inhabitants. --But all the headaches, patience, and research is worth it.

08can-am wrote:

And btw alk you are full of IT if you think you are going to start a sw tank for 50 bucks. And if its that tight for you where you can only spend that to start it i dont think you should be spending your money on that. save it for school lunches or something

^^^^^^
what a D BAG!!!!!!!
i did not say i was goin to start a SW tank for 50$ i said that i have spent bout 50$ on all the equipment i have!(not that i set one up for that amount of $$) i dont search for the stuff like a hound i just come across it and find good deals!
why is it so hard to believe that all the stuff i have iv only spent that much $$ on?
no one found it hard to beleive that i came up on a 100g fish tank with everything for 35 dallars!!!!
also im not goin to set up a tank in this tight place im living in.....who said i was? i said i was gona wait till i find a bigger place to do it!

Okay folks in this hobby there are all sorts of ideas and ways to set up tanks freshwater and salt water. New or used, cheap or expensive it's all personal preference. Let not get personal and be upset by others. Yes I have set up a 55 gal freshwater planted tank for under $8. but that is a rarity. Give advise to new comers if they find a deal so be it. As far as saltwater patience and a keen eye on water conditions, the smaller the tank the quicker it will have water conditions change and you will have a dead tank. 1" per gal does not apply to saltwater fish, Research everything first If you cannot afford or have the room to house certain fish IMO only I don't get that fish. I cannot afford over a 55 so my fish are limited t that size tank. As a fish keeper even if I want some fish really bad and can get it at an unbelievable price I do not get it if I do not have the right tank of it. I would only damage or kill it if I did and I have learned that over the years.

Please folks no name calling we are a peaceful and helpful forum.

^koo

LOL so no name calling can happen here. Shucks... We need a fight room on here so people can go name call there differences out. LOL jk. Alk if you got all that stuff for 50 dollars congrats.

^^^^ their should be one of dems forums here!
it would be fun! LOL
and thank you sir

First it's important to remember SW is nothing like FW. I'm about to break down my 55, sell it, and go with 75 rr. I'd initially thought of converting my 55 african tank to reef. The reason I'm favoring new glass purchase instead is specifically tied to wanting built in overflows so I can put all the equipment outside of the tank. This will also help in topping off, dosing, and water changes. I'm more than sure I could buy a used 48inch t5 fixture and hob overflow and build out an overcomplicated sump/fuge system consisting of 10gallon aquariums underneath the 55, but at the end of the day I want the overflows built into the system, and I want the wider footprint for more room to put stuff. I plan on using marco rocks for base, and seeding with the live rock I have on hand. Sand and rock can be found on reef forums for budget minded individuals. You obviously run the risk of hitch hikers and quick learning of what to use to get rid of X. The plan for the 75 involves using T5 setup, and the one I want is $529 (aquaticlife 6x54w t5ho). Good t5 bulbs are going to run 20 dollars each.


If you're wanting to go with the 55 ...

1.) Plan, research, plan, research, plan, research, plan, research, setup, wait, research, research, research, plan, then add. I had no fish at all in my reef for 3 months.
2.) You get what you pay for in lighting. If you want a "what I'd do" opinion over a 55 it's a 4 bulb t5 fixture and I LOVE the current sundial. The timers are integrated and reefing is about consistency.
3.) If rock has been sitting in someone's storage facility for 6 months... it's dead.
4.) Dead rock becomes live rock over time
5.) If you've ever used copper meds in your 55, get rid of it, buy a new tank.
6.) If you're looking for cheap, stick with FW.

Salt is cool but so much money can be tied up in it ...I went back to fresh just because of time SW can be very time consuming .Also if you decide on a reeek tank theres alot of FREE stuff as in the FREEBIES SECTION on here ..someone has some zenia and GPS which are cool ...start small and research !

redfishray1968 wrote:

Salt is cool but so much money can be tied up in it ...I went back to fresh just because of time SW can be very time consuming .Also if you decide on a reeek tank theres alot of FREE stuff as in the FREEBIES SECTION on here ..someone has some zenia and GPS which are cool ...start small and research !

Very true redfishray, but the color and beauty of the variations make the money well spent. SW fish dont need time like FW to reach their "pretty colors" either.

Well I agree but Ive had the best of both worlds and my reef tank was beatiful but if one thing small went wrong it could be a disaster !

Honestly,
it can happen to FW fish as well. I lost 300 bux worth of fish on a water change

heh I'm offering the Xenia and GSP... PLEASE take some!

Everythings always in tx. Lol