Freshwater guy diving in to salt

[Eric_T]

Hi all

I've kept freshwater planted tanks for 20+ years, manually dosing ferts, co2 dosing all that fun stuff. Kind of bored of it and I've been keeping an eye out for people selling off salt tanks and gear for awhile, finally after 2 good purchases I have a nice 75 gallon with a 20gal sump ready and waiting for me to... figure out what to do next! And a ton of assorted gear, I'll start a build thread up for it shortly here. I am very glad I didn't just jump in yet though - I recently watched through all of the BRS 5 minute guide to reefing and pretty sure I dodged a bullet on a few things I was about to do, like re using live rock from a tank that was clearly getting nuked by algae and possible worse.

This seems like a great resource and I'm excited to learn some more, and get this tank filled up and looking good! Take care and happy reefing to everyone!

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[ReeferHD]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[Just John]

 

[BamaCoastPyrat]

Welcome! Those BRS videos were a lifesaver for me when I started back up last year. I was about to use all of my knowledge from the 90s and that was not going to go well. You can use that live rock you picked up, but make sure that you properly clean and quarantine it. There are all kinds of guides on how to do that. Just make sure you do not boil it. I have seen that suggested and that can aerosolize toxins. Good luck!

 

[SPS2020]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[Eric_T]

Welcome! Those BRS videos were a lifesaver for me when I started back up last year. I was about to use all of my knowledge from the 90s and that was not going to go well. You can use that live rock you picked up, but make sure that you properly clean and quarantine it. There are all kinds of guides on how to do that. Just make sure you do not boil it. I have seen that suggested and that can aerosolize toxins. Good luck!

Thanks! I'm definitely not going to use that live rock, it's been in a HD bucket for awhile now. Pretty sure it's no good at this point. The big question now is, how much live rock to order vs cutting it with some dry rock as well, as I have 3 barrels of it. I could do 50/50 on live/dry rock, as well as sand. But I'm not sure if I should trust the sand.

I just started up an excessively wordy build thread that goes into more detail. Appreciate the warm welcome everyone!

Also I should mention my cousins wife has an absolutely GORGEOUS tank and got me inspired to take the... plunge. More water puns. I won't stop! I'll see if she minds if I post one of her pictures, I am simply in awe of her work.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

 

[Lavey29]

Hi all

I've kept freshwater planted tanks for 20+ years, manually dosing ferts, co2 dosing all that fun stuff. Kind of bored of it and I've been keeping an eye out for people selling off salt tanks and gear for awhile, finally after 2 good purchases I have a nice 75 gallon with a 20gal sump ready and waiting for me to... figure out what to do next! And a ton of assorted gear, I'll start a build thread up for it shortly here. I am very glad I didn't just jump in yet though - I recently watched through all of the BRS 5 minute guide to reefing and pretty sure I dodged a bullet on a few things I was about to do, like re using live rock from a tank that was clearly getting nuked by algae and possible worse.

This seems like a great resource and I'm excited to learn some more, and get this tank filled up and looking good! Take care and happy reefing to everyone!

I took the same path and came over to the salty side 2 years ago. You will love it and this is a terrific source of information here.

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[MiamiAG]

Welcome. I'm a freshwater guy pretending to be a saltwater guy.

Some things translate over, others absolutely do not. Save your freshwater ferts, you may need them. Good luck. I had to unlearn some things to make saltwater work.

 

[Zach B]

Welcome

 

[Eric_T]

Welcome. I'm a freshwater guy pretending to be a saltwater guy.

Some things translate over, others absolutely do not. Save your freshwater ferts, you may need them. Good luck. I had to unlearn some things to make saltwater work.

Yeah I am fully expecting to start over, keeping an open mind on that for sure.

My fresh ferts are in powder form, I'll list them in my build thread once that is approved an visible to you guys.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[jsker]

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!

 

[Cincyreefer513]

Welcome to R2R!
Don't do it man. It's just not worth it. With the $ you're about to burn on that 75 gallon setup you could get a 400 gallon fresh system, take your wife out for a fancy dinner, and have some leftover for a week in Aruba lol J/k
Seriously though, the reef side is incredible and this forum ain't too shabby either. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Pale Morning1]

Welcome. I also jumped about 2 years ago. Still maintain a planted fresh water tank. Best advice is slow your roll. Everything in salt takes longer. It was probably 1.5 years into my tank that I started to feel comfortable with parameters, coral growth and fish health. Add to it the dosing of different additives and the whole thing is a bit challenging but well worth the journey. Good luck.

 

[LeannaBanana]

Welcome to R2R! Can't wait to follow along!

 

[Buckster]

Welcome to R2R!