Looking to dive into saltwater converting existing 120 gallon

Searyouz · Jan 19, 2022

Hey guys, I have been keeping freshwater for a little over 10 years now, finally have a decent stable income and an empty 60x20x24 tank, I have wanted a saltwater tank since I began this hobby but the cost has always been my limiting factor.

A few questions,

I have the tank and stand but it is not drilled for an overflow, so that is probably first on my list, does anyone run a reef with a canister filter? Is it even possible? I have 2 300 gph power heads sitting around will this generate enough flow?

I will have around 2500$ to spend, and will want to buy a quality protein skimmer and light fixture as one of my first things... I think? Is there any other must have equipment to start with? I have heaters and what not as well

I will be going with live rock and sand, I understand the cycling process for freshwater at least and have a good maintenance routine is there anything substantially different with saltwater? Will existing media from a freshwater do any thing? I've read a little about very few water changes compared to freshwater mainly thanks to protein skimmers and just topping off

Of course I want corals and eventually will want some of all of it but what is easiest to start with? I've read polyps and sps when can these be added?

I know my water parameters thanks to my freshwater experience so my tap pH is around 7.2, GH about 3, and dkh 4 , I am on a well and will be mixing most of my own salt probably using instant ocean reef crystals? Aiming for that 1.024 salinity

My water is very much on the soft side, how will this affect things? I'm used to using fertilizers with my nano planted so I'm happy to learn the chemistry side of things

Clownfish seem to be recommended as a first fish thanks to hardiness? And being able to tolerate the cycle what is the general consensus on this?

What does a good cleanup crew look like for this size tank?

Eventually I hope to have a stocking list similar to this,
Lots of coral of mixed types
Flame angel
Yellow tangs a few
Clownfish x 2 hopefully a pair
And a pair of cardinals
Mixture of wrasses and gobies
Will a blue tang get too big for this size tank?

I know this is alot to unpack so many thanks to anyone who tackles this post

SPR1968 · Jan 19, 2022

You need to use RODI water to make your own saltwater as one of the basics and you might find these guides useful

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is nowhere near simple. This task is going to take patience, a...

www.reef2reef.com

And welcome!

MaxTremors · Jan 19, 2022

Welcome!
As mentioned, RODI is a good idea, some would say it’s mandatory. IME, well water can have a lot of TDS, so it’s even more important to have an RODI unit. You’ll need RODI for water changes and top-offs

For a mixed reef, for flow I usually recommend 40-70x tank volume per hour, so between all of your flow creating pumps/wavemakers you need a total of 4800gph to 8400gph, your 300gph pumps would probably be better used to mix saltwater for water changes.

People do run tanks on canister filters, it’s not ideal, but it’s doable. There are HOB overflows that would allow you to have a sump if you don’t want to drill the tank, but they have their own set of issues. HOB powerfilters are also an option. The majority of your biological filtration is your live rock, so the canister filter is just for mechanical filtration and filter media (carbon, GFO, etc). Having just a canister filter is pretty bare bones, but as I said, its doable.

I would recommend getting at least 10% real live rock (either from the ocean or a long established tank), 100% real live rock would be great, but at least seeding the dry rock with live rock will help your tank immensely.

You don’t want to cycle the tank with fish (it’s cruel and unethical). Get some real live rock or some bottled bacteria, and ghost feed/add ammonia and let the tank cycle before adding anything living. Once your tank is processing ammonia, you can add your first fish.

As far as water changes, even with a protein skimmer, you’ll likely be doing 10-20% weekly, and once it matures 10-20% bi-weekly. If you add a refugium or more robust nutrient export, along with dosing calcium, alkalinity, and trace elements, you can get to where you may not need to do water changes. Also, auto-water changes are something else you can look into. But with a bare bones tank, you’ll be doing weekly and later bi-weekly water changes.

Without a sump, you’ll need to do a HOB protein skimmer. I would also recommend doing a HOB refugium. As far as lighting, there are a lot of different options. For a budget option I would recommend 3 of the Noopsyche V3s, a mid range option would be 3 AI Hydra 32s (or 4-6 of the Prime 16s), either of these options would allow you to grow pretty much anything and offer high quality lighting, the Noopsyches are pretty basic in terms of functionality, the AIs are app controlled and have more features, but they’re both great options. There are higher end options, but they would be outside of your stated budget.

As far as your stocking list, it should be mostly doable. The flame angel is not reef safe, they will nip corals, personally I wouldn’t take the risk. Keeping multiple yellow tangs can be difficult as they can fight, but in a 5 foot tank it might be okay (also, yellow tangs are really expensive these days, captive bred is the only option, so risking more than one could be an expensive loss). A blue/regal/hippo tang would be okay for quite a while in your tank, it may eventually out grow it, but if you got a juvenile it’d be okay for a couple years at least. The rest of your list should be okay.

I think that answers all your questions, if you have any others, feel free to ask!

tharbin · Jan 19, 2022

Welcome to R2R!

Lots of good advice above.

I will add that while canisters will work they are probably the most problematic. They are harder to keep clean and they don't promote gas exchange which is extremely important in a saltwater tank. Remember that saltwater holds less oxygen than freshwater. Sumps or even HOB type filters provide some level of surface water movement that aids gas exchange, at least somewhat. I've never run anything that big with HOBs but I have run 40 breeders that way for years. I had a canister once but it was more trouble than it was worth in a saltwater environment in my opinion.

Well water can be very hit or miss. If you don't want to invest in an RODI unit (they are not really very hard to set up, use or expensive) then I would suggest you at least get an ICP test to check the levels of heavy metals, silicates and phosphates.

threebuoys · Jan 19, 2022

You've come to the right place for information.

Your experience with freshwater will be valuable to you, but you will also find a lot of new issues that will require different techniques than you've probably used.

Your tank size will give you a lot of flexibility not to mention the cost advantage.

While HOB skimmers are available, most tanks this large utilize a sump where the skimmer is placed. You mentioned drilling the tank. Of course the reason to do that is to accommodate a sump. You will be able to get a lot of ideas from the DIY forum. If you like DIY projects, you may also consider a DIY sump as a means to save money.

Lights, plumbing system, skimmer, sump filtration add up quickly. I suggest you spend some time scanning the Lighting and Reef Chemistry forums, particularly the stickies before you begin purchasing items. This hobby can be expensive and you certainly want to avoid making purchases that in the future you might regret because they are inconsistent with your target setup.

Spend some time researching on this forum and you will quickly realize how useful it will be as you move forward.

Good Luck!

Searyouz · Jan 19, 2022

Wow there is alot to unpack here, I should probably mention that I have about a month or two before I get started but my wife has given me the ok, so I'm starting on my research, I was leaning towards drilling and finding a cheap 40g to use as a sump and I'm 99.9% sure that's what I'm doing now,an icp test is definitely on the list to have done and will probably order one and send it out this week, pending results I'll get an RODI system, as I gain more knowledge and begin the actual journey I'll create a thread.

Many thanks for the advice and links to guides!