Looking to get into saltwater

[jgoad92]

I have a few questions. I am looking at possibly converting my 55 gallon aquarium that is currently freshwater to saltwater. I will probably only do fish and live rock at least to start with.

What will I need to do to the tank to get it ready for saltwater?

What should I do about filtration? I don't really have room for a sump.

What other equipment will I have to get?

And any other information and advice I need to know would be appreciated.

 

[Lawlboom]

Just a caution most people become frustrated with a 55g because it's only 12 inches wide which is not much room to fit rocks.

You shouldn't have to do anything to the tank for saltwater not sure what you're asking.

FOWLR setups are possible with canister filters and power filters.

Technically you don't need anything different for a FOWLR compared to freshwater.

Without a sump and without a protein skimmer your biggest means of nutrient export (removing nitrates) will be water changes. The 'idea' behind protein skimmers is they reduce the nutrients in the water by expelling organics from the water column before they can be converter to nitrates. Which will mean you will spend less on salt and less on mixing water.

Speaking of water. How do you plan on getting saltwater? Lugging buckets back and forth from the LFS gets old.. FAST. You 'should' have an Reverse Osmosis deIonized unit for your source water for home mixing. My LFS sells FOWLR water for 45 cents a gallon. So you're looking at $24 right away and then 11 gallons a week for water changes. $5 a week or $20 a month on water and carrying two five-gallon buckets of water every week. Also if you need to do an emergency water change and the LFS is closed....

Still interested?

 

[Big G]

Do yourself a favor. When I did the same thing you are thinking of doing, I read "The Complete Idiots Guide to Saltwater Aquariums." Reading this book gave me the basic information, terminology, methods, etc. I needed to decide if going "salty" was what I wanted to do. Highly recommend the book.

 

[Lawlboom]

Do yourself a favor. When I did the same thing you are thinking of doing, I read "The Complete Idiots Guide to Saltwater Aquariums." Reading this book gave me the basic information, terminology, methods, etc. I needed to decide if going "salty" was what I wanted to do. Highly recommend the book.

I thought I was the only one who read books anymore. Haha I've read that too, very helpful.

 

[cmcoker]

Ran my old 55g setup with an aquaclear hob filter, hob protein skimmer, diy leds, some powerheads, and an ATO. Ato had kalk in it to maintain alkalinity and calcium, the black ottoman there held a 5g bucket of this solution. This tank was a pretty successful, mixed reef imho. Pic is from shortly after setting it up. Rockwork can be a challenge in a narrow tank, but it can be done.

 

[GoPitt88]

I did the exact same thing to my 55 gallon tank exactly 2 years ago. I love it! I always wanted a saltwater aquarium, so I talked to a couple friends at work who have saltwater for advice and made the leap. I have a lot of advice because I made some mistakes along the way :

First....be patient and go slow. Nothing good happens fast in a saltwater aquarium. After you setup the tank with live sand and rock, you need to let it cycle for a couple weeks (or longer) before adding fish. And once you start adding fish, only do so one or two at a time, waiting a few weeks or more before adding more. If you add fish too quickly, bad things can happen like ammonia or nitrite spikes, stressed fish, or worse, sick or dead fish. BE PATIENT!

I still use my Fluval 70 hob filter and Fluval 305 canister, but added an AquaMaxx Hob-1 protein skimmer and two VorTech MP10 powerheads (because I also have corals). I just have sponges in my HOB filter, and use my canister as my chemical filter (carbon and GFO, and some sponges). I clean my filters weekly when I do my 10 % weekly water change.

Do yourself a favor and definitely buy a RO/DI water filter. I bought a 6 stage 150GPD plus from Bulk Reef Supply. An excellent site for supplies. That unit can make 5 gallons of pure water in about 35 minutes.

I used about 60 pounds of live sand (I think, can't remember exactly, but I have a few, 3 to 4 inches of sand depth) and 70 pounds of live rock. When setting up the tank, place in the live rock first so it sits on the glass, THEN put in the sand. You want the rock to be secure. You don't want to have sand under the rock, just in case your fish like to dig. Create some caves and overhangs to help make the fish feel comfortable.

It's a hobby to be respected. When you see a beautiful tank setup, remember, that person put a lot of time and effort into making it look that way. I love looking at pictures and getting new ideas.

This site is one of my favorites as well. A ton of great info!

Have fun! It's a great hobby!

 

[Adam113]

^^^ All great advice. I've been in it for 10 months now, and one thing I can say is if you ever have a question, come ask here first. I can credit these guys and girls to my tank's success.

 

[GoPitt88]

I keep thinking of things to add

With a 55 gallon tank, please note that you are limited to the type, size, and quantity of fish you can have. I'll be honest....I was a little disappointed that I couldn't have the fish I was hoping for, such as large Tangs or large Butterfly fish, but there still are some really cool fish you can get. A site such as Live Aquaria is a good resource which advises on the minimum aquarium size for every type of fish. And depending on the fish you get, you probably don't want to have more than 7 or 8 in your 55 gallon. That would probably be considered over stocked by most people.

The longer you're into this hobby, the more you'll learn and the more you'll get into, such as having an open top (screen top to keep the jumpers in the tank). An open top improves your gas exchange (oxygen in the water and C02 and nitrogen out of the water. That will lead to getting an auto top-off system (ATO) to replenish "fresh water" due to evaporation.

 

[dbl]

Good advice provided thus far. Here is a good thread to read through for more information.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[greenhorn reefer]

Fish and live rock will save you some money in lighting and coral, so that's one plus for starters. I would recommend more than anything to invest in a small qt setup. Tank, filter, air, and a few chemicals should only run you about $40 but save you the grief of having to catch sick fish or worse a fatal outbreak of velvet. Good luck.

 

[Scott.h]

I started out with a 55 and a wet dry 20 years ago. Honestly you will end up upgrading everything if you are really interested. Your best bet is to go with at least a 75. The glass box isn't that expensive anyway. I know it can be done without a sump, but I'd strongly recommend putting the biggest sump under it you can fit. It will save you hassle as things mature. The less problems you have the more apt you'll be to enjoy it and continue on. You would be hugely limited with a 55 and no sump.

I started out with decent well water and fish only, started lugging buckets from the lfs because I didn't fully understand how easy it was to have an in home ro/di unit. I'd never go back to carrying buckets, even if it was free. Especially here in the Michigan winter.

 

[GoPitt88]

 

[GoPitt88]

While I may be somewhat "limited" by the number and size of fish I can keep, having a 55 gallon tank (yes, I think 75 would be perfect), has some pluses as well. Maintenance is rather easy since a 10% water change is just one 5 gallon bucket. With what I wrote above, I'm "limited" to:

2 snowflake clowns.
1 sixline Wrasse
1 diamond goby
1 coral beauty
2 blue green chromis
1 Midas Blenny

1 bubble tip anemone
1 torch coral
1 hammer coral
1 Devils hand coral
1 pink birdsnest sps coral
1 bubble coral
1 pocillopora sps coral
1 Toadstool coral
Green mushroom corals
Ricordea mushroom corals (a.k.a. Disc anemones)
1 photosynthetic gorgonian
1 blastomussa LPS coral

1 pom pom crab
1 emerald crab
1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
1 fire shrimp
20 or so hermit crabs
5 snails

Looking to add a couple more corals, and would like to get a Clam.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

 

[Scott.h]

Not necessarily true on the maintenance. I have a 90 display I don't do water changes on. If you put too much load a smaller tank you may end up doing bigger water changes then someone with a 150. It all depends on bio load and filtration. You would be more apt to issues in a smaller system if, like me when I started out, had to add one more thing every time I went in the lfs. So like the picture above, just a few small fish and some rock, no problem.

 

[GoPitt88]

While I may be somewhat "limited" by the number and size of fish I can keep, having a 55 gallon tank (yes, I think 75 would be perfect), has some pluses as well. Maintenance is rather easy since a 10% water change is just one 5 gallon bucket. With what I wrote above, I'm "limited" to:

2 snowflake clowns.
1 sixline Wrasse
1 diamond goby
1 coral beauty
2 blue green chromis
1 Midas Blenny

1 bubble tip anemone
1 torch coral
1 hammer coral
1 Devils hand coral
1 pink birdsnest sps coral
1 bubble coral
1 pocillopora sps coral
1 Toadstool coral
Green mushroom corals
Ricordea mushroom corals (a.k.a. Disc anemones)
1 photosynthetic gorgonian
1 blastomussa LPS coral

1 pom pom crab
1 emerald crab
1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
1 fire shrimp
20 or so hermit crabs
5 snails

Looking to add a couple more corals, and would like to get a Clam.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

Keep in-mind that I took about a year or so to add the above.....slowly over time

 

[GatorScott]

While I may be somewhat "limited" by the number and size of fish I can keep, having a 55 gallon tank (yes, I think 75 would be perfect), has some pluses as well. Maintenance is rather easy since a 10% water change is just one 5 gallon bucket. With what I wrote above, I'm "limited" to:

2 snowflake clowns.
1 sixline Wrasse
1 diamond goby
1 coral beauty
2 blue green chromis
1 Midas Blenny

1 bubble tip anemone
1 torch coral
1 hammer coral
1 Devils hand coral
1 pink birdsnest sps coral
1 bubble coral
1 pocillopora sps coral
1 Toadstool coral
Green mushroom corals
Ricordea mushroom corals (a.k.a. Disc anemones)
1 photosynthetic gorgonian
1 blastomussa LPS coral

1 pom pom crab
1 emerald crab
1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
1 fire shrimp
20 or so hermit crabs
5 snails

Looking to add a couple more corals, and would like to get a Clam.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

Your tank looks so good, I can't believe you only have 5 snails??

 

[Tautog]

How close is saltwater from your home?
I'm 20 mins away, and take water from the bay, collect critters, use two fresh water filters, basic FW lights, no heater, no skimmer. I've never tested the water, but LPS did when I sold him Grass Shrimp, salty 1.027. I have lots of fish, Seahorse, inverts. By far the easiest, cheapest SW tank ! I fill 4- 5 gallon jugs every 2 -3 weeks for a WC on a 60 gal. display. I change the filter pads every 3-4 months when I remember. Yep, I do all the things everyone will tell you not to do, but it works, thanks to a deep sandbed, one half, and gravel on the other side. Gravel bed gets cleaned 2X/ year. Crabs and snails keep everything clean. Go figure!!!
Every reefer that sees my local tank, can't believe it, but love it, it's the coolest thing they have ever seen. It's the simplicity that freaks them out!

 

[jgoad92]

Thanks for all the advice.
So other than live rock and sand I can get away with using my existing hob filter (it's a Aqueon quiet flow 75. All I use is quilt batting for the media and nothing else) and just get a hob protein skimmer. Could I get away with that?

 

[jgoad92]

And my existing freshwater lighting would work for a while since I'm not putting any coral in at first right?

 

[SDReefer]

For your existing setup, yes. (As long as you have a heater) You'll want to rethink what filter media you're using, though. Go slow when stocking. Good luck!!