Looking to get into saltwater

[jgoad92]

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!!

What filter media should I run in the hob filter?

 

[Eddie7144]

all great advice, you should follow. I been doing saltwater and reefs for almost 20 years, my best advice is keep ot simple ,read as much as you can and ask all the questions you can. since you are doing fish only get the best skimmer you can afford, they can get get expensive. i like reef octopus skimmers, great bang for your buck and get a good mechanical filter. also some good water testers, Hannah and salifert are good. test often and do youre water changes. just keep in mind a 55 gal is kinda small, I started with a 55 now i have a 150 gal tank lol. oh and almost forgot a qt tank will make you're life easier, good luck !!!

 

[GatorScott]

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!

Pics of said tank????

 

[Young@Heart]

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.

Just the way I started. To be more specific, I first converted my 20 G Freshwater to Saltwater. Specifically, I went to a Fish Only with Live Rock. Like you I did not have room for a sump so I used what I already had. Aqueon 45 HOB filter (I think) (Changed the filter media). I think what helped was I went slowly and I went Fish only (I had about 15 lbs of Live Rock and 20 lbs of Live Sand) I took a month to cycle my tank. I mention all this to let you know it can be done. About 5 Months ago, I setup a 55 Gallon tank - much the same as I did by previous 20 Gallon. But I went with some different Livestock and now I am seeing that I have need of a Protein Skimmer because of the Bio-Load. I just got a great deal on a used 181 Gallon Tank so I am working on that build, but this one will have a sump with a Protein Skimmer. All that being said I would say and recommend the following to be successful in this hobby:

Things you need:

- Patience
- Read and Research
- Ask Questions (You have a Great Start and a good resource here at Reef 2 Reef)
- Start Small
- Have more Patience
- Have a plan
- Believe and Know It Can be done - you just need Patience
- Gather your Equipment (Research and Plan First) Know you don't need everything at once

You indicated you don't have room for a sump - Suggest you may want to use your HOB (Hang on Back Filter)
- Get some Live Rock for you tank (at least 30-40 lbs)
- Consider a live substrate (live sand)
- I would consider a very light bio-load until you figure out if you like saltwater and are willing to commit to it - Perhaps then get a protein skimmer (There are HOB's)
Get a new base and putting together a sump (which requires retrofitting your tank) is a commitment of additional $$$

My 55 Gallon Setup:
- 2 Aqueon 75 HOB Filters
- 38 lbs of Live Rock
- 50 lbs of Live Sand
- 4 Fish (2 Clown Fish, 1 Angle Fish, 1 Cardinal)
- 3 Emerald Crabs
- 7 Corals
- Lost a Fire Shrimp and 1 Sandsifting Goby

If you don't have a Protein Skimmer (like me) you do a lot of water changes and you need to watch what you (How much) feed.

There are some more things that you will need, but you can get these while you tank is cycling:

- Saltwater Test Kit (You need to test for the Basics (PH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates - Other tests will come later - depending what you end up doing in the hobby (Fish Only, Fish with Live Rock, Mixed Reef/Reef)
- Refractometer ( I started with a Hydrometer, but Refractometers are better and more accurate)- Your LFS can do these tests for you, but you will want to get you own test kit soon after the cycle of you tank.) There is more, but I have already mentioned a good amount to think about.

Remember you have a great resource here at R2R. We are ready and willing to help.

Welcome to the Hobby!

 

[jgoad92]

Just the way I started. To be more specific, I first converted my 20 G Freshwater to Saltwater. Specifically, I went to a Fish Only with Live Rock. Like you I did not have room for a sump so I used what I already had. Aqueon 45 HOB filter (I think) (Changed the filter media). I think what helped was I went slowly and I went Fish only (I had about 15 lbs of Live Rock and 20 lbs of Live Sand) I took a month to cycle my tank. I mention all this to let you know it can be done. About 5 Months ago, I setup a 55 Gallon tank - much the same as I did by previous 20 Gallon. But I went with some different Livestock and now I am seeing that I have need of a Protein Skimmer because of the Bio-Load. I just got a great deal on a used 181 Gallon Tank so I am working on that build, but this one will have a sump with a Protein Skimmer. All that being said I would say and recommend the following to be successful in this hobby:

Things you need:

- Patience
- Read and Research
- Ask Questions (You have a Great Start and a good resource here at Reef 2 Reef)
- Start Small
- Have more Patience
- Have a plan
- Believe and Know It Can be done - you just need Patience
- Gather your Equipment (Research and Plan First) Know you don't need everything at once

You indicated you don't have room for a sump - Suggest you may want to use your HOB (Hang on Back Filter)
- Get some Live Rock for you tank (at least 30-40 lbs)
- Consider a live substrate (live sand)
- I would consider a very light bio-load until you figure out if you like saltwater and are willing to commit to it - Perhaps then get a protein skimmer (There are HOB's)
Get a new base and putting together a sump (which requires retrofitting your tank) is a commitment of additional $$$

My 55 Gallon Setup:
- 2 Aqueon 75 HOB Filters
- 38 lbs of Live Rock
- 50 lbs of Live Sand
- 4 Fish (2 Clown Fish, 1 Angle Fish, 1 Cardinal)
- 3 Emerald Crabs
- 7 Corals
- Lost a Fire Shrimp and 1 Sandsifting Goby

If you don't have a Protein Skimmer (like me) you do a lot of water changes and you need to watch what you (How much) feed.

There are some more things that you will need, but you can get these while you tank is cycling:

- Saltwater Test Kit (You need to test for the Basics (PH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates - Other tests will come later - depending what you end up doing in the hobby (Fish Only, Fish with Live Rock, Mixed Reef/Reef)
- Refractometer ( I started with a Hydrometer, but Refractometers are better and more accurate)- Your LFS can do these tests for you, but you will want to get you own test kit soon after the cycle of you tank.) There is more, but I have already mentioned a good amount to think about.

Remember you have a great resource here at R2R. We are ready and willing to help.

Welcome to the Hobby!

What did you change the filter media to? Someone else mentioned changing the filter media I'm using

 

[Donavon]

- Read A lot
- have a vision/plan
- make a list
- create a budget
- collect your stuff (Craigslist and local clubs are great for resources)


You can make it hard or you can make it easy - as previously stated, don't get in a hurry things go bad faster in salt than fresh (My opinion)

Make that list of things you need

Don't start untill you have everything on the list

Let the tank cycle for several weeks, and stock the tank slowly the bacteria colonies need time to adjust to increased bio-load each time you make a change/add fish, coral, rock, or whatever change you make
Even decreasing the bio-load will cause the chemistry to change

Good luck make it fun - I still do freshwater, but enjoy my reef tanks much more.

 

[Young@Heart]

Just get new filters for what you have (Refills). Remember they will be working and pulling out more bio-matter from the water. So the schedule for changing them may change. Remember the Live Rock is very important! The HOB Filter will be probably be providing the bulk of the circulation. (There is special little motors/pumps called wave makers that can help with this, but those cam come later. Back to the filtration, you also may want to consider sticking in a some extra filter media if you can fit it in. Another thing if possible and you are sticking with the HOB filter for now - consider getting one rater for a larger capacity that your tank. I use 2 Aqueon 75's for my 55 Gallon. Another thing about the filter media, keep an eye on the Cartridges or do lots of water testing. During the time my tank was cycling (From the last week on till recently, I was doing a water testing daily, Remember start with a light bio load (only a few fish) I started with 2 Ocellaris (Sp) Clown Fish about 3 weeks into the cycle. If you have questions about cycling the tank - just ask on the forum.

I still have my freshwater tank (55 Gallon too), but I find the saltwater tank more fun (My opinion). Take it slow. Remember Patience and Plan. And Have Fun with it!.

- Use RO Water and Marine Salt. I mix my own. You can by pre mix, but part of the "fun" is keeping "hands on the water chemistry" (at least for me). Have fun and welcome to the community.

 

[jgoad92]

Just get new filters for what you have (Refills). Remember they will be working and pulling out more bio-matter from the water. So the schedule for changing them may change. Remember the Live Rock is very important! The HOB Filter will be probably be providing the bulk of the circulation. (There is special little motors/pumps called wave makers that can help with this, but those cam come later. Back to the filtration, you also may want to consider sticking in a some extra filter media if you can fit it in. Another thing if possible and you are sticking with the HOB filter for now - consider getting one rater for a larger capacity that your tank. I use 2 Aqueon 75's for my 55 Gallon. Another thing about the filter media, keep an eye on the Cartridges or do lots of water testing. During the time my tank was cycling (From the last week on till recently, I was doing a water testing daily, Remember start with a light bio load (only a few fish) I started with 2 Ocellaris (Sp) Clown Fish about 3 weeks into the cycle. If you have questions about cycling the tank - just ask on the forum.

I still have my freshwater tank (55 Gallon too), but I find the saltwater tank more fun (My opinion). Take it slow. Remember Patience and Plan. And Have Fun with it!.

- Use RO Water and Marine Salt. I mix my own. You can by pre mix, but part of the "fun" is keeping "hands on the water chemistry" (at least for me). Have fun and welcome to the community.

So will the quilt batting that I currently use in my hob be sufficient enough or should I actually buy the replacement cartridges for that filter

 

[Young@Heart]

I would get the Replacement Cartridges (the have Carbon in them) You could also "stuff "the quilt batting in with the cartridges (on the back side) to add an additional layer of filtration. Also what size is the filter (a 50, 75)...?

Remember go SLOW and Plan ...think about what you want - that will determine the best (and hopefully the least expensive) route.

Just as an example of going slow, I got my 180 g tank 2 Weeks ago, I am still cleaning it and starting to plan a new sump (and plumbing) for it. Also thinking about aquascaping. But my new tank will not get wet for another month or so. and At least a month or more for cycling on it. So my 55 will still be running and I will be running pretty much the same setup as we have been discussing.

 

[jgoad92]

I would get the Replacement Cartridges (the have Carbon in them) You could also "stuff "the quilt batting in with the cartridges (on the back side) to add an additional layer of filtration. Also what size is the filter (a 50, 75)...?

Remember go SLOW and Plan ...think about what you want - that will determine the best (and hopefully the least expensive) route.

Just as an example of going slow, I got my 180 g tank 2 Weeks ago, I am still cleaning it and starting to plan a new sump (and plumbing) for it. Also thinking about aquascaping. But my new tank will not get wet for another month or so. and At least a month or more for cycling on it. So my 55 will still be running and I will be running pretty much the same setup as we have been discussing.

The filter is an aqueon quiet flow 75.
How often should I change the filter cartridges?

 

[Young@Heart]

I would venture to say 2 weeks. Does yours have two filter cartridges in it (off set from one another). If so, I recommend Changing one filter at a time and cycling the change outs: Example after 2 weeks change 1 and after the next 2 weeks change the other - cycle. You might want to think about the water flow in your tank. Is the filter the only thing in your tank moving the water?

If you have only 1 filter pad - add your quilt batting and change it every 2 weeks and change the filter pad every three weeks to a month. If you want to stay HOBm you might consider adding a second filter - this does several things:

- Another Filter working to clean the water
- Another point of flow within the tank
- Since each filter is doing half as much as 1 used to - you should be ok pushing the filter pad changes out by a week or so.
- The second filter also gives by it nature more room in feeding your live stock. By ,ore room I mean more latitude in how much you feed but still with no protein skimmer got to watch it (my self included in that as well (I don't have a protein skimmer - I am trying to wait till I can get my 180 on-line. Meanwhile I need to watch what I feed how often and keep up the water changes.