New to salt water.

[perrytheplatypus]

Hey guys possibly a stupid question but if i have a cycled freshwater tank could I move the fish elsewhere and just add salt to start it as a saltwater tank? I know the freshwater bacteria and saltwater bacteria is a bit different, but I've read that the freshwater bacteria could help cycle cycle the saltwater

 

[James M]

Welcome to reef2reef
No. You going to need to drain it. Add new sand and rocks and cycle the tank

 

[Mjrenz]

Hey guys possibly a stupid question but if i have a cycled freshwater tank could I move the fish elsewhere and just add salt to start it as a saltwater tank? I know the freshwater bacteria and saltwater bacteria is a bit different, but I've read that the freshwater bacteria could help cycle cycle the saltwater

Not a stupid question if you're new. The answer is no, you really need to use rodi water for your tank and start fresh, you'll end up with a slew of problems if you don't

 

[perrytheplatypus]

Not a stupid question if you're new. The answer is no, you really need to use rodi water for your tank and start fresh, you'll end up with a slew of problems if you don't

What problems can come from not using rodi water cause it's gonna be a 200 gallon tank and I don't think buying that much rodi water would be cheap unless i buy one of the systems to filter it into rodi water

 

[Biocube32]

Are you doing reef or fish only?

 

[ScottR]

I agree with other posters. Clean everything and start new. Welcome to the saltwater world. Don’t be scared off. There are many terms thrown around that seem daunting. Lots of equipment. Lots of this and that that differ from freshwater. But in the end, it’s your care for your aquarium that matters.

 

[Idoc]

Welcome to R2R.

The setup of a 200g saltwater tank will be very expensive... the rodi water is going to be the cheap part! You might want to setup a spreadsheet with all the costs of the equipment, substrate, testing equipment, maintenance equipment, salt mixture, fish/corals, and their food that will be needed for that size of a tank to make sure you want to venture into saltwater tanks. But, your own rodi unit will be beneficial and cheaper in the long run.

 

[sfin52]

What problems can come from not using rodi water cause it's gonna be a 200 gallon tank and I don't think buying that much rodi water would be cheap unless i buy one of the systems to filter it into rodi water

So I started my sw tank with tap water and continued doing that for about a year. I ended up with hair algea over the whole tank.

I bought a ro unit started .using that things improved. I than added phospahte and nitrate removers to the tank and bottomed out and caused more issues.

If you want to set up a sw tank using tap water you can. Keep on that path and you will have issues if its a reef tank. If it a fish only tank I use just tap water for that.

Its best to drain and clean the tank. Refill it and go from there.

 

[Gonebad395]

Welcome to R2R as said don’t use water from a fresh water tank you’ll need to drain and use new water. Also chances are your substrate isn’t going to work unless you have crushed coral or sand and then I would recommend getting new cleaning it is a pita. Let us know your route doing it right to start will make the hobby a lot more enjoyable in the future.

 

[Captain Quint]

Welcome to R2R

 

[reef lover]

Welcome to r2r!

 

[perrytheplatypus]

Are you doing reef or fish only?

Fish only at first the. Imma add some corals and what not to make it a reef tank

 

[Mastiffsrule]

#WelcometoR2R

Glad you joined, already off to a good start with advice. The reason we don’t use tap waters is the amount of TDS(total dissolved solid) in it. Depending on the level of them you n your water they could contribute to other issues. There are tanks that run on tap water with no issue, but not many.

Also read and search thru threads on how to set up tanks. Here is one

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/15-steps-to-starting-a-saltwater-aquarium-the-lasse-method.597/


And as stated, no stupid questions, only opportunities to learn

 

[ccombs]

Welcome to Reef2Reef, no stupid questions here, we are all constantly learning.

RODI is going to be the cheap part, but you can get your own RODI system to save you money in the long run, it will be a really good investment.

As stated above, this hobby can get expensive quick, especially in regards to gear on a tank that size.

I would recommend starting with less equipment that is high quality, and leave room in your sump to grow. There are so many gadgets, leave those for later.

Right now focus on the following:

RODI System
Good Lighting (Cheaping Out Here Will Hurt Later)
Good Return Pumps
Good Powerheads
Good Heater
Good Test Kit

With these essentials and some live rock/sand, you will have the foundation for a great tank and you can add reactors, refugiums, skimmers, etc. later.

 

[ccombs]

#WelcometoR2R

Glad you joined, already off to a good start with advice. The reason we don’t use tap waters is the amount of TDS(total dissolved solid) in it. Depending on the level of them you n your water they could contribute to other issues. There are tanks that run on tap water with no issue, but not many.

Also read and search thru threads on how to set up tanks. Here is one

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/15-steps-to-starting-a-saltwater-aquarium-the-lasse-method.597/


And as stated, no stupid questions, only opportunities to learn

+1 Lasse Method

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! I will recommend to read this article from @Lasse. Will give you a guide on how to setup a saltwater fish tank.
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/15-steps-to-starting-a-saltwater-aquarium-the-lasse-method.597/

 

[Biocube32]

Fish only at first the. Imma add some corals and what not to make it a reef tank

Then you definitely need to drain and start over with rodi water. I don’t know how much i spend on water and salt, but i know that it’s one of the cheaper aspects of the hobby and one of the worst things to skimp on. Draining the tank and filling it once will be a figurative drop in the bucket of the cost of a saltwater tank. If you want to switch to salt, try and read about what type of equipment you would need and its cost to figure out if the juice is worth the squeeze.

 

[sfin52]

Welcome to Reef2Reef. @Fin another reef in your neck of the

woods

 

[Fin]

 

[Lasse]

Welcome to R2R

Sincerely Lasse