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creepyoldguy

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2010
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Just wanted to get some ideas on converting a FW to SW. My plan is to convert my 75g FW to SW. The tank just cycled. I was going to use this a growout for my 120 or my 125/150. After these fish are moved out, I wanted to convert it SW. I have some general ideas on where to start, but wanted to get some info from people with experience rather than trusting some random websites. Here's the basics of the tank-75g(48x18 footprint, forget the exact height)-Ammonia=0-Nitrates=0-Nitrates=20ppm or less-PH=8.0-Ac110 (actually its the older 500, with mech on bottom, 4 bags of ceramic rings and the ammonia stones up top)-Hydor 400w heater-Substrate is quartz filter sand with some river rocksI guess I'm just wondering where I would start, and what could I stock in this tank. I'm not real keen on sumps, but love canisters. What about my filtration?
 

Kevin8888

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 14, 2009
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canisters can work in SW... but they aren't the best option, they tend to build up organics resulting in nitrate/phosphates being way to high. Speaking of which for a salt tank your nitrates are to high, you want it 0 or very close. Almost all if not all biofiltration is done by the sand bed and partly by live rock. The only "mechanical" filtration you want in a SW tank is a protine skimmer, as again any others produce to much nitrates/posphates. Oh and substraits for FW tend not to be suitable for SW and of course the tank will have to cycle again, as FW bio doesn't work in SW. You will want the tank to turn the water over 10x an hour either using powerheads, or return pumps... lighting is dependant on stocking.
 

creepyoldguy

Fire Eel
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Jul 27, 2010
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thank you kevin, very useful. it just happens that my 75 is drilled, so making a sump wouldnt be too hard for me to do. what type of media would be in my sump? so basically your saying a protein skimmer and powerheads are basic necessities to filtration in a SW setup? what would be the best way to cycle a SW tank? just add live rock and sand and wait for the cycle to begin(this is what someone told me at a store by the way) as some of the bacteria from the live rock dies and breaks down?
 

Heathd

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 9, 2010
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http://www.melevsreef.com/

This guy has plenty of example and how to's on building a sump. He is very good at what he does, so the site has some very solid info.

Generally, in a saltwater sump, you want a large bio-filtration capability, and a fuge is normally nice as well, but the possibilities are endless.
 

creepyoldguy

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2010
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thanks for the link Heathd. what are some of the possibilities of stocking in a 75g? shuold i pick out my stocklist first and then build a sump according? or is that not as important?
 

TheCanuck

Piranha
MFK Member
Nov 9, 2009
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creepyoldguy;4375583; said:
thanks for the link Heathd. what are some of the possibilities of stocking in a 75g? shuold i pick out my stocklist first and then build a sump according? or is that not as important?
That could be an option. Honestly I am all for refugiums, problem is i like predators. My tank intakes 1.5-2lbs a day of food, so i needed a wet dry and ceramics for converting that waste. I also made room for a refugium. Getting all the best aspects of each unit of filtration. I would build a sump with a refugium and micron filter sock. Add skimmer in the pump section of the refugium, then fill canister with rubble rock or ceramics for bio. That would be killer filtration, and you could house anything in that tank.


Here is my wet/sump/refugium

and my loaded canisters

and the tank it runs

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Heathd

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 9, 2010
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Im waiting for the day that you convert that to a reef tank.
 
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