Finally going salt and I need Help

caribemob

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2008
2,413
46
81
philadelphia
Hey, I have about ten tanks in my fish room and finally I want to turn one of my 125gal tanks into a saltwater tank.
1.My first question is a 100 pounds of live rock ok or do I need exactly 125pounds of live rock?
2. I don't want to setup a sump , however I will by a protein skimmer( the best one) for my tank, I also have 3 unused aqua clear 110 and a xp4. Do I need those with the protein skimmer or what?and what media would I put in those HO filters? I'm really confused on FOWLR filtration without usage of a sump. Need help

3. I only want one or two fish. A trigger( undulated, or a Clown) and some type of grouper and that's it, so could this even work in this type setup

All help is appreciated thanks
 

xEchOx

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 2, 2006
2,142
2
68
ND
Usually, the more live rock, the better. This is because the live rock is going to function as your biological filtration. If you do things right, it is possible to achieve denitrification (break down of nitrates). 100 lbs is a good start though, and you can certainly add as you go.

If you are going to set up a FOWLR tank, extra biological filtration is unnecessary. Canisters and HOB filters can be used as mechanical filtration though. You are going to want some strong powerheads to create a good amount of current to eliminate any dead spots or stagnant flow in the tank. That might not sound tough, but if you stack 100lbs of live rock on top of each other, flow gets diverted, redirected and you'll need strong powerheads to get around that.

As for the stocking, I'm definitely not the person to ask. I have 2 clowns and 2 talbot damsels, lol.

Check out this thread on FOWLR, maybe help you understand a little better. :D
http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/fish/157-converting-from-freshwater-to-saltwater.html
 

Wiggles92

Dovii
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2009
6,103
42
105
31
Pennsylvania
Hey, I have about ten tanks in my fish room and finally I want to turn one of my 125gal tanks into a saltwater tank.
1.My first question is a 100 pounds of live rock ok or do I need exactly 125pounds of live rock?
2. I don't want to setup a sump , however I will by a protein skimmer( the best one) for my tank, I also have 3 unused aqua clear 110 and a xp4. Do I need those with the protein skimmer or what?and what media would I put in those HO filters? I'm really confused on FOWLR filtration without usage of a sump. Need help

3. I only want one or two fish. A trigger( undulated, or a Clown) and some type of grouper and that's it, so could this even work in this type setup

All help is appreciated thanks
  1. Yes, 100 lbs. of live rock will be fine provided that it's highly porous; if it's on the denser side then you might even need more than 125 lbs. of live rock. The porosity of the rock determines how much surface area there is for the beneficial bacteria to live on, so that's why you can get away with less rock if its highly porous. The "one pound of rock per gallon" rule is merely a suggestion, and some systems will need more while others will be able to get by with less.
  2. I wouldn't use the XP4 unless you're extremely vigilant about your maintenance; canister filters turn into nitrate factories in saltwater if one doesn't frequently clean them. Consider using two of the AC110s for mechanical filtration (and chemical, if desired) and the third one for a refugium in order to help with the nitrates and phosphates; you can also put SeaChem Purigen in the filters in place of carbon because its "rechargeable" and works very well for combating nitrates and phosphates.
  3. I think that you can easily pull of that combination provided that you go with a smaller species of grouper. The main thing will be ensuring that the vast majority of the food scraps get cleaned up in order to keep the bio-load down since those two fishes can be messy eaters.

How often would you water change a salt water tank? I am thinking about converting my 300 to salt.
You would determine your water change frequency through testing. Some people can get away with less frequent water changes while others must do more frequent water changes. It really comes down to your livestock, filtration (including live rock and protein skimmer), and how much you feed (and if you overfeed).
 

Purevil21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 30, 2011
163
1
0
Lakeland, FL
  1. Yes, 100 lbs. of live rock will be fine provided that it's highly porous; if it's on the denser side then you might even need more than 125 lbs. of live rock. The porosity of the rock determines how much surface area there is for the beneficial bacteria to live on, so that's why you can get away with less rock if its highly porous. The "one pound of rock per gallon" rule is merely a suggestion, and some systems will need more while others will be able to get by with less.
  2. I wouldn't use the XP4 unless you're extremely vigilant about your maintenance; canister filters turn into nitrate factories in saltwater if one doesn't frequently clean them. Consider using two of the AC110s for mechanical filtration (and chemical, if desired) and the third one for a refugium in order to help with the nitrates and phosphates; you can also put SeaChem Purigen in the filters in place of carbon because its "rechargeable" and works very well for combating nitrates and phosphates.
  3. I think that you can easily pull of that combination provided that you go with a smaller species of grouper. The main thing will be ensuring that the vast majority of the food scraps get cleaned up in order to keep the bio-load down since those two fishes can be messy eaters.



You would determine your water change frequency through testing. Some people can get away with less frequent water changes while others must do more frequent water changes. It really comes down to your livestock, filtration (including live rock and protein skimmer), and how much you feed (and if you overfeed).
Pretty dead nuts on. I would add that in my experience though 1lb/gallon has been a barebones minimum. You can get away with less, but I would try to get a little closer to 1.5-2/gallon. Especially if the plan is to keep fish with a high bio-load such as groupers and triggers. As for the water changes, there is absolutely no way to know until you've had the tank running. You should also remember that it is going to change with the tank, you may eventually reach a point where the tank hits cruise control and you have set intervals. As long as the tank is growing and changing, your maintenance requirements are going to change too.
 

caribemob

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2008
2,413
46
81
philadelphia
What's a good skimmer for that size tank and can it sit on the side of the tank or does it have to hang on. Remember I don't want to do a sump. Because I have no room. Fish occupy all the tanks next to or below this tank i am converting. And what's the best Live rock website as far as prices? Some of these sites are at 7 bucks a pound, whoa lol.


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BigCountry

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 6, 2009
726
0
0
Charlotte, NC
Predator salt tank, I like it :D Red Flag, Panther grouper would look awesome in a 125....maybe throw in an Ghost eel :D







100lbs of rock to start would be nice. It's not exactly cheap unless you can find someone breaking down a tank on CL, so 100lbs is a great way to start a 125 if you can afford it. I scored my live rock via CL at $2.40 a lb, and it was premium rock, so keep prowling it until you find someone. :D

If your not running a sump, you will need a HOB Skimmer, I recommend Reef Octopus, this model in particular would be good for your tank:

http://www.aquacave.com/Reef-Octopus-BH-2000-Hang-on-Back-Protein-Skimmer-by-CoralVue-P2276C634.aspx

Since your not growing coral you will not need any real lights, so that's saves you a TON of cash. Lighting a 6' tank for coral is not cheap...trust me...I am in the process of doing that now...lol

You might want to invest in 2 950GPH+- powerheads, which are cheap. Sell one of your canisters maybe to buy them. Mount them to the top middle of the tank, opposite sides and point them at each other. And I think you would be set.

And remember, live rock takes a few weeks to cycle versus a few days with canister filers. That's what I learned anyway when I switched over. So be patient once you get all the rock in the tank.

Enjoy the ride man! Salt ROCKS.
:D
 

caribemob

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2008
2,413
46
81
philadelphia
Thanks for all this info please keep it coming. Those where some nice fish. Like I said I def. want a clown trigger or a undulated trigger. With a small eel and real cool grouper that doesn't get big. I will look on Craig list and see for Live rock, however is there any site that has the best prices? Also is my fish going to raise a high bio- load?


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