Help converting a 10 gallon freshwater into a Nano saltwater

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koltsixx

koltsixx

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I've tried googling the info and found a decent amount of info. but some of it's contradictory. In one instance I read that nitrifying bacteria is the same in both freshwater and saltwater, while another says they're different. That being said one article suggested you could use previously existing freshwater and just add salt to it to convert an aquarium. While the other article suggested starting from scratch with all new uncycled water. Which one is correct? Also all the articles where very vague on what kind of filtration you can use on a saltwater setup of this size. They insisted that a more complex filtration method is needed for a saltwater setup than freshwater, but never explain in which ways or even give examples. Now from what I understand saltwater requires a lot more movement than freshwater though again it's vague as to why. I can only assume that it's because of a need for a high oxygen content that would be aided by surface turbidity. Again I also assume it's because either the nitrifying bacteria is different in a saltwater setup or there just needs to be a lot more bacteria and the extra oxygen is needed to support them and what ever you choose to stock the tank with. Though these are still only assumptions on my part. Also I understand that you need a buffering substrate which seems pretty straight forward, but again everything else is vague to me. It seems that in saltwater setups everything is interdependent more so by far than in freshwater setups. I'm really hoping to setup a nano invertebrate tank and could really use some help. I've run on enough talking about my assumptions and such. My real question is what do I need to set one up? Is a extra large hang on back filter okay? Do I need a sump? What else do I need to setup a nano invert tank besides a buffering substrate,salt,hydrometer and Coralife bulb? Also I know nano's are very hard to work successfully, but I still want to try a nano rather than starting large. I'm pretty anal so if I'm given the right info I'm sure I can make it work. Also I can tell you what kind of invert's I want to keep if that will help in answering my question.
 
I've been thinking about doing the same thing (10gal nano salt). I also know nothing about salt water tanks though. I do know that wet/dry is recommended for salt and that you're looking for pretty much only biological filtration.
 
Jamo3030 said:
I've been thinking about doing the same thing (10gal nano salt). I also know nothing about salt water tanks though. I do know that wet/dry is recommended for salt and that you're looking for pretty much only biological filtration.
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Thanx bro for the bump and the info.

Just Prince said:
Check out nano-reef.com
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Thanx man, I appreciate pointing me in the right direction. Though it doesn't answer the freshwater to saltwater conversion whether I can use pre-existing freshwater setup. Still it offered a whole lot of info. I really needed so thanx you very much. I've read it and have been researching possible stocking ideas since.
 
Wiggles92 said:
The beneficial bacteria are different for freshwater and saltwater (for the most part). However, you'd kill off all the freshwater BB if you converted your freshwater aquarium to a saltwater aquarium, and that would provide some nutrients and such to help get the saltwater cycle going.
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Thanx alot bro, I was confused half the articles I read said the nitrifying bacteria where exactly the same the other half said they were different. So some said you could just add salt and buffers while the other half said the saltwater would kill all the bacteria and the dying bacteria would pollute the tank and actually make the cycling process take longer. So I had no idea which to believe. What I got from the site Just Prince suggested told me how to setup a saltwater nano reef from scratch. From what I understood filtration is basically performed by live rock and sand. So basically the filter you put on is for mechanical filtration and to create flow in the tank to create turbidity among other things. I also got from the article that for the most part if you want to speed up the cycling process it's best to start with cured live rock and even better would be live rock a reputable LFS is using in one of their tanks. According to the article cycling can be cut down to approx. 2 weeks though it's not guaranteed and you should check your levels regularly before adding anything. Jamo3030 if your still checking my thread I hope this info. helps you like it helped me and check out nano-reef.com for the full story.
 
koltsix said:
Thanx alot bro, I was confused half the articles I read said the nitrifying bacteria where exactly the same the other half said they were different. So some said you could just add salt and buffers while the other half said the saltwater would kill all the bacteria and the dying bacteria would pollute the tank and actually make the cycling process take longer. So I had no idea which to believe. What I got from the site Just Prince suggested told me how to setup a saltwater nano reef from scratch. From what I understood filtration is basically performed by live rock and sand. So basically the filter you put on is for mechanical filtration and to create flow in the tank to create turbidity among other things. I also got from the article that for the most part if you want to speed up the cycling process it's best to start with cured live rock and even better would be live rock a reputable LFS is using in one of their tanks. According to the article cycling can be cut down to approx. 2 weeks though it's not guaranteed and you should check your levels regularly before adding anything. Jamo3030 if your still checking my thread I hope this info. helps you like it helped me and check out nano-reef.com for the full story.
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I would go with dry rock from BRS rather than get live rock in order to avoid any and all parasites as well as prevent any nuisance algae from being introduced via live rock. Sure, cycling will take longer, but it's worth the extra few days/weeks in order to prevent problems before they happen. You could get away with just live rock, aragonite sand, and a powerhead or two for filtration + circulation, but a power filter as well as a sump and/or refugium would help out quite a bit, too, even though it is just a 10 gallon aquarium.
 
So you wouldn't go with cured rock? The article said that since cured rock is man made it would be free of the common pest you might get with regular live rock. I thought that's why they charge more for it. As for the filtration I was gonna go with a over sized HOB filter one rated for 75 gallons with a biowheel to create the current and mechanical filtration. Do you think that's good enough? The only other filter I thought about was the Magnum 350 canister with biowheels and a diatom filter cartridge to help with disease like ick. Truthfully I'm getting so into saltwater I may turn my 75 into salt and use the 10 for a freshwater invert setup. So only my biggest tank will remain fresh.
 
These are my experiences. First of all the BB is different in both so you'll have to cycle all over again. I'd start completely fresh with the water.
I used to have a 10 gallon with an aqua clear with a sponge in it and I kept 2 clown fishes without any problems. I didn't even cycle (something i wouldn't recommend but I didn't know what i was doing). I then moved onto a 20 gallon with an AC 50 and I was perfectly fine. I even kept corals and it worked out great. Just remember to clean the sponges or else you'll get a bunch of nitrate build up.
As for live rock I've been oging with regular live rock and it was perfectly fine. I bought "cured" live rock from a person who was very reputable and the next day I woke up all my fishes had ick and i lost them all because the rock was reaching ammonia. So be cautious. Overall its not complicated and a regular HOB filter will work fine as long as you have enough rock and sand. For rock go onto reefcentral and check your local area. They have subforums where you can chat with people in your area and get things at low costs. Good luck!
 
shua71 said:
These are my experiences. First of all the BB is different in both so you'll have to cycle all over again. I'd start completely fresh with the water.
I used to have a 10 gallon with an aqua clear with a sponge in it and I kept 2 clown fishes without any problems. I didn't even cycle (something i wouldn't recommend but I didn't know what i was doing). I then moved onto a 20 gallon with an AC 50 and I was perfectly fine. I even kept corals and it worked out great. Just remember to clean the sponges or else you'll get a bunch of nitrate build up.
As for live rock I've been oging with regular live rock and it was perfectly fine. I bought "cured" live rock from a person who was very reputable and the next day I woke up all my fishes had ick and i lost them all because the rock was reaching ammonia. So be cautious. Overall its not complicated and a regular HOB filter will work fine as long as you have enough rock and sand. For rock go onto reefcentral and check your local area. They have subforums where you can chat with people in your area and get things at low costs. Good luck!
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Thanx for the input bro. I was planning on cycling the tank with only live rock(cured) and live sand. I was gonna keep testing it till the levels seemed to normalize for a couple of days before adding anything. I also planned to check any future live rock that I might add to a tank by keeping it in a well aerated bucket and testing the water to make sure I wouldn't get any spikes by adding additional live rock. I was also gonna start off with invertebrates after the cycle I wasn't even sure if I was gonna add fish to the nano. Also thanx I'll check out reefcentral and their live rock.
 
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