converting

[dpal666]

I have a 30g tank almost done cycling, flourescenyt lighting, with a penguin 350 for filtration, and a 2" sand bed.

Would adding salt to go marine kill my cycle, I'm thinking of doing fish only till I have the hang of marine tanks then going towards a reef setup in a larger tank.

any suggestions?

 

[Wiggles92]

I have a 30g tank almost done cycling, flourescenyt lighting, with a penguin 350 for filtration, and a 2" sand bed.

Would adding salt to go marine kill my cycle, I'm thinking of doing fish only till I have the hang of marine tanks then going towards a reef setup in a larger tank.

any suggestions?

Yes, adding salt will kill your cycle; the beneficial bacteria are very different for saltwater. Be sure to get a good salt mix such as Instant Ocean and add the appropriate amount of the salt to get a specific gravity in the 1.023 to 1.025 range.

 

[dpal666]

OK, next question, do I need additional movement considering the oversized filtraition? It's a 75g filter on a 30g tank, it constantly moves all the sand around.

And would I still need a skimmer or is that really neccasary on a FOWLR tank?

My filter is set up to pull water from the bottom and an inch from the top.

As you can tell this will be my first foray into marine, I've been reading up on it for the last 2 years, but books and forums really don't help out a noob much.

 

[Wiggles92]

OK, next question, do I need additional movement considering the oversized filtraition? It's a 75g filter on a 30g tank, it constantly moves all the sand around.

And would I still need a skimmer or is that really neccasary on a FOWLR tank?

My filter is set up to pull water from the bottom and an inch from the top.

As you can tell this will be my first foray into marine, I've been reading up on it for the last 2 years, but books and forums really don't help out a noob much.

You should be fine as long as there's good circulation throughout the entire aquarium. You'll be able to tell if more circulation is needed if algae and/or detritus starts to build up in parts of the aquarium.

As far as a skimmer goes, watch your water parameters without it and go from there. Having the skimmer will definitely help out with maintaining excellent water quality, and you'll definitely need one down the road if you move on to a reef.

 

[FLESHY]

I think skimmers are huge no matter what.

When you start off, you want everything to be as fool proof as possible.

Why embark onto a journey without having the proper equipment? You might get frustrated and end up turning around and giving up.

I think that skimmers are important for almost everyone to have. They will help a lot with stabilizing your system.

 

[dpal666]

would oversize be better or appropriate sized to the aquarium.
I only ask because I've always had large messy fish for FW and had to overfilter everything.

 

[TheTankMates]

Actually i have gone back and forth many times. Same filters same filter media same sand same rocks. An owner of a lfs here and I tried it quite a few times over the last 15 years with success and ive never had a noticeable spike in anything. It was evident to me that some bacteria are able to survive the change from fresh to salt and back again. Now i never kept challenging fish mostly going from cichlids to triggers and the like. Each time i have done it I start the morning with a freshwater tank with cichlids and end the day with a marine tank with a trigger or puffer or vice versa. Ive actually started to feel the itch for saltwater again and was considering doing it again. If i do i will post with pics and updates on the process.

 

[TheTankMates]

I have also gone fresh to brackish and back again a few times as well

 

[FLESHY]

You seriously just convert a tank from cichlids to sw preds in a day?

That must be a hell of a process.

I always oversize skimmers. Quality is more important in my mind however than oversizing.

I have an AquaC EV400 on my 125g reef.

 

[Otherone]

Although the names Nitrosomonas (ammonia) - Nitrobacterium -(Nitrite) are the same, the bacterias (Plural) involved in the nitrogen cycle are numerous and differ according to specific suroundings. I'd plan on a cycle crash when switching to a Marine enviorment. Your gonna read all kinds of stuff in forums - some good, some bad, and theres always gonna be those that are down right malicious.