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Garrett.turbo

Garrett.turbo

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 1, 2011
890
9
18
Canton Ohio
So to start off I have a 150 gallon tall fw and 55 gallon long. Recently most of my fish died for some reason in my 55 and im down to my severum and bichir. So I just started thinking about making it a sw tank. However if I do decide to change it ill put my sev in my 150g and ill buy a 20g long for a growout for my bichir so my oscar wont swallow him like a worm or my catfish lol.

Or heres my other idea::

I've been looking on craigslist for a while now and found a couple good deals on 125g longs etc. I was thinking I could move my fw fish from my 150g and 55g to the 125g and use my 150g tall as a saltwater tank. what do you think?

Now if I do this Ive never had a saltwater tank nor no anything about them. I do however no that I want corals and all them nice things, so would you recommend for either my 55g or my 150g as in coral and fish.

Im going to have to talk with my parents and see if they would mind if I put my really long dresser in one of our spare room so I can have room for the 125g if I go that route.

Also im not planning on doing a sump im not ready for one yet, so ill need to no everything ill need to run a sw tank. However I was wondering if you have corals, and frags do you need a filtration system because most sw tank i see only have like a penguin 350 on it or a emp 400 with it. This is a lot to take in, with a reading but bare with me please lol.
 
Yah i know but since im still living at home and that I can pretty much afford it, granted it wont be right away ill being buying pieces here and there, and with christmas around the corner, I can ask brittani gma for visa giftcards, and giftcards for the petstores, which ill use for filtration stuff and lighting it i dont get a tank that comes with it. also I was looking on CL and theres always a bunch of people selling frags and live sand and such which I can buy when the time comes
 
Well for one I wouldn't recomendany tank sold as tall to be a sw tank. Not to say it isn't doable but it will significamty increase the cost of lighting. As for filtration, a sump really isn't that much of a pain and will save you a ton of grief. They also provide a space to stick all your extra filtration equipment so it isn't cluttering the display area. Cl ,at least in my area, has a bunch Of reef ready tanks. I would encourage that strongly as well. With that being said you can run your system as a closed loop and just move water around. Your live rock is 85 percent of your filtration. The other 15 will come from things like coral, fish, and macro. On the subject of macro, this is a huge reason to get a sump. This provides an area to put in a species of algae that will consume your nitrates and phosphates. It is also commonly encouraged to get a skimmer, at first I would recommend but after you get coral started it is debatable. Kevin888 has some excellent feedback on skimmerless reefkeeping. I know I didn't get to everything I wanted to hit but it is early.
 
okay but my room is on the second floor and I dont want even more water in a tank on the same side of the room as my new tank will be. should I just use the new tank that ill be getting for saltwater then?
 
I may wind up getting a wet dry filter for my extra filtration.
 
Well it doesn't have to be excessive. You also don't have to have the filtration in the same spot. You could have your 125 on one side of the room and your refugium on the other. You could even make a show piece of our refugium. Commonly they are in the stand because that is the easiest. It also means it doesn't have to be " show ready" so less maintainence. A wet dry is a better option IMHO than an hob but I would encourage you to pass on the bioballs and put dry rock or rock rubble depending on the size of the equipment. The only reason I suggested a sump was because it would be a lot easier to use that. All you would need is a 55 and a pump. Put some eggcrate in front of the pump and some chaetomorpha algae with a bunch of rock on the other and your good. A wet/dry can do the same thing though and some would argue a little better. Really it depends on how much footwork you are willing to put in or of you want more plug and play. I have quoted this before and it stands true. Saltwater tanks are like mini ecosystems. For things to be on "cruise control" it is best to use what nature has provided for us, it makes it easier.
 
I have several thoughts about your plans, here it goes:

1) Depth is saltwater is not a great thing. If you have a 150 tall and you want to do SW with it, then it's going to take some expensive lights to get the PAR you need for corals on the bottom. The 125 wouldn't be bad, but 6' lights are expensive. Your looking a 6-900 for a T5 fixture, and that's the cheapest route. If I was you, and your really want to try your hand at saltwater, do a 55 first. It gives you enough water volume to allow for mistakes early on, it can be sufficiently equipped as a reef for MUCH cheaper, and if you decide later to upgrade it won't be a problem.

2) Canister filters and saltwater tanks do not go well together. I did it on my first tank, parameters are hard to maintain and maintenance increased significantly. If you are going to use an overflow, don't use a wet/dry as they have many of the same problems of a canister. The bio balls CAN, though not always, cause nitrate problems. Use a refugium, more bio filtration.

3) The best thing you can do right now is research, research, and research. You are going to 1-2 lbs. of rock per each gallon of water, you will need 2-3" of sand throughout the tank. You really need an RODI system, or plan on buying RODI water if your going to do a reef. Saltwater tanks get outrageously expensive quick, even in a 55 gallon. I know people that are well over 2,000 into a 55 gallon tank.
 
Purevil21 said:
The best thing you can do right now is research, research, and research.
Click to expand...

Smartest bit of advice the OP could get. There are lots of good pointers here, but you're going to find the best info by just reading around. And as to cost, you can save lots of money by buying used equipment strategically. My first SW tank was a 135 (old school), and it cost me less than five hundred bucks all told.
 
Comatose said:
Smartest bit of advice the OP could get. There are lots of good pointers here, but you're going to find the best info by just reading around. And as to cost, you can save lots of money by buying used equipment strategically. My first SW tank was a 135 (old school), and it cost me less than five hundred bucks all told.
Click to expand...

Another point to be made here, there is no right or wrong answer most of the time. There are several different ways to set up a tank, all of which may be successful. I know I learned a lot of things the hard way some years ago, some of it was advice obtained on forums. On the flip side, some of the best tips I have gotten have been from forums. You really just have to take everything with a grain of salt, do your own research and go with your gut. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but it's a lesson learned and you move on.
 
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