Thinking of going salt but want info from you salt keepers first...

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AQUAMONSTER

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2010
4,255
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36
Albany. NY
Was talking to a lfs employee today about turning my tank to salt. He said I was looking at about $40-$60 in live sand, and about 40-50lbs of live rock at $8 a pound. I have a canister filters and a HOB on my tank now and know that live rock rubble is better in the canisters. So he figure to get the tank ready for fish would be around $500. So I thought maybe starting with my 20 gallon would be a good start. I wanna do a clown fish or 2 with a goby. What would it cost for a 20 gallon. Have filters and heaters already along with the tank. I was thinking of fish only or maybe fish with live rock. Been fish keeping for 10 years but only freshwater so u guys will be my teachers. I've done some research but like talking to others over reading the same info from the same sites

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It would not cost $500 to get a 20g tank running. I only paid $500 for my complete 180g, try searching craigslist for anyone selling a complete setup or parting a setup. You can also get live rock much cheaper than $8 a pound (i have seen it as low as $2 a pound) again try craigslist or a local reef forum.

From what you have said you will need live rock, light, salt and sand and maybe a protein skimmer. You also dont need live sand dry sand would be fine to get you up and running. Petco sells "live" sand I think for $20 for a 20lb bag. I would guess you need 20-30lbs but I'm not to sure.

The general thinking with saltwater is the bigger the tank the better as bigger tanks are more stable, the evaporation on a 20g tank can alter the salinity quite a bit. Canister filters are considered nitrate factories by many people if they are not maintained regularly but if you maintain it and check your nitrates regularly you should be fine.

I have done lots of research but people have there own way of running there tank you just have to see what works best for you.
 
Sorry he said it was roughly $500 to change my 75 over. I wanted to start with my 20 to see if I like it or not. I would use the canister as my biological filter with live rock peices. And my hob for mechanical

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Live sand isn't worth the money. Go with a nice aragonite. I believe you want a pound per gallon.

With salt, bigger is better for sure. Like cdc said, more stability and more flexibility. For two clowns alone, you're gonna want something bigger than 20 gal. Two clowns and other fish, for sure bigger. You can put more rock in a larger tank with less fish and more rock means more filtration.

Live rock is a must. That is your filter. (you said fowlr or fish only, implying leaving out the LR). You do not, however, need all the LR in one go. You can get whatever poundage of dry rock and seed that with a pound or two of LR to start your cycle and BB growing. Remember, at least one pound of rock per gallon of water. Minimum. But that also counts what's in the filters. I've got two HOB filters on my 55, both filled with rubble. Make sure to take them down and clean them out at least once a month. I let mine go for awhile and they were nasty!! Holy poopy filters! But keep the rock in saltwater or you risk killing the BB on it and starting over with those rocks.

Don't cycle with a fish. Instead, put a piece of raw shrimp in a sock or cheesecloth or something similar and let it rot. That's what I was told to do. Never tried it but when I go bigger, I will.

That's all I got for ya! Have fun and good luck!!
 
Thanks for the info. So what would the cost be to start the tank up before adding fish for a FO tank and a FOWLR? Wife wants to know before we jump into it. Lfs don't give good estimates as they think about the money they can make on a salt water noob.

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AQUAMONSTER said:
Thanks for the info. So what would the cost be to start the tank up before adding fish for a FO tank and a FOWLR? Wife wants to know before we jump into it. Lfs don't give good estimates as they think about the money they can make on a salt water noob.
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Step #1: Don't buy most, if not all, of your supplies from the LFS. :D

In all seriousness, for a 20 gallon, just order 15-20 lbs. of high quality dry rock from a vendor such as Reef Cleaners, Marco Rocks, or BRS and then buy enough high quality live rock to seed the dry rock & end up with around 20 lbs. of rock total (give or take a few pounds). The rock should run you around $75-100 in the end. You will only need enough plain aragonite sand to form a 0.5" to 1.0" layer on the bottom; that probably works out to 5-10 lbs. of sand, if that.

Buy a protein skimmer; it's probably the most important piece of equipment for any saltwater system. Expect to pay upwards of $100 for a decent protein skimmer; do not go too cheap on this piece of equipment! Don't bother with the canister filters as they are more maintenance intensive in saltwater, and just run the HOB with rock rubble in it; a sump is ideal, but you don't absolutely need one. You probably will receive some extra dry rock with your order, so you can smash that up to make rubble in order to save money. As for lighting, if you have a double fluorescent bulb fixture already, then do one 10,000K daylight bulb & an actinic bulb for the best look & coralline algae growth (beneficial algae); you're looking at around $30-35 total for the two bulbs.

Oh, and be sure to get a powerhead or two to help with circulation as more flow results in a healthier system. Those shouldn't cost more than $100 total if you shop around.
 
Thanks a lot I'm gonna continue to do a little research and shop around and decide on what I wanna keep. In the end I was hoping to keep a snowflake eel or lionfish if I change my 75 over

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You would not have a problem with a snowflake eel, mine is 18" and does not move around unless looking for food. You maybe able to keep a dwarf lion but a volitian lionfish will eventually get to big I had one that was the size of a basketball when it spread out. The previous owner kept it in a 90g tank and it was way to small. It was not fun to catch, had to use a 5g bucket and be brave :grinno:

I would check out craigslist for anyone in your area parting a tank out, you maybe able to get a protein skimmer live rock etc.
 
AQUAMONSTER said:
Thanks a lot I'm gonna continue to do a little research and shop around and decide on what I wanna keep. In the end I was hoping to keep a snowflake eel or lionfish if I change my 75 over
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Snowflake eels are awesome; I have a ~21" one that has a ton of personality & is almost always visible. I would wait & do the 75 gallon if you really want a snowflake eel as it will make use of all of that space; it would be set for life in there, too.

I also agree that Craigslist is a good place to look for used equipment although I wouldn't buy live rock on there unless it's never been used or is in excellent shape as some of the rock sold on there is pretty gross (algae, etc.).
 
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