# Converting to a marine tank



## mrmoby (Jan 18, 2005)

I have been increasingly dissatisfied with my cichlid tank, and now that it is near empty, am considering converting it to a marine tank. I have been doing some reading, and now that I have been keeping tanks for several years it seems a lot less daunting. It also seems (from what I have read) that my water conditions, with high ph and calcium would suit many marine life very well. I have read the beginer stuff here, and have some questions, and apologize in advance if some of it has been covered before. I am going to go point by point, and if anyone care to reply to any or all of them, it would be much appreciated.

1) The tank is an established 55 gallon, with full stand and canopy. This is what I have to work with, a different tank is not an option. Is this tank large enough to have an enjoyable set up, or will I hate it in short time because of its limitations?

2)When it comes to cycling the tank, if I use the existing filter, and perhaps some contained gravel, will I be in good shape, or will salt water kill the established bacteria?

3) Substrate. Are you using crushed coral, or sand. Also, do you find white or black has more visual appeal.

4) Protein Skimmer. Any recomendations? Can I use a HOB model, and do they typically fit under a canopy? From the sound of it, the skimmer sounds as if it eliminates the need to vacuum. Is this true? Also, is this a "you can add it later" type item?

5)Filtration. I have an Emperor 400 which works well. Fosters and Smith claim it will work in both fresh and saltwater. This may be true, but if I use sand as substrate will that be a problem?

6) Lighting. I have the typical single bulb florescent tube strip light with an "aquarium" bulb. I have the feeling this will be inadequate, but at what point do I need more intense lighting. Any recomendations? What will fit under the canopy, and will it require some means of cooling?

7) Rock. This may sound dumb, but is all rock in a marine tank live rock? I really want the look of a rocky tank, a reef tank I guess, and I am assuming they are all constructed of live rock.

8) Quarantine tank. How to you quarantiine, or hospitalize your fish. I have fw tank I keep going at all times, but would it be possible to set up a temporary one for new arrivals and / or sick memebers? How do you do yours?

I think that is it for now. Thanks to any and all in advance for your input.


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

1. Good size to start out with. You should be happy with it.
2. Saltwater Bacteria are different and you have to start from scratch with a cycle.
3.Use Sand. CC trapped detritus. Aragonite is what you want.
4.You need a skimmer! Up front is best. Coralife Super Skimmer 65 would be great.
5. No
6.That light is fine for fish only. Anemones and Corals will require new lighting. A T5 HO Retro kit would work (At least a 6 bulb) and provide good light for most corals and a fan is a good idea.
7.All Rock will become "Live" after several months. (About 6) but no rock containing metals or phosphorus should be used. Buy 50% Live Rock & 50% Base Rock.
8.Yes, A QT is a must. Keep a sponge filter running somewhere in your SW system (Sumps are best) and move it to the QT when needed.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

welcome to the addiction, i agree with reefneck, but have a couple more q's
are you planning on a reef tank? or just fish with live rock?

the 55 is more than enough, im doing great with a 46 gallon bow,
hes says the filter wont be a problem, i dont like them, if you clean it religiously its fine, but most people dont, and it could lead to problems.
and for cycling your salt tank, strip it down and clean it, put a inch of sand in the bottom and add all your rock, base and live. then just let it sit, the live rock will cycle the tank by itself, no need to add any fancy checmincals or anything else, just let it sit, 


and some more tips that you should really think about.
1. plan everything you want, and set up for it at the beginning
2. PATIENCE!! DO IT!
3. every piece of equipment you want, get the best one you can, and get it bigger than you need. dont skimp on it.


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## ritzgirl34 (Jan 20, 2005)

I hate to thread jack here, but since your questions have been answered and I'm in pretty much the same situation (I just tore down my cichlid tank b/c I'm moving but plan on setting up a 55g SW tank once I get settled)...

Could someone briefly explain a fuge and a sump and if they are necessary (and/or what setups they are necessary in). I have heard about power going out and sump all over the livingroom or something like that? When I'm renting an apartment I sure don't want that happened so I'd like to get all the details before I start.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

ok... a fuge (refugium) is an area set aside for cultivating macro algae and breeding pods, usually its a small tank that has a deep sand bed, some live rock, and some macro algae, you farm the macro to get rid of nitrates, the macro uses nitrates to grow, and every once in a while you simply pull some out and toss it. pods will breed to feed fish, as well as other types of plankton and such, to feed various different organizms.

a sump is a tank below the display that just adds water volume, and is used to place all your equipment, its a great idea to have one, just makes everything easier, when set up right, chance of a flood is very very very small, it hides all heaters and skimmer and everything so all you look at in the display is your fish. you can use a reef ready tank, with a built in overflow and it helps keep the surface of the water clear, other wise with most HOB skimmers, they pull water from under the surface so you will eventually develop a film on the surface. with a sump, the evaporation on a tank only occurs down there, because the way return pipes and over flows work, the water level in the main tank will stay constant. hope this helps clear things up. ask more if you have more questions.


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## gdwb10101 (Apr 14, 2006)

I've only been in the hobby for about 4-5 months, but here's some advice. You should determine whether you want to do a fish only or reef tank or a mix. I bought a nice power compact light, because i thought that I was going to do a fish only tank. But then i realized how beautiful corals were and regret now spending the extra money to buy the metal halides (more expensive but you can keep more corals). 

In my opinion, you should first and foremost think about the type of tank and it's lighting requirements (this should save you a big hastle a quite a bit of money)


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

You could always go the long way around, which is what us puffer keepers do with some of our fish that start off in freshwater but need to go full saltwater. We very slowly start raising the salinity, no more than .002 per week. This allows the saltwater variety of bacteria to develop without killing off the freshwater bacteria too quickly, and avoids having to re-cycle the tank. It takes a good bit of time as it has to be done slowly, but it works quite well.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

If you just want fish, you can use ordinary aquarium-safe rocks and ordinary filtration & ordinary lighting. 
There are fundamentally only a few ssmall differences between freshwater & saltwater, but these differences are critical. Rather like the differences between baseball & softball, they're almost the same but completely different.

*1-*pH- The pH of a salt tank is around 8.3-8.4. 
The higher the pH, the more toxic the ammonia. 
The sea is vast and subject to little change. The fish within it are not built to handle the changes so common in freshwater environments. Saltwater fish can't handle ammonia buildup, and any ammonia buildup in a salt tank is going to be much more trouble than it would have been in a pH 7.4 freshwater tank.

The point- cycling is more important, and bio-load must be lower than in a freshwater tank of the same size.
On the plus side, nitrite isn't toxic in saltwater unless it gets freakishly high, which is probably wouldn't.

*2-* Dissolved oxygen level is lower in saltwater than in freshwater. Meanwhile, the fish we keep come from reef areas where the pounding of the sea against the rocks has driven the dissolved oxygen level to it's maximum limit. Also, the bacteria must have a LOT of oxygen to do their job.

The point- Once again, the bioload must be kept much lower, AND the water circulation/aeration must be high.
Bear in mind that aeration promotes high pH.

Actually, you must always bear in mind that nearly everything going on in a tank has a direct or indirect effect on nearly everything else. In freshwater one can usually ignore that with impunity, and most people do, but saltwater keepers can't forget it.

*3-* Stability.
The sea is very stable. The fish need stability. Fluctuations in temperature & salinity aren't the end of the world, but they must be curbed as much as possible. Never make any drastic changes.

Different species of course have different tolerances for things. Sometimes you can get away with certain things, and sometimes you can't.

Disease control is the next big thing to consider. The diseases of marine fish are fewer in number than those of freshwater, which is good, and for the most part they are much easier to eliminate. On the other hand, they are very swiftly able to wipe out all your fish, and as such must be treated correctly and immediately.
A quarantine tank is essential. The calcium substrate in a marine tank absorbs many fish medicines renderng them useless, so you need a bare tank with a sponge filter or some other filter. Bear in mind that it helps to have a spare in reserve, for many treatments also wipe out your bacteria, requiring you to change filters during different stages of treatment.
By the way:
Seachem's _Stability_ or Marineland's _Bio-Spira_ are the only two bacteria in a bottle products that contain live Nitrospira, and thusly the only two that actually work as advertised. You can cycle your tank in under a week with either of these, and considering the alternative, you really should go this route.
Back to quarantine:
Every fish in the petshop is infested with numerous nasties. Every single one of them. These bugs are in the habit of reproducing in staggering number so that a few of them might actually find hosts in the vastness of the sea. In the confines of an aquarium, the fish have no hope.
If just one of these get into your tank, you will always have problems in that tank. You might not notice the problem, and infested fish can reach an equillibrium of sorts with their parasites, but if the slightest little thing ever goes wrong, then WHAMMO, everything dies. Sounds scary? It should.

I'm afraid it would take me hours to go into all the details of the proper quarantine process. I'll return to this when I can. My grandma died, though, and my schedule is a bit hectic. However, I hope that you can appreciate the need for proper quarantine, and that you don't go ahead with your plans before learning more.


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## mrmoby (Jan 18, 2005)

Sorry to hear about your Grandma Salt.

Thanks to everyone for the info. I think I am going to give it a try, but it will be a while, as the setup is going to be a wee bit more expensive than I thought.


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

:lol::lol::lol::lol: welcome to the club


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