converting to saltwater

Looking to possibly convert my 72 bowfront to a saltwater reef tank, wondering if it would be cheaper just to get a 29g biocube or to convert and what I would need to do in order to convert the tank. I appreciate any help I can get!

George

Is your tank drilled or no?

a 29g biocube used runs like $250?

at least there's no hassle though...

Ya its drilled i have a sump and an additional HOB filter/skimmer running but i figure ill have to change that out since its only rated for 55 gallons.

Ya the biocube would be more convienient I just have the feeling ill be wanting to go bigger soon.

That's a tough one. Since your tank is drilled and you have a sump I think I'd go for it. Buying a better skimmer and sand and live rock will be a hefty cost, though. Hard choice... I think you will find that you will want to upgrade, though. Most people do.

Ya I think I want to go for it....can I use the sand that I currently have in the tank?

What steps should I take to convert it?

Depends. What type of sand do you have?

To convert it you're going to want:

-skimmer
-return pump and plumbing for the sump
-good lighting if you plan on keeping corals (T5s, metal halides, leds)
-probably an RODI unit or plan on buying water from an LFS (again, if you plan on keeping corals)
-about 70lbs - 140lbs of rock (to keep the cost down I would buy mostly base rock and then buy a little bit of live rock to seed the base rock)
-a heater (I'm guessing you have one of these)
-maybe something to run carbon in (you probably can just use the HOB filter you already own)
-saltwater test kits
-water pumps/wavemakers (e.g. Koralia, Tunze, Maxi-Jet, Vortech, etc.)

Am I missing anything?

I have about 90lbs of aragonite


I have the return pump running now and the plumbing in the overflow.

I would like to do corals and thats a good idea with the rock..

yes on the heater

As far as carbon do you mean just like a filter pad? Or sometimes I put pre packaged carbon in my sump would that be ok?


Is Marine Warehouse on Hillsborough a good place to get all this or is there a better option because I know they can be a bit pricey.

Sounds good. That sand should be fine.

Pre-packaged carbon is fine as well. Just make sure you place it in a place in the sump that gets good flow.

Marine Warehouse is a good place, and Coral Corral and FAOIS are right near there, too. As far as rock goes, I would try to find the rock on Craigslist or Reefcentral. It's really expensive at the stores.

Sounds great do I need to rinse the sand or replace filter media or anything like that?


Thank you for all your help!

I would rinse the sand and replace the filter media. There's probably a lot of nitrates and crap in that sand.

And, not a problem, that's what this club is about!

I forgot to ask about UV sterilizer...is that needed?

No, not needed. I don't have one. It will help keep your tank free of algae and parasites, but it's not necessary. In fact, there are some people who argue that sterilizers are bad for reef tanks.

uv is not needed but sometimes help with water clarity (so does carbon) and I wouldn't say carbon is needed either. Carbon isn't as expensive though.

Yes, buy new rock and sand off craigslist. don't get it from a store. Never worth it.

Go to Lee at Corals and Fins on Hendersons!
The whole shop is run by one guy and he garuntees to beat anyones prices. Personal service!

+1 on corals and fins! Best customer service and the BEST prices on fish! I'm in the middle of converting my 56 gallon freshwater tank to saltwater. Bought my rock for around $1.00 per pound. What I paid 60 dollars for would have cost me 360 in a store, and it most likely wouldn't have had as much coraline.

I will check that place out....I went to a few different places today and heard a few different things as far as the filter and sand.

Marine warehouse told me to rinse sand and put more live sand on top of it.

FAOIS told me I dont need bioballs or rubble or any filter media which was kind of confusing.

and a place near my house called Ocean Lifers run by the guy who used to manage coral corral told me to replace sand all together.

Also he told me ill need a calcium reactor...no one else said this...what is the deal with the calcium reactor?

any insight on this advice?

As far as the sand goes, my advice matches the advice by MW.

If you don't plan on doing coral (or sensitive coral), you might get away without heavy duty filtration. Nicholas plans on running a soft coral aquarium off of just a canister filter. My filtration on my reef tank is: a protein skimmer, two refugiums, and a carbon reactor.

A calcium reactor doses calcium regularly which will keep calcium parameters at a consistent level. This is important for stony corals (LPS and SPS). However, I wouldn't say that you need one. I don't have a calcium reactor, and SPS corals grow the quickest for me out of all of the corals that I keep. I do dose calcium periodically from a Kent's Calcium bottle. Just monitor your parameters and dose accordingly, and you won't need a reactor (especially if you don't want to keep stony corals in the first place).

Ya im looking to put a Euro Reef RS 80 skimmer in the sump and just clean out the bioballs and put them back or get some refugium rubble because Id like to do corals. As far as the sand I think I will go with what you and MW said because I dont want to waste all that sand ill just get a little bit more to mix with maybe....Im hoping to get started soon! I found a light on ebay for a good price that seems like it would do the job. Please take a look at the specs and tell me if it would suffice:

Product Information:




•260W Lamp w/ LEDs
•A streamlined alloy casing
•Black matte texture appearance, solid and practical, excellent heat dissipation
•Flip-style adjustable stand (tripod height of 10cm, can adjust the maximum angle of 90 degrees and can adjust the distance between)
•Adjustable maximum distance to the "light body length +2 CM", designed for most of the fish tank installed block
•50% actinic 50% 10000k fluorescent lamp, high power and high lumen output
•PE high temperature transparent protective film (temperature above 130 degrees)
•PL tube to protect the safe operation of corrosion
•Imported reflectors: a half surrounded by reflection
•Anti-reflective material in Germany alumina plate corrosion resistance to salt water
•The shell of the main aluminum alloy
•Advanced electronic ballast, quick start, the heat is small, light, high efficiency, energy saving
•Input Voltage: 110v/220v
•Life: 6000H

Specifications:




•1 x 48" Aquarium CF High Output Lighting Fixture
•2 x CF HO Fluorescent 12,000k 65W Daylight Blubs
•2 x CF 65W Blue Actinic Bulbs
•4 x Bluemoon LED
•2 x Light Brackets
•3 x 8ft Power Cord
•3 x On/Off Switch for CF, Actinic and LED
•4 x Air Vent

I would probably not use bioballs, rock rubble might be a good idea. I would consider doing a refugium in your sump. Throw some rock rubble (maybe some sand) and a clump of chaeto in there. Keeping a refugium with macroalgae (like chaeto) in your sump will outcompete nuisance algae in your main aquarium. I swear by my refugiums!

The light unit you're looking at sounds good depending on what you plan to do. When you say you want a reef tank, what specific types of corals are you looking at? Compact florescent bulbs will support soft corals, and you might get away with some stony corals, but probably not be able to keep much else.

Alright will do...if i just put that stuff around my pump and skimmer would it suffice? Because I dont have a special compartment for a refugium.

As far as corals I was looking at polyps and mushrooms and stuff like that. If i replaced the CFs with T5 bulbs would it be better?

Without a separate compartment in the sump it might be hard to do a proper refugium. As long as you can keep the chaeto out of your skimmer and pump you'll be fine. I converted a standard 20 gallon into a sump by siliconing in 4 glass baffles. It wasn't too hard or expensive. I went to Borters Glass on Nebraska, and they cut everything for me in about 10 minutes, sanded the edges so I wouldn't cut myself, and charged me something like $15 for all 4 of the baffles. It might be something to consider. You could try to use eggcrate as a divider as well...

The CFs should be fine for mushrooms and zoa/paly polyps. The T5s would definitely be better. T5s put out more PAR and PUR, allowing you to keep stony corals. T5s also have more color options, and bulb color combination can be more customized to suit the look that you want for your aquarium. My old Biocube has CFs, and my corals always looked on the brown-ish side. When I upgraded to a larger aquarium with T5s, the color change in the corals was amazing.

Tank is getting there! Just put sand in...waiting it to clear....being impatient haha. Hoping to go get some live rock as soon as it clears. Question with my light....it has three power cords and the two powerful ones cant be plugged into outlets with anything else in them or it flips the breaker in my aparment ...is this normal? I was just gonna get outdoor ext coords from home depot and run them across the room.

It stinks waiting for the sand to set in :/ it will take a few days. As far as the breaker goes it might be pulling too much. An extention cord would be your safest bet

Ya its just starting to clear up now...so this corals and fins place is good for live rock? Does anyone have the address?

I don't know about corals and fins for live rock..

i do have a connection down in ruskin that I think is still there.. $3 a pound if I remember correct. Some NICE rock too. Much better than any store. Its from a guys house.. he's got a big 500g vat behind his house..
how much were you looking to buy?

That sounds good...looking to get around 70 pounds i guess since its a 72 gallon tank...i found some ads on craigslist for like 2.50 a pound but id rather pay the extra .50 for a reliable source