Converting freshwater to salt water

B

Bstorck

So I have a 55 gallon long freshwater tank, and I want to turn it into saltwater. I have 2 HOB filters, a power head with controller, and a 200 watt heater. I also want to include that I will be doing the soft corals, I also have live rock and sand. So I just really wanna know is there anything else I need to purchase, and how much it would roughly cost me.
 
You will need a light that is has enough PAR for soft corals.  The cost varies quite a bit.  You can get inexpensive chinese black boxes (Such as Mars Aqua off of eBay) that are relatively cheap.  For a 55g you'd probably need 2.  They are gonna cost roughly $100 each.You don't "need" a skimmer but they do help with removing some of the unwanted stuff in your tank like fish poo etc.  Weekly 10% - 15% water changes would help with that too.Eventually you may want to look at upgrading to an actual Reef Ready (RR) tank that uses a sump for filteration.
 
You will probably want an RO DI unit.   They will save you money in the long run because it's much cheaper to make your own water than buy it from the store.
 
I'd say starting out that RO is an option.  I used tap for a long time starting out, and don't think I had any problems from it.  I do strongly advise some macro.  I strongly advise some sort of macro algae.  If you're clever you can grow something like chaeto ($7) in your HOB filters where the media is now.  A clamp light with a screw in CFL ($15), or some sort of LED ($30) will get it going.You should buy a bunch of "live" rock, although it doesn't need to be wet and live.  Having 90% "dry rock" ($1-4/pound) will serve you just fine with slight patience.A scoop of sand from someone else's tank would be a good addition as well, this will get your bacteria going a bit faster.I like the look of sand in the tank, this should be aragonite/calcium based ($25-80) (reef sand opposed to the silica based play sand in freshwater tanks). 
 
also one thing to point out what type of freshwater tank was it.  if it ever had copper(from medication or plant ferts). it can be deadly to inverts and coral. :(   .  any questions just ask.   I have a planted tank and a nano reef. 
 
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