Freshwater to Saltwater Conversion Help

[bradp]

I currently have a 140 Gallon Non RR African Cichlid setup that I would like to change over to a saltwater tank.

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The tank has

(1) Fluval FX5 canister filter
(1) Rena XP4 canister filter
(2) 300W Heaters
(1) 322W Power Compact Aquarium Light

I should have bought a RR tank. But my question for the forum is what would I have to change in my current setup to start a saltwater tank other than sand and salt?

Can a saltwater tank be successful with canister filtration? If so what is the proper media to fill the canister with?

Also, where is the best place to buy sand and live rock?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[pets24]

yes the tank can be ran on canister filters. did u wana do fish only or a reef tank? u might wana take the carbon out of the canister and mabey think about adding a skimmer.

 

[DennisF]

Are you wanting to go fish only with live rock or a full reef set up? There is considerable difference in the way it is set up. Best place to get live rock is here on the For sale forum. Sand is another matter. Canister filter just don't normally work well with salt systems. A lot of people use hang on back open top filters for fish only set ups. You will definitly need a protein skimmer either way you go. Your light will work for the fish only but not for a reef set up.

 

[bradp]

I would like to do a full reef setup. What are the considerable differences that I should consider?

 

[Jeff]

OK, first remove the fish . Do you use ro/di water or tap water currently? You'll either want to get a ro/di filter system and make your own water or buy your water at the local fish store.

Remove the gravel, water and anything else in the tank. Wash the tank out with a white vinegar and water solution.

Start by adding live rock and aquascape as desired, approximately a pound or more per gallon is a good amount for the necessary filtration, coral support and overall looks. You can use pvc pipe, plastic zip ties and epoxy glue to hold things together if you want to do some crazy stacking and arches, etc...

Add the sandbed (aragonite) pink, white, black - whatever color you like. I use the Ocean Direct live sand. For a tank your size, you may want to use a dry bulk product and then add a couple bags of the live stuff on top to save some money.

Cover the rocks and sand with a plastic sheet and a plastic bowl in the center. Start adding salt water, pouring it into the bowl to keep from stirring up the sand as much as possible.

Add your water movement devises. You can still use the canister filters. However these will not be your main source of filtration like they were for the freshwater setup. They will be basically 'reactors'. I'd put carbon in one and Phosban and Purigen in the second. You won't need to start those until you've finished the cycle and are ready to add livestock. Choose and purchase your skimmer. Make it a good one and don't skimp (read: be cheap) on this one. You can find good deals here or on RCentral. Overbuy on the skimmer - you won't be sorry.

That's the basics. You can set that up and let it run for a month or so while you decide what type of corals and animals you want to keep. Those decisions are what will determine what type of lighting you will want on the tank.

Lighting is a whole world unto itself. Don't worry much about it yet. Go see some cool tanks and see what you like as far as looks. Between the items you stock and the look you want will spell out the lighting you'll want.

 

[DaveG99]

you have come to the right place! I like your tank. My best advice would be to read, read, then read some more!

 

[Jeff]

Yea, Dave's right. I read through every entry in the New to the Hobby section on here and on Reef Central as well as spending a lot of time in the Nano Reefs sections, reef chemistry and equipment forums. Read a lot and get a bunch of opinions. Ask a lot of questions; you'll find a lot of patience helps and you'll find a lot on this board.

Go slow. Unlike freshwater, you can't expect to add fish the first week of having the system running. And you can't expect to have a full fish load in the first couple months either. Enjoy the experience and the path. Watch the tank grow - and grow it will. You can also expect to shed a lot of greenbacks - it ain't cheap.

Join the club and you can check out some great books from our club library. Go to reefcentral.com and look for posts by a guy named waterkeeper. His posts are great. The newbie section of reefkeeping online magazine go through almost everything you need to know and it's not dry boring reading.

 

[bradp]

Thanks for the replies

@DheereCrossing wrote:

If I don't use the canister filters as my main source of filtration, what would I use to supplement them?

Thanks again.

 

[DaveG99]

your live rock will be a biological filter


as far as a mechanical filter you could use a standard hang on the back like I do but you hav eto clean out the filters a lot. Or you can use a skimmer. But the problem with the skimmer is finding a place to put it. You need a sump for a skimmer. Unless you use the hang on back variety but I have not seen many people using those.

 

[fperkins]

Basic Equipment discussion: http://tinyurl.com/3p467s

 

[Jeff]

Yea, like mentioned above, the main filtration on a reef tank is biological, not mechanical. The large amount of live rock and sand house the bacteria that perform the nitrogen cycle breakdown. I strongly suggest you get very comfortable with the nitrification process and what to expect. The first sticky post in this forum about What Is A Mature Tank or something like that is good reading and read it multiple times.

Mechanical filtration is what the protien skimmer is for. It removes solid and liquid watse from the water before it has a chance to break down.
In your situation you can either have a powerful hang on the back of the tank model such as the AquaC Remora Pro or if you don't want to have a sump you can actually stand a skimmer on a stand of rock in the corner of the tank but you'd see it and it would stand proud of the top of the tank - not the best option but possible.

Most people would suggest a sump which is a tank of suitable size inside the tank's stand. You would have water flowing from the main tank down to the sump where you would put all your extra equipment out of sight. The skimmer, chemical reactors, heaters, automatic top off switches, chiller plumbing, uv sterilizer or whatever. Then a suitable return pump would pump the now clean water back up to the main display tank.

It's a tough mental step from freshwater filtration ideas to reef. Freshwater fish pee and poop a lot compared to reef inhabitants. Mechanical filtration and live plants are the standard in freshwater but in the reef, live rock and sand with good water movement is plenty for a lightly stocked tank.

 

[DaveG99]

You could have 4-5 regular sized fish in that 140 gal without any mechanical filtration very easily. You just need lots of live rock and live sand. Plus water movement and water changes.

 

[DennisF]

If you are thinking a reef tank you will need very low nitrates and phosphates and that usually means a lot of water changes or some other means of exporting excess nutrients. In saltwater we have moved to the use of deepsand beds for nitrate reduction and ironoxide(rust) in a reactor chamber for phosphate reduction. Some use denitrator units but they are not cheap. You will also need the appropriate test kits to keep track of elements that are currently felt to me necessary for coral health such as nitrates, ammonia, nitrites, calcium,KH, magnesium, PH, phosphates to name a few. Like the others I suggest you read all you can before you embark on conversion to saltwater so you understand the basic necessities. And please ask questions on this forum, it is full of people that will give you information. :lol:

 

[Misty]

You probably have room under the cabinet of the tank for these items. I built a sump/fuge out of a 29-gallon tank and still have room for an auto-top off system under the cabinet of my 120.

 

[bradp]

Thanks for the replies.

It sounds like I'll definitely need a protein skimmer and the best way to accomplish this is with a sump/fuge.

I think the way to go might be to sell my setup and start over. Hopefully I can get enough to at least buy a new RR tank since I built the stand.

Any thoughts on what I might ask for my freshwater setup?

 

[disbjohn]

@bradp wrote:

You could go with an external overflox box if you didn't want to sell your whole setup. The downside, is that it is possible for the external overflow to lose siphon, and then you will end up with a mess of water on the floor.

You can definitely look on these boards or craigslist for a 120/140RR tank.

It's even possible to drill your existing tank and install an internal overflow to make it RR.