# Ideas on setting a salt water tank up



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Alright, so here it is: I'm a wannabe freshwater planted tank convert. I've always dreamed of going salt water, but money has been holding me back. I just landed a nice job and now that I've augmented my income, here's my situation:

I currently have a 30 gallon tall tank. 20" T5HO 48W Nova Extreme light, AC50 HOB filter, and a random heater, amongst other freshwater hardware that will be rendered obsolete by going salt water (like CO2). I'm living in a house I will be in for the next 1.5 years.

Ideally I would like to use the 30 gallon, convert it to salt water, and sell off the extraneous equipment. What I suppose I'm asking is - can I get away with a 30 gallon?

Also, what basic equipment and/or material will I need to buy for a rudimentary setup? I have an awesome LFS just down the street that sells RO/DI water for $0.05/gallon, and will connect me with most of my needs should I not find them online on KSL or Craigslist.

Build me a shopping list and approximate costs! Spare no expense!

Thanks guys.

Also - how do partial water changes work for salt water tanks? How often, how much, and with something like a 120 gallon or higher, how in the world do you lug that much water around?


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## wenger230 (Dec 23, 2010)

I setting up a new aquarium, converting an existing tank from fresh to saltwater, or upgrading from a fish-only to a reef tank, it is important to plan ahead "before" you begin. 

water tank


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## csingh07 (Sep 20, 2010)

Salt water isn't much different than fresh water, so don't stress! 
Here is the MINIMUM with my experience:

- your current fixture will maintain some of the lower light requiring corals (if you want coral that is)
- HOB filter (which you have)
- Heater kept at around 76 F(which you have)
- Live rock (can range from $3-$7 per pound) you would need about 20-30 lbs
- Sand (I prefer argonite sand)
- RODI water
- Circulation pump (pretty cheap, koralia nano is what I use)
-Salt (I use instant ocean reef salt since I have coral)

That's about it! many say you need a skimmer and this is NOT true, especially if you keep up with your water changes. 20% a week and you will be fine (others only do it once a month but that's pushing it)

Most people who have larger aquariums buy their own RODIonizing system, so they make their own water. but for .05 a gallon, don't even worry about it! At my LFS they charge .50 cents per gallon


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## trouble93 (Nov 8, 2008)

Wow you really want to tell a salt water hobbyist to Spare no expense! The list above is a good start, but I would add a few things. Some hobbyist do well with HOB filters but those AC50 70 and even the 110 don't self prime if your water level is a little low. So in case of a power outage when the power is returned you will be without filtration until you can prime it. And then there's salt creep from splashing water. I would look at a good canister filter for that size tank. Maybe a fulval 205 or maybe even a 305. And you will need your own test kits. A lot of new salt water hobbyist make the mistake of just letting there LFS tell you your water is O.K. and leave it at that. You need to know for yourself what those levels are. API kits will do, but I like Salifert kits a little pricey but worth it. Also a 20lbs bag of live sand and a 10lbs bag of dry sand. This way you can lay the dry sand on the bottom and add the live sand on top to seed it. And if you want to keep any coral down the line I would say look to upgrade your lighting. 48watts over a 30gal. tank is just over a watt per gal of water a safe bet for your more light demanding coral is about 5 watts per gal. of water. I would also suggest a maxi-jet 600 with a mod kit for good water circulations. And lastly I myself wouldn't start a new tank without Chemi-Pure Elite. This will help your tank while in the cycling process. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks everybody! I'm reading a beginner's reef keeping book as well and I've got some questions:

It's looking like I'll be going the live sand live rock HOB filter route (canister will come along eventually, as will better lighting and anemones, but I'm taking baby steps). What should I look for for macro algae, or will that be the whole purpose of live rock?

I know there's a nitrogen cycle for salt tanks as well as fresh. Are there any other cycles or nutrients I should be worried about with salt? I mean obviously salinity, but what about things like phosphates, calcium, copper and iron?

How exactly do you cycle a salt water tank?

And lastly: What's the down-and-dirty method of doing a PWC for a salt tank? I'm talking step-by-step here, replete with chemicals necessary and techniques for getting the right salt level in the water, etc.

Thanks in advance!


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## trouble93 (Nov 8, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> Thanks everybody! I'm reading a beginner's reef keeping book as well and I've got some questions:
> 
> It's looking like I'll be going the live sand live rock HOB filter route (canister will come along eventually, as will better lighting and anemones, but I'm taking baby steps). What should I look for for macro algae, or will that be the whole purpose of live rock?
> 
> ...


If you are sticking with the HOB there is a way to make a refuge in the media compartment for macro algae. There are many ways to cycle a salt water tank with two rules of thumb a hard cycle or a soft cycle. A hard cycle is with no water changes during the cycle. Add a piece of table shrimp and let all your levels peak(ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and let them come down on there own. This way takes a little longer but will add a strong bacteria base needed in a new tank. A soft cycle basically the same only after all levels peak start doing 20% water changes weekly until levels reach 0's across the board. Then add a clean up crew because at this point you will start to have algae blooms. As far as water changes go again depending on your setup, after the tank has cycled 20% bi-weekly is a good starting point. I use a shop-vac bucket max it fits on top of a 5gal. bucket cost about $20.00 from Lowes and a micro tool set for around $12.00 this will let you pull dirt and debris from your rock work and works great on algae as well. And lastly get yourself a good Refractometer to test your salinity.
Sybon Salinity Refractometer with ATC - AquaCave
Those swing arm deals are just not accurate enough.


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