hpw simple is it to convert a freshwater tank into a saltwater tank?

Question

i would like to know how simple it is to do. and what i have to do please

I KNOW ITS GOING TO TAKE TIME AND MONEY. IM WILLING TO DO THAT! I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT I HAD TO GET RID OF( FILTERS, DECORATIONS AND WHAT NOT!)

Answer 1

Actually it is quite simple. You need to break down your current set up and remove everything. You do not have to remove the current gravel, but depending on what fish you are planning on adding, you may rethink this. Clean your tank with salt and water mix. Hot water rinse....same with the filter.

Here is a quick how to set up for salt water:
Just remember, salt water....keep your paws out of the tank once it is up and running
HAVE PATIENCE! One week is no where near long enought for adding fish. Salt will take 4-6 weeks for lower end fish and up to 6 months or more for your higher end fish.


First step for your tank is figuring out where you are going to put it. Remember with a salt water tank, you are going to have to leave room behind the tank for access, filters etc. About 8-12 inches. (This will also help to protect walls from salt evaporation. I'll explain later) Once you have that, we are ready to start.

Do you have a local fish store to trust? One that relies on good fish keeping and good advice to stay in business. Find one even if you have to drive a few miles out of your way. They can be a large asset when it comes to fish.

Do you have any ideas on what you might want to keep? Or is this a "we'll start with a blank canvas and see where it goes?" thing?

To start, a regular hood, no special lights will suffice for now. (until you see if this is what you really want to advance to)

To start, you do not NEED a skimmer. They are prefered but, my 30 gallon has never had a skimmer or power heads and still doesn't. I hate to use the word cheap, just less expensive. And you can still have a healthy tank.

A rear whisper filter designed for a 75 gallon tank will suffice for now. This will run around $50 at walmart of all places. Your best bet is to shop around. You can if you choose to go with a back pack filter which come preequiped with a protein skimmer for around $150.00. This could save time and money later when upgrading.

For a beginner, I would suggest dolomite (Crushed coral) for the bottom of your tank (Easier to care for). If you are not going to be runninga protein skimmer, this will make cleaning much easier. You will also want to get a gravel siphon for cleaning (these can range from a couple of bucks to upwards of $50. You don't need anything fancy, just a siphon). A heater is a must $10-15), thermometer $1.95 In the tank only a floater of one that attaches doesn't matter. It should be placed the farthest from your heater as possible.) A hydrometer These can run from a few dollars and up. Just a floating hydrometer is fine. around $4.00. Some packages of salt you will purchase sometimes come with a hydrometer, so this may help. Instant Ocean makes a quality synthetic salt. ($22.00). (When you start moving up in the salt water I would suggest switching to Red Sea Salt.) Power heads are beneficial, but at this point not necessary. They can be added on at any time. Get a quality Dechlorinator. (DO NOT USE start right or stress coat in your marine tank) AquaNova + is a good dechlor and it also adds back trace minerals to the water. One or two 5 gallon buckets. $2.29 each at home depot.

Ok I think we are ready to start. Be sure your tank is clean. You can use a salt water mix to clean your tank. There is also an aquarium cleaner you can buy but for your tank, a mix of 1/2 cup of salt dissolved in a gallon of water will do. (no specifics here.) Clean the tank rinse and let's get started.

If you chose to use the dolomite you do not want to use more than will cover 1 1/2 - 2 inches across the bottom. (Sand will require the same) Use a kitchen sive and clean the gravel by rinsing it. Dump the gravel into the bucket and swish the heck out of it. Drain and rinse again.

(You will only do this if you are using dry dolomite. LIVE dolomite and live sand do not get rinsed)

Pour the gravel into the bottom of your tank. Doesn't need to be flattened yet since you are going to be dumping water into your tank and this is going to dislocate it anyway. Using your 5 gallon buckets, fill just about 4 gallons or 4 1/5 depending on how much you can lift. Add the required amount of Dechlor and then the salt. (Usually 1.5 pounds or 24 oz per 5 gallons, however I have never used that much to obtain a 1.022 gravity in my tank.) I start by adding a cup mixing to disolve (and I use warm tap water here) I will check the hydrometer to see how far off I am and either add more salt or more fresh water. Since you are setting up your tank, obtaining an exact 1.022 is not that important right now, getting close is. Continue dissolving salt and new water until your tank is about 3-4 inches from the top. Attach your filter (be sure it is rinsed well as well as the filters) if you choose to use a rear filter. Even so a back pack filter also needs rinsed. Now we have water movement.

I did not mention anything about live rock or any other items for your tank yet. At this stage since you REALLY should not try to cycle your salt water this early with live rock. If you only knew what things grow on and in the rock, don't waste your money now. It really isn't needed. Now that your tank is running. Check the water with the hydrometer. you should be pretty close to your 1.022 range. Slightly higher or lower isn't going to matter. Turn your heater on and set it for around 78. Finish topping off your tank with salt mixed water. Don't forget to add dechlor to every bucket. Congratulations, your tank is now set up. Now comes the waiting. And you will wait. To aid in the tanks cycling, but does not replace cycling, take a few pieces of raw fish or shrimp, chop them up and toss them intothe tank. This will help the bacteria establish more quickly leading to a healther tank later. Get a notebook. Markdown the day you set your tank up and what you did and what you used. Do this with water changes and tests. This way you have a record of what was done.

Let it run. Continue to run the lights during the day and off at night. After about a week, check your water quality. I would suggest a really good test kit, and strips. I use the strips (I call them dummy strips since they are very broad ranged and are not accurate enough for fishkeeping) to initially test. Then I compair them with what I get from my water tests. I mark the results down in my note book with the day. If you don't trust yourself enough to read the water, take it to your LFS. They will do it for you. Your tank will have to run a minimum of 6 weeks with nothing in it. Do not try to rush this process. Salt water is not the same as fresh water. Shrimp, anemone or even fish are less tolorent of water conditions.

If you really MUST have something swimming around, after 3 weeks, you can buy a black mollie or a couple of guppies. They will live fine in your tank at this time. They are the only fish to attempt. Placing damsels would kill the damsels since they are not the same kind of fish mollies and guppies are. You really do not need to do any water changes during the break in time. If you are showing spiking of nitrates, you may want to do a 20% water change. After your 6 week break in period, test your water. If all the parmiters are ok, you can begin with the lower end fish. Damsels. DO NOT TRY to place triggers or tangs or puffers into your tank. The bacteria is present, but not established and it will kill these fish. If your damsels are doing fine in two weeks, you can start adding live rock to build up your substraight. You can buy as little as pound or ten pounds. You can buy dead corals, fake corals, or whatever you want to decorate your tank. Your tank will need to sit for a minimum of 6 months before you can attempt the higher end fish.

I test my tanks every three days. I only do a water change of 25% once every three to four weeks. My tanks are established however and are pretty much on their own.

A few rules of thumb when dealing with salt fish. Keep your hands out! The more your hands remain out of the tank, the better your fish will be.

DO not spray anything in the room your tank is in.

Now you can start thinking about breeding brine shrimp, and what other fish you are interested in getting. Remember to do your research, since fish require different lighting, water paramiters and are or are not compatable with reef, invertabreas etc.

Good luck. If you have any additional question feel free to email me.

ADDED:

Sorry, I really hate when people who don't have salt water give advice. (Kind of like having not having kids and telling you how to raise yours.) YES you can use your heater, filter and tank. YOU DO NOT NEED to buy a new tank, filter stand this is simply rediculas.

You do need to clean these items. You can either buy Tank clean or just use salt dissolved water and scrub. Rinse well.

You do not NEED Live rock in a salt tank. My 30 gallon which I have had for more than 30 years has NO LIVE ROCK, and a whisper rear filter, no skimmer no power heads and it is healthy and the fish are happy.

Sorry Zoe, your fresh water expertise is A1 but I do have much more experience and have Salt tanks.

It is how you initially set up your tank that will keep you from having problems in the future.

Answer 2

I have had salt water for years. Converted all my fresh tanks. You can keep your tank and filter (get rid of the used filter pads) but you can keep the tank stand (You can even keep your gravel if it is properly cleaned).

I think Danielle Z hit the nail on the head. SOme people over analyze the tank set up. Cleaning your tanks well will allow you to reuse the items. It is done every day.

One forgets, a salt tank will be running with nothing in it for over 6 weeks. (NO fast process here) There will be no trace chemicals or metals.

I took Danielle Z's advise to another salt question and I have switched to AquaNova +. This is the best stuff for salt tanks and removing the metals etc. and replacing the trace minerals.

You don't have to have live rock. I have two tanks, a 55 and a 75 and I don't have live rock or live sand in either one and they have been running fine and healthy for over 20 years.

I have had my share of "Problems" when I got started. I will say it is nice to know there are knowledgable people here who can guide you to start. I have learned a lot over the years.

Honestly, DO NOT use vinager to clean a salt tank. Use dissolved salt like mentioned above or Aqua tank cleaner.

Answer 3

It's not simple at all. You basically have to start from scratch, because you won't be able to reuse the filter or decorations. You may be able to reuse the heater, though, if it is of good quality.

All in all, when you go from FW to SW, it's not "converting", it's starting over. You will need new sand, a new filter / protein skimmer, live rock, possibly heaters, possibly a new tank etc.

How big is your FW set-up? If this is your first marine tank, I don't suggest that you start with anything smaller than 40 gallons. Anything smaller will be much harder to maintain and will require vigilant daily maintenance. The bigger the tank, the more stable, and the bigger margin for error. Anyhoo, I suggest you pick up a book on starting a saltwater tank from your local fish store and read it from cover to cover before making your final decision. There's no reason you can't do, but you will need to set aside a big budget (try to set aside 1500$ - you won't spend it all if you buy smart and buy some used items, but it's better to ober budget than to be missing money at the end) and a lot of time to learn and set up your tank.

Answer 4

If you have ever used copper medications to treat your tank then SW inverts (snails, shrimp, hermits, ect..) & coral will not be able to be added to the SW tank (leftover copper residue kills inverts/coral). You can still do a fish only SW tank or a fish with live rock tank though.

Your tank needs to be completely emptied, and then scrub with 1 part white vinegar 1 part water with an algae pad. Rinse thoroughly and let dry for a day. If you want to mix the SW in the tank (which is easiest) then only mix with an empty tank and use a hydrometer to get your salinity to around 1.022.

I’d use aragonite sand and not crushed coral. Crushed coral limits your fish/invert selection and traps waste which elevates your no3 over time. Add about 1-2 lbs per gal of rinsed sand (to give you 2”-3” of sand) to your tank once the salt is mixed. It will be a cloudy for 2-4 days usually.

Do a fishless cycle using raw shrimp (about 1 cocktail size per 30 gal) and once your ammonia and nitrite gets to 0 ppm do a 50% water change or more until your no3 is 10 ppm or less. It is then safe to add 1-2 fish depending on the size of the tank. Your old filter should work fine but SW bacteria needs to form since its different then FW bacteria.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

There is other equipment you need for a successful SW tank and instead of listing everything here I’ll just link you to a lengthy “stock list post” I wrote that covers all the basic and optional equipment needed.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=76139

Here is another link which goes into more detail on converting FW to SW.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bcorsettingup/a/aa091201.htm

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Answer 5

the previous use of the tank is non relevant,,,, clean it properly and let it dry,, and you start from scratch,,,research and get all the information you can,,, many start-up books and websites are available for the saltwater beginner ---the additional equipment is more expensive,, live rock, live sand, protien skimmer, additional filtration, powerheads for circulation, hygrometer, salt mix ---then there is the cost of marine specimens, if you shop around to local fish stores you will find reasonably priced specimens, as well as store owners that can assist you with information ---six years ago, when i started saltwater fishkeeping, i went to my local public library to see what they had available in regards to "how to" books,,, suprisingly a very good selection ---when you read ANY books, fresh or saltwater or hobby publications such as magazines you will see similarities pepeated over and over in each of them ,,, ---maintenance schedule ---partial water changes ---TEST your water parameters ---Don't overfeed your animals ---you can't get too much information, keep reading anything you can get, libraries can order in books for you that are not in their usual inventories ---as far as disease or parasites,,, my opinion ,,, salt water livetock are just as resistant and can be kept healthy when upkeep on their environment is provided ---be careful that you get compatable species when it is time for stocking your tank --- be patient while cycling your tank

Answer 6

easy i turned my 75 gallon tank into a saltwater. take out everything in the freshwater tank.buy sea salt and crushed coral.add the sea salt and crushed coral into the water you just put in tank. wait for a couple days for it to clear up.after about a week, you can start buying fishes.enjoy!

Answer 7

Good Luck with that. It takes alot more work and effort and the tank equipment is alot more expensive. To put it simply.