How do I convert my fresh water tank to a salt water tank?

Question

What are the bare minimums I have to have to set the tank before I put fish in it?

Ok what is the diffrerence with reef and non reef I guess? I wanted some nemo type fish ;) and maybe one sea anemone. I have been looking and researching. I dont want anything if possible in my area that was wild or hard to maintain. I have always wanted a salt water tank and finally at a point where I can convert my 55 gallon to it. Im new and dont want to spend a mint learning and killing fish.

Thanks for all your help. I have read a couple of books and it seems everyone has an opinion but non of them agree past you need salt. :) Another huge issue I have seen is how long to you let your tank sit before you add fish. Some said a month and others said a couple weeks.

Answer 1

The bare minimum would be to add a marine salt mix. You'll need a hydrometer for this so you can get the proper concentration - the specific gravity should be 1.020-1.026 if all you intend to keep are fish, 1.024-1.026 if you plan to have any invertebrates (snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, etc.). Since humidity and compaction affect salt, there's no convenient cups per gallon measurment.

There are several other things that would be HIGHLY recommended, however! I would suggest a change in the substrate from aquarium gravel to a crushed coral or shell material as either of these will help provide a buffer to heep the pH of the water higher (in a marine tank the pH should be above 8.0, preferably in the range of 8.2-8.4 if you're keeping inverts, and the higher pH also helps with nuisance algae control). A protein skimmer helps with water quality, but isn't absolutely required.

Since saltwater fish are more territorial than most freshwater varieties, and less tolerant of poor water quality, you can't stock the tank with as many fish.

Some reading before you choose fish/inverts is a good plan, so you'll get fish that will be compatible and will do well in the long-term in the size of tank you have. Books are your best bet here, but a few good websites can also help. See these for starters:

http://www.apapets.com/MarineEcosystem/whatto.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

ADDITION: Okay, new info - the difference between fish-only (FO) and reef is that in a reef tank, you're keeping inverts and things like corals and/or anemones. I've already covered some of the differences as far as the salinity and pH above. Keeping a reef tank means even more attention to water quality, as most inverts are less tolerant of poor quality than are the fish. You'll also need to upgrade the lighting - anemones and corals have photosynthetic organisms withing them that they rely on for food, you you'll need to invest in a compact fluorescent lighting system at the minimum, possibly a CF/metal halide system if your aquarium is a large (over 30-55 gallon) one and the type of anemone you get. And not all anemones will be compatible will all clownfish - and some won't be used by clowns at all.

First, be aware that an anemone is NOT required for keeping clownfish - they live perfectly well without one, and anemones can be kept without fish . If you're planning to keep both, see this link for info on which clowns use which anemones - and keep in mind that even if an anemone and clown species do host naturally in nature, the individuals you get aren't guaranteed to cooperate and do the same in an aquarium: http://www.bestfish.com/tips/032698.html

With a reef tank, you'll want some live rock (the "live" refers to bacteria that help process biological wastes). This can be built up into "caves" to provide nature hiding places for the fish and inverts in your tank. These come with small shrimp, snails, algae, and other organisms so you never know just what you might find.

Keeping the inverts can also limit your choices in fish. If all you intend to keep are clowns, that's fine, but if you want to get any others, you'll need to look for species thhat are considered "reef safe", in other words, ones that won't eat your sponges, corals, anemone, invets, etc.

Answer 2

It depends on the size of the aquarium. I currently have a 55 gallon saltwater that I converted from freshwater. It also depends on what you want to keep in the tank. My first suggestion would be to do some research in to what you want your final product to be. We didn't do this and we are definitly paying for it now. If you want fish only, it will be a bit easier and cheaper. If you have a small tank, then a freshwater filter will work fine, however it will need to be upgraded. On my 20 gallon satlwater quarentine tank I have an Eclipse filter set-up for a 55 gallon tank. That works fine, however if you have a larger tank then you'll need a protein skimmer and those go for about $100-$200. You'll also need some live sand and live rock for the biological fitration. I recently bought live sand for $13 for a 25lb bag and live rock goes for about $7.99/lb here in Va Beach. Then if you're going fish only, the cost of the fish and upgraded lighting. If you're going with the reef, which is what people think of when they mention saltwater, you'll need even higher lighting, which we are about to leep into soon. Those typically run $400-$500. You need to do research on the fish that you want to keep because some fish are not reef safe. They will eat the corals in the tank. If you have any other questions you can e-mail me.

Answer 3

Bare minimum for a salt-water tank varies if you want a fish-only or a mini-reef style tank. In general, you'll need the tank, a high-quality filter (Something like an Emperor 400 minimum on a 29 gallon is good, and that's if you have a pretty lightly-populated tank. If you're doing a very little mini-reef with no picky, light-hungry corals, you may also be able to get away with an Eclipse, but it's harder), a heater, and lights. If you plan to have corals or a mini-reef, you're going to need very high quality lights- they're one of the most expensive parts of the salt tank. And of course you'll need marine tank salt, such as Instant Ocean. You will probably also need a pH-up chemical, since salt-water tanks want a fairly high pH.

If you want a mini reef, you may want to look into livesand and liverock, which is sand and rock which has been cured in the ocean, so it's seeded with tons of benificial bacteria. It is very helpful for keeping the tank's ammonia and nitrite levels down (these are very poisonous at the higher pH), and it makes the tank look nice and natural. For the record, check your source- liverock should be something like limestone, not coral ripped out of the ocean. If you like your marine tank, it's always nice to make sure your sources are environmentally-friendly, not harming the environment you're trying to mimic.

I worked for a few years at a small petshop specializing in aquariums and especially marine aquariums. One of the best books I stumbled across there for beginners is the Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums (part of the Simple Guide series- they make a fresh-water version, too). It's a great resource to get you started.

The first setup and stocking of a marine aquarium can be pretty pricy, even if you do it over a long period of time. Fish-only tanks are cheaper (though they require more expensive filtration, protean skimmers, etc) than live rock but harder to maintain; mini-reefs are more of an investment to set up, but bring in more of the marine feel, with corals and shrimp in addition to fish, and they're easier to maintain.

On the other hand, my first marine aquarium was an Eclipse 12 setup, so you can manage a lot in even a small and *relatively* inexpensive space- live sand, twelve pounds of high-quality live rock, two shrimp, a dozen hermit crabs and snails, some mushroom corals, and the obligatory percula clown fish and that tank could keep me staring at it for hours.

Answer 4

copper seems to about have it. anenomes are kind of difficult, they require alot of light, metal halides for a 55g. if you have an open stand a wet/dry filter would be the best. i prefer sump filtration, research both of these or email me. bare minimiums would be whatever filter you have now, a few powerheads, most power filters for a 55 have about 200gph, you will want at least 1100gph more if you want corals. 2 of the maxi-jet 1200's would have you with about 800gph. converting to a wet/dry or sump with a flow rate of around 500-600gph would give over 1300gph. whatever lighting you have now would work in the beginning, but no coral, or anenomes. i would start out with 10-15lbs of live rock.

ok, first off buy a marine test kit, with ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. a good thermometer and a hydrometer. nesxt would be a bag of calcium sand or crushed coral, you can use play sand from lowes as well. buy some salt mix and the two powerheads. buy a protein skimmer, i like the coralife super skimmer, they have a model for a 65g, get that one or the one for 125g if you use a big sump or wet/dry. if you cannot put a sump in the bottom of the tank you can get the largest biowheel flter you can find and use that, but you will most likely not be able to keep corals, but they work for beginners. ok, nowyou can start the set up, drain and rinse your old tank, add the bottom matrerial, keep the sand under 1" same for the crushed coral (i would say sand id better) having room for a dsb is rough. fill the tank with water, i would recommend RO water available from taregt or walmart, at least use it every other waterchange or so. add the recommended amount of salt at a cup full every 30 minutes or so. after all is added wait about 1-2 days and test with the hydrometer and adjust as nessisary, 1.024 is a good reading, add salt for it to go up, take out water and add fresh to lower it. wait a at least half a day to measure again. ok. now you can buy the rock, just make it look nice. add a small piece of cocktail shrimp and test the water until you get no ammonia, and no nitrite. add the skimmer. add about 5lbs every two weeks or sowhenever you have about 40-55lbs you can hold for a while until levels drop off again. yes do waterc changes in this time. ok now you can get a fish, as for one possibility in fish, a clownfish, algae blenny, coral beauty ,small gobies. just get one at a time and test before adding another. try this aout and see what happens, really a wet/dry or sump filter is the way to go, look it up if you have anyspace under thye tank for one, some people use a rubbermaid totw box as a sump, they need not be terribley expensive but there are very helpful. hope this helps, remember ressearch and patience are key in saltwater, try wetwebmedia.com, dont worry you dont have to know all of it, just the parts uyou want.

oh yeah the tank will look crappy after the addition of the rock and as its being built up, this is perfectly normal and shows its working, it will clear. after the firtst 25lbs are added a few hermit crabs 2-3, and a few snails maybe 5-6 to start with can be added, jsut add bigger shells for the hermits. you can add more inverts later if you want, but just one at a time, more if you're replacing dead ones. astrea snails die quickly or whnever they fall over, narissius, or turbos, get a mix,are better

Answer 5

Put some marine salt in the freshwater tank as directed. I would then get some rocks or corals and finnaly put the fish in is. Change the filter and get a protein skimmer.

Answer 6

well salt water is tons of work remember that the need constant maintenace and work so i would just keep a freshwater and get colorful cichlids or sumthing