Converting my freshwater 80g to salt water.?

Question

I have an empty 80g I'm thinking of converting to salt water. I know what I need in terms of sand, rocks, and lighting (I have a 4x65watt PC light for it), but I wouldn't know where to start for filtration. I dont want to drill it... someone once suggested a canister filter+powerhead+protein skimmer, but wanted to get advice from more than 1 hobbyist before I get anything going.

Please only answer if you are an expereinced keeper.

Answer 1

If you've already used the tank for freshwater fish, you probably already have much of the equipment you need to use it as a saltwater tank as well (filter, heater, powerhead?) as well as the lighting. I'll give the list I've been providing for people who ask about starting saltwater tanks, with some specifics for a set-up for your size tank.

FILTER: It's possible that you may want to just use your old filter if it's properly sized (filters at least 5x-10x the tank volume per hour - check the gallons per hour rating). If you need a new one, or are looking to upgrade, there are lots of choices, and what you'll need will really depend on budget, what you're trying to keep, and personal preference. I'd consider the best to be a refugium or wet/dry trickle filter, as these provide extra water volume for the tank as well. You can do one of these without needing to drill the tank, but it would better to have the sump above the main tank in this case, so you get at least one direction using gravity flow, but this will also mean a slightly lower water level to accomodate water in the plumbing if the electric fails. Having a second tank gives you more surface area for a biological filter, and you can use macroalgae to remove some of the nitrates. If you do a refugium with gravity flow into the main tank, you'll be able to produce copepods and small shrimp which will get caught in the gravity flow and provide occassional "treats" for your fish. If you keep the sump and main tank on opposite 12 hr. photoperiods, this also make the pH more stable (has to do with products of photosynthesis).

Next best would be a canister, followed by a biowheel, then a standard hang-on-tank. Unless you're using a fine sand or oolite substrate, you can also use an undergravel filter to supplement filtration, but I'd suggest powering it with a reversible powerhead to blow the water up through the substrate (prevents stuff from building up under the filter and clogging it). The more surface area you get for bacteria, the better your biological filter will function, so the canister will probably have the next most area to the refugium or wet/dry. The canister has the advantage of being the only filter that forces water through the media, rather than allowing unfiltered water to bypass the media as it becomes clogged. The downside of these is that you have to break down the filter to clean, so it's somewhat more inconvenient.

The biowheel is considered a good choice for added biological filtration, but don't discount "traditional" filters like the AquaClear filter which have a large sponge filter to add surface area. While these can clog and allow unfiltered water to bypass media if you don't clean the media regularly. The media, however, is much more easily accessed than that of the canisters, and these are less expensive as well.

Another thing to consider is circulation of the water in the tank. If you use a wet/dry, refugium, or canister, you'll probably only use one. This means wastes from the opposite side of the tank has to make it to your filter to be removed. With a biowheel or traditional hang-on, you can get two filters for about the same price, and place them so they are closer to all the sources of wastes.

POWERHEAD(S): To provide more water circulation in hard to get to places, and to keep particles in suspension for filter-feeders (and the filters). Red cyanobacteria (red slime algae) doesn't like high current, so an extra powerhead (or two!) is one thing you can use for prevention. This also helps circulate dissolved oxygen to the bottom of the tank. Even though you want extra circulation, you also want some areas of the tank with higher and lower areas of current for the animals to choose their own level of preference.

HEATERS: For a saltwater tank, I'd suggest getting 2 and putting one on each end. This will provide more even heating, and your tank has a back-up if one gives out (and they eventually will). Figure the correct size as 5 watts per gallon divided by 2 heaters. If you need to heat the water more than 10 degrees above the room temperature, go one size higher.

LIGHTING: The CF system you have should be fine for some of the corals and anemeones sold if you're planning to keep them, but do some research on the species before you buy. Some need even higher levels and should have metal halides (or a combo) for the best success. For your present system, I would recommend at least 1/2 of the tubes be 10,000K and the others either 50/50s or 03 actinics.

SUBSTRATE - you want something made of aragonite to help keep the pH from changing, I like the smaller shell material that Carib-Sea puts out - it doesn't have to be live sand, either. Some folks like crushed coral, but the particle size is bigger than I like, and it tends to have a lot of dust that never rinses completely out. Another very fine grained material is oolitic aragonite (looks like small white balls) and aragonite sand. Here's an idea of the materials available: http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/dry_aragonite.html While it's possible to keep a marine tank with regular aquarium gravel or no substrate, the aragonite will keep the pH from falling below 7.8 (it should be 8.2-8.4, especially if you want a reef tank). You can buy the substrate dry, or as "live sand" which (supposedly) contains the nitrifying bacteria. I haven't been a fan of the pre-bagged live sand, as the bacteria needed for the tank are aerobic, and there's no telling how long bags have been sitting on store shelves. I've also seen a few of these bags with red slime algae growing in them, and I doubt that's something you want to introduce. These also cost about twice as much as the dry. If you find a store that sells live sand by the cup out of their tanks (where there's aeration) you can use this to seed the tank. Just keep an eye on any fish in that or connected tanks - you want to avoid buying if you see fish that appear unhealthy, you don't want to introduce any parasites or diseases to your tank either.

SALT MIX: If you're only keeping fish, you can go with one of the less expensive brands of synthetic sea salt. If you get any invertebrates (shrimp, snails, crabs, corals, anemones, etc.), switch to a better quality mix before you add them. These cost a little more, but you won't need to be using additives for the trace elements they need either.

HYDROMETER: This measures the amount of salt that's dissolved in water. There are two kinds you can get, one made of glass that floats on the surface (more accurate, but easy to break) and a plastic container that has a needle that rises and falls as the amount of salt changes (less accurate, bubbles attaching to the needle gives false readings). For fish only, you want the specific gravity to read 1.020 - 1.026. If you're keeping inverts, you want it to be 1.024 - 1.026.

WATER TESTING KIT: minimum of pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. I like the API Saltwater Master test kit, it has all the tests listed above, with more for nitrate and pH, since you'll continue to monitor these after the tank has cycled.

CLEANING SUPPLIES: elbow length gloves, gravel vacuum, 5 gallon bucket, large plastic container and powerhead for mixing the salt (to be done well ahead of water changes), algae scraper, razor blades (for coraline algae and diatoms that like to attach to the glass).

WATER CONDITIONER: for removing chlorine or chloramine from your tap water (unless you plan to use a reverse osmosis filter or buy RO water, which is the preferred water source). If you use tapwater, I would also suggest buying a phosphate removing pad that you can cut to size for whatever filter you choose. Public water supplies are permitted to add a small amount of phosphate to the water as a method to prevent pipe corrosion, unfortunately, it acts as an algae fertilizer.

The following are optional, but strongly suggested:

PROTEIN SKIMMER: This removes dissloved and small organic materials that would normally contribute to the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in your tank using a fine column of bubbles. You can get these in venturi models (my preference, but more expensive) or models which need an air pump and wooden airstone (the wood produces finer bubbles than the "traditional" airstones). Effectiveness here is related to the height of the column through which the bubbles rise, with longer being better. These are not 100% necessay for FO tanks, but will be handy if you plan a reef setup by removing organic materials that raise your nitrates and become nutrients for algae.

GLASS COVER: This reduces evaporation and keeps the fish inside the tank. If you ever go to a metal halide lighting system, though, it can overheat your tank.

LIVE ROCK: This give the tank a more natural appearance, provides hiding places for the fish and inverts, and increases the biological filtration. If you use this, the bacteria in the live rock will also seed the substrate. Not to mention, you get all kinds of cool critters that hitchhike into your tank. For best filtration, the general "rule of thumb" is 1 lb of Pacific origin rock per gallon or 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of Atlantic or Carribean rock per gallon (the Pacific is more porous, so less is needed to produce the same results). Since any organisms the require good light or high circulation at the bottom of the pile may die, I recommended getting dry "base rock" (also called reef or lace rock, or travertine) for the bottom, then placing good quality live rock at the front and top. The organisms from this will colonize the dry rock where the proper conditions exist for them.

CHILLER: If you use metal halide lighting (and even the CFs put out some heat), or the water temperature regularly gets above 85o (for corals or anemones, fish can take a little more heat), you may need to invest in a chiller to keep the tank cool. The water temperature should ideally run 76-80oF.

Before going out and buying all this, I would suggest some (additional, as if this weren't enough!) reading to see what you're getting into by keeping saltwater. I did research for almost 2 years before I set up my first saltwater tank, and I had about 20 years of freshwater aquarium experience already. Rushing into a saltwater setup usually doesn't give you good results, and the equipment and fish are a little too expensive to be finding out in a few weeks you got something that's not appropriate for what you want for your tank. I'd also recommend a good reference book for some research. Either of these would be a good one to start with: The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 or The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5

Here's an excellent web site where you can check out for more info on keeping saltwater: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ The philosophy here is sort of like mine - give info where multiple methods or equipment types exist, but the user is the one who makes the final decisions. However, they'll give you straight info if something won't do the job.

There's an email contact for me in my profile if you have additional questions.

Answer 2

Agrees that some of the comments here are completely ignorant and un-educated responses. The body was not intended to digest all the processed chemicals we are slamming into it every day. The salt water flush and the Master Cleanse in general are not gimmicks for sale. This information is free and available to anyone who wishes to seek out a healthy alternative to purging one's self of all the gunk and goo lurking in the body. You are using too much salt. If 2 tsp is not getting any movement GRADUALLY increase the salt but not to such extreme amounts. I cannot stand salt water but i get it down and it works great. If you cannot drink it I have seen many people suggesting to put the sea salt into capsules...just make sure you follow them up with the right amount of water as it is important. Good luck and if you have any other questions go to facebook. There are many great groups out there all happy to help and non-abusive. I reccommend Reach4Raw as those guys are super helpful.

Answer 3

oh thank god, somebody knows not to take the advise of just one person.

filtration means are mostly dependant on stocking levels, type of tank and size.
your tank is an 80? what kind/size fish were you planning on keeping?
FO, FOLWR, reef? what?

personally i would recomend drilling for an overflow leading to a sump. i really like them alot becuse you can hid most of your equipment out of the tank that way. the skimmer, heater, bubbler (if so desired) and actual filtration mode is all hidden out of sight under the stand.

please feel free to email me if you have any other questions or want to talk more about this, (it get's kind of hard to go back and forth in the questions area)