Thinking of going SW, but need convincing

A. Nonymous

A. Nonymous

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Feb 4, 2008
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After keeping freshwater fish for about 8 years or so, I'm thinking of going SW. I haven't quite made a decisions. I have a 75g tank that's not doing much of anything right now. It would be my SW tank. I have a canister filter for the tank already and a light. I'm probably going to go FO or possibly FOWLR. Reef is way, way out of the question. I have neither the time nor the expertise to make that happen no matter how much I'd love to. I have so many questions though.

1. What substrate should I use? The 75g had Turface as I was using it as a planted tank. Will this possibly work? I've also got enough black gravel (standard aquarium fare) to use as well. I'm seeing bad things about crushed coral? Am I better off going bare bottom? What's going to give me the best chance of success.

2. Do I need a protein skimmer? I'm hearing pros/cons. Again, my goal is just to have a successful tank at first. Fancy it doesn't have to be, just successful.

3. I was thinking of stocking just damsels primarily. They're colorful, I'm told they're very hardy and impossible to kill, but also aggressive and territorial. I have experience keeping cichlids so I'm willing to trade aggressiveness and territorialness for hardiness. How many damsels could I potentially put in a 75g? I know stocking limits are lower in SW than in FW.

4. I currently use a large plastic tub to dechlorinate my FW when I do water changes. Then I use a pump to fill up the tank. Can I use the same pump and tub for SW, or do I need a different pump and tub. I'm assuming I probably need to run FW through the pump after each water change to clean it out.

I'm sure I will have a bajillion other questions and you'll get sick of me if I decide to go this route. My main thing is that the tank be successful. If I fail right out of the chute, I may end up just sticking with FW for good.
 
A. Nonymous said:
After keeping freshwater fish for about 8 years or so, I'm thinking of going SW. I haven't quite made a decisions. I have a 75g tank that's not doing much of anything right now. It would be my SW tank. I have a canister filter for the tank already and a light. I'm probably going to go FO or possibly FOWLR. Reef is way, way out of the question. I have neither the time nor the expertise to make that happen no matter how much I'd love to. I have so many questions though.

1. What substrate should I use? The 75g had Turface as I was using it as a planted tank. Will this possibly work? I've also got enough black gravel (standard aquarium fare) to use as well. I'm seeing bad things about crushed coral? Am I better off going bare bottom? What's going to give me the best chance of success.

<< Aragonite sugar size reef sand would be fine..Forget the Turface, wrong application for a marine tank >>

2. Do I need a protein skimmer? I'm hearing pros/cons. Again, my goal is just to have a successful tank at first. Fancy it doesn't have to be, just successful.

<< For either a FO or FOWLR, a skimmer is not that neccesary in my opinion..Yes, its going to help, but, i would not run one >>

3. I was thinking of stocking just damsels primarily. They're colorful, I'm told they're very hardy and impossible to kill, but also aggressive and territorial. I have experience keeping cichlids so I'm willing to trade aggressiveness and territorialness for hardiness. How many damsels could I potentially put in a 75g? I know stocking limits are lower in SW than in FW.

<< Just remember, if going for damsels, you'll prob get agression issues in the future if you want to add another species of fish..Personaly, i would go for more peacefull fish like clowns, gobys, blennys, firefish etc etc >>

4. I currently use a large plastic tub to dechlorinate my FW when I do water changes. Then I use a pump to fill up the tank. Can I use the same pump and tub for SW, or do I need a different pump and tub. I'm assuming I probably need to run FW through the pump after each water change to clean it out.

<< I would not mix FW and SW equipment, keep them seperate. The possibility for paracites etc etc getting from one system to another is undesirable. >>

I'm sure I will have a bajillion other questions and you'll get sick of me if I decide to go this route. My main thing is that the tank be successful. If I fail right out of the chute, I may end up just sticking with FW for good.

<< Patience is a virtue with SW...Just take your time, research all your stock, pay close attention to water params, and there is no reason why you would not be successfull..>>
Click to expand...


..
 
pros.. its beautiful and addicting

cons.. it cost alot alot alot of money to do it properly
 
I had a bizarre idea to set it up looking like a FW tank, but with SW fish. I'm talking Chinese pagodas, Wild Western town, gaudy FW type thing, but with SW fish in it. Kind of make people do a double take. It seems everyone who does SW has the white sand, white rock look. I'm kind of wanting to do something different. I'm off to the LFS to price stuff and will probably have tons of questions later.
 
A. Nonymous said:
After keeping freshwater fish for about 8 years or so, I'm thinking of going SW. I haven't quite made a decisions. I have a 75g tank that's not doing much of anything right now. It would be my SW tank. I have a canister filter for the tank already and a light. I'm probably going to go FO or possibly FOWLR. Reef is way, way out of the question. I have neither the time nor the expertise to make that happen no matter how much I'd love to. I have so many questions though.

Go with the FOWLR. You will have a more stable tank and the ability to stock more fish due to the greater biological filtration live rock provides. You can save some money by buying dead/dry rock and a few pieces of cured LR to seed the dry rock.

1. What substrate should I use? The 75g had Turface as I was using it as a planted tank. Will this possibly work? I've also got enough black gravel (standard aquarium fare) to use as well. I'm seeing bad things about crushed coral? Am I better off going bare bottom? What's going to give me the best chance of success.

Either go BB or use aragonite sand. Get some nice finer grain sand. It does not have to be live sand as your cured LR will seed the sand bed as well. Also, if you go with sand, either go with a shallow sand bed 1-2 inches. If you want a deep sand bed you kind of need to go 6 inches or more. Depths in between can cause you problems. Research deep sand beds for more clarification.

2. Do I need a protein skimmer? I'm hearing pros/cons. Again, my goal is just to have a successful tank at first. Fancy it doesn't have to be, just successful.

No, you do not need one to have a successful tank. Skimmers can make your life easier though when it comes to tank maintenace and if you plan to stock the tank to the max with fish, it might be a good idea.

3. I was thinking of stocking just damsels primarily. They're colorful, I'm told they're very hardy and impossible to kill, but also aggressive and territorial. I have experience keeping cichlids so I'm willing to trade aggressiveness and territorialness for hardiness. How many damsels could I potentially put in a 75g? I know stocking limits are lower in SW than in FW.

I have never kept a damsel because I have a peaceful reef tank. I have observed them at my LFS and in other's tanks and they are definitely agressive. I would expect some disputes and probably losses as well. They remind me of the tropheus I used to keep as they constantly chase each other around the tank. This would be another reason to go with LR to provide lots of territories. I would say you could probably go with 10-12 damsels but again, I'm not sure about compatibility and grouping. I would definitely think this through and make sure damsels are what you want. I think you might see other fish you want and not be able to have them because of the aggression issue. They certainly are colorful and active fish!

4. I currently use a large plastic tub to dechlorinate my FW when I do water changes. Then I use a pump to fill up the tank. Can I use the same pump and tub for SW, or do I need a different pump and tub. I'm assuming I probably need to run FW through the pump after each water change to clean it out.

You can use the same tub and pump but I would recommend that you just spend the $25 to get a new bucket or two and a small pump. Also, avoid using tap water. Go with RO water if at all possible. You will stand a much better chance of avoiding algae headaches and a host of other problems.

Also, make sure that none of the equipment you will be using (including the tank itself) has been treated with copper based medications. While you are not planning to do a reef, you will likely end up with some inverts in your tank. You will likely want hermit crabs, snails, and possibly some ornamental shrimp to head keep your tank clean and the copper remenents can be deadly to them.

I'm sure I will have a bajillion other questions and you'll get sick of me if I decide to go this route. My main thing is that the tank be successful. If I fail right out of the chute, I may end up just sticking with FW for good.
Click to expand...

Ask away!!! Be prepared to have some set backs but if you take a minute to research BEFORE you move on something you will be much better off! SW requires a fair amount of patience so if you're not willing to work through things, you might not want to start into SW. Once your tank matures and you get a feel for how things work, its not so demanding. I really think you will enjoy SW if you have been keeping FW for so long.
 
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Just got back from the LFS. Even more questions. (You'll get sick of me yet.)

1. I saw salt comes in 160 lb buckets. How long do these last with standard water changes? (I'm guessing 50% every week right?)
2. I saw several sumps for sale there. Do I need anything like this?
3. You mentioned the advantages of live rock. What disadvantages could I possibly run into?
4. I've got play sand laying around. Will something like this work as a substrate?
 
1. How long the salt lasts depends on what you consider a standard water change. I've not heard of many people that do 50% weekly... 10% - 20% weekly (or every other week) is more common. If you change 8g a week, the bucket would last for roughly 20 water changes / 20 weeks if you are mixing to the SpG (Specific Gravity) stated in the instructions.

2. A sump has benefits, but is not necessary. It can definitely allow you to move some of the equipment out of sight (heaters and the skimmer are the two main items). It also increases water volume and overall water parameter stability.

3. Without proper amounts of flow, live rock will trap detritus, which over time will lead to unwanted algae as that detritus breaks down.

4. Play sand will work fine. Depending on how long you've had it and what else might be in it, you may want to treat it with a light bleach solution first and then rinse it heavily to remove all traces of the bleach.
 
Hi, I'm liking the FW look but with SW fish Quite unique.

I agree with all the above, but also be aware it's addictive, very addictive, i found myself compulsively drawn to every lfs that i passed, and some I had to travel quite a distance to get to.
 
I'm not saying you can't use play sand because every time I see someone that says you "can't" do something in this hobby, I find someone that "can". However, if that play sand has a high silca content (I'm guessing it does), you are probably going to have a serious diatom bloom that will last quite a while as well as algae issues. Its like using tap water. Its just not worth the risk to spend the $20 for a bag of aragonite sand and a few dollars a month on RO water (or buy an RO filter).
 
Ok, no play sand. Will stick with aragonite since everyone seems to agree that that will definitely work. I can get another tub and another pump. What qualifies as an appropriate water change? 10-15% a week? 50%? How do I know if I'm getting adequate water movement?
 
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