Equipment Transfer

Cribbinator

Cribbinator

Fish are Friends, Not Food
May 26, 2004
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0
0
Alpharetta, GA
www.thecribbs.com
Hello,

I'm interested in starting up a saltwater tank. I came from all freshwater tanks so this is new to me. I have a previously used freshwater tank that I want to setup for saltwater and am worndering what if anything I can use for the saltwater tank. I assume of course it is safe to use the tank but what about the following is resuable:

- Canister Filter
- Bio-wheel Filter
- Overhead lights
- Heater
- Powerhead
- Fish ? (Haha just kidding ;)

I know there are more items I need to get for the saltwater tank such as a protein skimmer and a UV sterilizer (let me know if I left anything out or don't really need it). Any help or information would be appreciated.

Thanks,

James
 
You can use all of it. You will need a protien skimmer, and live rock, but a UV sterilizer isnt needed, unless you have some money burning a whole in your pocket. The light bulbs may need to be changed, depending on what you want to do. Do you want Fish only, Fish only with live rock, or a reef tank. That will determine what you need. Also, what size is the tank?
 
Hello,

I plan to use fish and live rock (heard live rock is very beneficial). Is it true that you don't need a canister or filter in general if you use live rock ? If so, is there a certain balance of live rock to tank size and fish ? The Tank is a 26 Gallon. What fish would you recommend for this size tank. Thanks for the money saving tip, UV Sterilizers are pricey :).

James
 
Im very much a novice, so I would let others comment also. 1 pound of live rock per gallon is what is reccomended. You dont need a canister, or HOB fileter, but I would at least use the HOB for mechanical filtration if you have it.
 
You say that I can use the HOB filter for mechanical filtration so what items and media inside the filter should I use ? My HOB filter has the impeler, filter pack (foam pad packed with carbon), and the BioWheel. I thought I read somewhere that you don't want to use the Biological media such as BioWheels and BioPads in a saltwater tank ... is this true (trying to find the article) ?

Also, so would it be a waste to use the canister filter in a saltwater setup along with the HOB filter listed above ? Just curioust because I can use it on another freshwater tank I have but I really want to give my saltwater tank everything I can.

Thanks for the replies.

James
 
I'm still new to the hobby too, I'll offer what I can...
If you're using LR for denitrification, you don't need the canister - put it on your FW tank :)
It's likely that's the reason you read that things like bio-wheels aren't really desirable is because they're considered 'nitrate factories'. You can just take the wheel off and use your HOB for circulation and things like floss, carbon, phosphate adsorbing media, etc. If you use sponges for mechanical filtration, you'll need to rinse them frequently or your nitrates will rise. This isn't as much of a problem if you want a FOWLR tank, but if you want corals you'll want to keep NO3 low to undetectable.
I'd use 1-2lbs LR per gallon; some rock is more porous and light, so it goes farther, other rock is quite dense and heavy and you'll need more to fill the same amount of space in the tank.
Once you decide what type of tank you want to keep, you'll be able to determine what's needed in terms of lighting. FOWLR tanks don't need special lighting AFAIK, but reefs need quite a bit - depending on the corals and other critters like clams that you may want to keep, you might need PC (power compact fluorescent) lighting or metal halides (sort of like harnessing the sun inside your living room, lol).
My advice on skimmers is to get the best you can within your budget - I bought a Prizm because it was affordable with the discount I get at work, and though it works, it's not spectacular by any means. I just bought an AquaC Remora because I've heard almost nothing but good things about these skimmers (I have read a few posts from people who have no luck with them). Avoid SeaClones, apparantly they're awful.
Check out www.nano-reef.com for loads of info on keeping a SW tank under 30g (a nano), it's a great site :)
 
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