10 gal fresh to salt advice

[dougai]

well i plan on switching my fresh water 10 gal(already have a 40 thats been running for over a year) tank to saltwater
i was wondering if there is an easy way of doing this because when i switched the 40 gal it sucked
the plan:
take out the fish
take out the fake rock and plants
rinse the filter
do i need a protein skimmer?
how much gph do i need in powerheads?
should i throw in some salt mix with the current water or will i need 10 fresh gallons?
any other things would be appreciated
thanks

 

[sinner's girl]

do i need a protein skimmer?
no, I don't see why you would. I've never had one (I currently have a 75gl up, had 20gl and 55gl before and never had a problem)
how much gph do i need in powerheads?
Don't know, just go to walmart and get a powerhead for a 10gl tank. You should only need one, if any. Might depend on what your filter is. if your filter moves the water enough, you won't need a ph.
should i throw in some salt mix with the current water or will i need 10 fresh gallons?
use fresh ro/di water and mix salt with it. Don't use water from the freshwater fish. eww. Or take ten gallons from your 40gl tank if your levels are good, this will shorten the cycle, you can also take some ls and lr from the 40gl and use it in the 10gl.
Empty the tank and rinse it. Can't hurt. Add freshly mixed saltwater, through in a piece of raw shrimp or fish food or uncured lr to start your cycle. then wait.