user3977
New Member
Well here goes, I have been running a fresh water 55gal tank for a few years. got a few guppys in it then that idea went south when i noticed that i had a few dozen in it about 2 months latter, then up to maybe 15 dozen, finally got rid of them to friends and what not. i still have a pleco and loach to pass off once that is done i am going to switch to saltwater. I know there is a lot i have to learn and would like to start here by asking a ton of questions. I would like to have some live rock and maybe 4 clowns and 4 other fish that are compatible with them. plus some shrimp and crabs.
1. My tank has no built-in overflow setup, Can i drill into the bottom and build my own setup? Tempered glass, i dont think so but my father says that if you take it slow you can drill into it.
2. RO/DI = I read what it is and what it does, but where do you find a system? is this Needed? i talked to the lfs and not once did they mention this. we do have a petsmart that has i think 1 or 2 gal saltwater for 9.99 i would need at least 60-70 gallons of this stuff and not sure if that is a good route to go.
3. Lighting, i see there is so many choices in that department. i was looking at taking a normal shop light and putting 2 48" 10k lights from my lfs in it. and suspend it above the tank about 6-8 inches. I might even break out the polishing gear and shine up the reflector part of it to help get more light down onto the tank. what do you think about that whole light setup?
4. Filters i have a 10 gal i have been looking into turnning into a wet/dry setup. think i have that all figured out
5. Protein skimmer, lost here, no idea what to do or use on it. i have read that if i build an overflow box that it would act like a skimmer. is this a line of bs or will this work.
6. tank covers, i see most sw tanks have no covers over them. would it be bad to put a cover on them? also the w/d filter cover or no cover (lol light or no light)
well i think that will hold me over for a few days while i build the w/d filter. i will have more questions to the responses and will post up pic's as i get stuff going. thank you in advance for your time and patience's in my questions.
1. My tank has no built-in overflow setup, Can i drill into the bottom and build my own setup? Tempered glass, i dont think so but my father says that if you take it slow you can drill into it.
2. RO/DI = I read what it is and what it does, but where do you find a system? is this Needed? i talked to the lfs and not once did they mention this. we do have a petsmart that has i think 1 or 2 gal saltwater for 9.99 i would need at least 60-70 gallons of this stuff and not sure if that is a good route to go.
3. Lighting, i see there is so many choices in that department. i was looking at taking a normal shop light and putting 2 48" 10k lights from my lfs in it. and suspend it above the tank about 6-8 inches. I might even break out the polishing gear and shine up the reflector part of it to help get more light down onto the tank. what do you think about that whole light setup?
4. Filters i have a 10 gal i have been looking into turnning into a wet/dry setup. think i have that all figured out
5. Protein skimmer, lost here, no idea what to do or use on it. i have read that if i build an overflow box that it would act like a skimmer. is this a line of bs or will this work.
6. tank covers, i see most sw tanks have no covers over them. would it be bad to put a cover on them? also the w/d filter cover or no cover (lol light or no light)
well i think that will hold me over for a few days while i build the w/d filter. i will have more questions to the responses and will post up pic's as i get stuff going. thank you in advance for your time and patience's in my questions.