72g Bow front convert

[the_hadleys]

Hello there,
We are semi new to the salt water community. We have a 34 gal Red Sea Max up and running for around 6 months. We just got our 72 gal bow front out of storage. We have a couple of questions about converting this from fresh water to salt.
1. What would be a better choice... White vinegar or bleach
2. I think we are going make it a reef tank. What is mandatory in a reef tank besides good lighting...
3. For lighting I was thinking LED will this work for Reef tanks?
4. Anyone ever have a problem with a bow front?
Any tips, suggestions and info will be greatly appreciated. Off to go do some research on it.
Thanks in advance, can't wait to start.

 

[nuro]

Originally Posted by The_Hadleys
http:///forum/post/3089311
Hello there,
We are semi new to the salt water community. We have a 34 gal Red Sea Max up and running for around 6 months. We just got our 72 gal bow front out of storage. We have a couple of questions about converting this from fresh water to salt.
1. What would be a better choice... White vinegar or bleach
vinegar, ive heard alot of horror stories about bleach not being washed out toally and it doing bad bad things
2. I think we are going make it a reef tank. What is mandatory in a reef tank besides good lighting...
a good substrate; good flow;
3. For lighting I was thinking LED will this work for Reef tanks?
negative.. theres soem good topics and website that discuss this, if you plan on keeping corals led's wont cut it
4. Anyone ever have a problem with a bow front?
Any tips, suggestions and info will be greatly appreciated. Off to go do some research on it.
Thanks in advance, can't wait to start.
HTH, i researched mine for a few months before finally taking the plunge and i still mad soem dumb choices at first. look aroudn the forums and youll find soem great info here. this place has been a life saver for me

 

[flower]

HA HA so 1 tank wasn't enough! It is addicting isn't it?
When I clean a tank I use salt, and a clean never before used green scratchy pad made for plastic...it is abrasive and cleans really good and no fear of poisoning the tank. You CAN use bleach or vinegar but you have to rinse like crazy and on a bigger tank that a pain in a half.
Depending on the corals you want...don't go cheap on the lighting, it is one of the most important things your corals will need.
A skimmer is in my opinion, a must, it pulls out stuff you can't test for that poisons the tank.
Power heads are another absolute must have item, the coral needs a current, that's how they eat. I also recommend the Koralia brand, it makes a nice wave and has a magnet to help it stay put. The max jets just have a jet stream and fall all over the place. For a 40g...2 #3s one each side of the tank.
Heaters, a good filter, and of course your rock...make sure to have overhangs and a cave, there are some really beautiful coral that requires no light and you will be glad to have the cave and overhangs. Make as many flat ledges as you can for coral to sit on. Make sure the rock "locks" together so you don't have a dangerous rock slide.
I like live sand but it is a personal choice.
This is just an opinion...I personally like the canopy...the bright lights can be blinding when you are sitting down looking at the tank. My tank is in the living room. I don't know if bow fronts can even have a canopy, but if so...my opinion is that they are a good thing. Bright lights make heat, so some people don't have them...small fans work great.