Advice Plz?

[standup]

i have a 55 gallon freshwater tank downstairs in my basement, its got a stand to it, pump, filter, the works. the age of the tank is growing old and i was considering breaking it down and drying it out. eventually, i want to move the tank upstairs into my room and convert it into a salt water, possibly reef tank. i need to know a few things tho. is there anything that you would suggest i do to possibly kill off anyother freshwater algae or anything? to prepare it for salt water? would the filter still be considered good? or do i have to buy/build a new filter specifically for salt water? do you have any ideas on where to get live rock / reef starter kits for relatively cheap? i really want to know a lot about it before i get started, thanx!

 

[standup]

as far as i can remember no major medications were used in the tank to treat any of the fish. what of the lighting though? the light that i have on there now is more than enough to light up the tank plenty, but could it be used for UV? and i will have to look into investing into a sump filter, do you know approx. how much they run for? thanks!

 

[standup]

filter-
fluval 304
rebuilding tank stand
house is new, so support in floors should not be a problem
decided against full reef, just going to go with plain ol' rock, coral pieces, and sand, lots of sand
heres an old pic that i took of my tank, but still looks like this

 

[eeldarb21]

you should consider your options before jumping into anything.. your in the right direction about reseaching your products before purchase. this message board is a great start.. i learned a lot from others because of the fact that they have experience and they don't want your money........ like mentioned before, have caution with upsatirs, keep in mind water weighs 8-8.5 lbs.. per gallon! that's roughly 470 lbs with just water!

 

[melissa v.]

And since you are already asking about how much items will cost, this is not a cheap hobby, i have a 30 gallon tank, and have invested over a thousand dollars already, (and it still needs more coral),I figure when i am done(ha-ha) i will have invested at least $2000.00 in this tank, but by that time i will want a bigger tank(that was the reason for the ha-ha, will any of us ever be DONE?)
Melissa V.

 

[standup]

yea well im 18 and dont exactly have 1 grand to invest and blow on a few fish lol i just want a couple pieces of rock, sand, and coral, and some cool fish, hehe nothing extreme, i prolly got high hopes but i think that its something to slowly work on thru summer and college, and then itll go from there, any other thoughts on anything i should invest in? like i said the filter is a fluval 304 model, which is good for up to 70 gal. and my tank is 55, so it should be fine, its worked up until now