Converting 55 gallon FW to Saltwater

[purerebel]

Greetings, we're looking at converting our 55 gallon freshwater tank to saltwater. I've read so much in the past several days that I'm now kinda lost. :notsure: I understand about skimmers, powerheads and all that, my question to yall is if we're not planning on having corals can we use our exsisting flor. lights? Our LFS said I needed to upgrade to JBS lighting but at $299 that's not going to fly by the wife. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[uberlink]

I think if you're doing fish only, almost any lights will work. Wait and see what the more knowledgeable people say, but I thought I'd also suggest checking out Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" before you make the switch. Very comprehensive book, and it will save you money and missteps as you move forward.

 

[mbrands]

Originally Posted by uberlink
I think if you're doing fish only, almost any lights will work.
Yes, you fish would be fine under a standard fluorescent bulb. Their color would look prettier under a better light though.

 

[purerebel]

That's what I was hopeing for! I know I can always upgrade later as the wife grows to love the tank. I assume that means I can use live rock, inverts, cleaning crew correct?
Thanks again!

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by purerebel
That's what I was hopeing for! I know I can always upgrade later as the wife grows to love the tank. I assume that means I can use live rock, inverts, cleaning crew correct?
Thanks again!
Yes, with standard lighting, those would work just fine. Just be sure you have good calcium levels if you want your coraline to grow! :happyfish

 

[anthonynyc]

Originally Posted by purerebel
Greetings, we're looking at converting our 55 gallon freshwater tank to saltwater. I've read so much in the past several days that I'm now kinda lost. :notsure: I understand about skimmers, powerheads and all that, my question to yall is if we're not planning on having corals can we use our exsisting flor. lights? Our LFS said I needed to upgrade to JBS lighting but at $299 that's not going to fly by the wife. Any help is greatly appreciated!
I actually just converted my freshwater 72gallon bowfront to a saltwater setup.
I already had an existing Fluval 404 and a Hang on back Emporer filter that I used. I did not add a powerhead until much later. I already had crushed coral as a base (cichlids) so it was relatively easy to convert.
I added the salt, gave it a week, added a fish (damsel) and have been checking parameters etc since and so far added a lot more fishes and all has been well.
Good luck and you are already doing the right thing by reading and researching.
Anthony

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by AnthonyNYC
I actually just converted my freshwater 72gallon bowfront to a saltwater setup.
I already had an existing Fluval 404 and a Hang on back Emporer filter that I used. I did not add a powerhead until much later. I already had crushed coral as a base (cichlids) so it was relatively easy to convert.
I added the salt, gave it a week, added a fish (damsel) and have been checking parameters etc since and so far added a lot more fishes and all has been well.
Good luck and you are already doing the right thing by reading and researching.
Anthony
IMO, I would start out with sand over crushed coral. I have LS in one tank and CC in the other tank. A LOT more maintainence with CC!!! I don't have to maintain the sand at all. :happyfish

 

[maeistero]

sorry anthony, but veryyy bad advice man!
no damsels, they're evil. then, when you discover this, they're impossibly hard to catch. you have to remove all your lr in most cases and then you have another mini cycle due to die off.
cannister filters need to be regulated twice weekly to help at all and you can't use the same media as a fw tank. i use rubble in mine and floss it out with a carbon bag every once in awhile. the main problem is that you can't light a cannister filter, so you'll have to switch out your rubble a lot. cannisters take a lot of work, but i'm into it anyways on my tanks.
the lighting you're planning on will keep your rock alive and pretty for awhile, but it'll start die off in a couple months and you'll see a mini-spike in nitrates.
for a 55 you will need a few powerheads immediately. water flow is essential to avoiding lr dieoff. i would buy them as soon as you can. 3 at least, and then maybe 5. if you want to save money in the long run and go for the best i'd recommend maxijets.

anthony....
a week into your tank is likely going to cause you troubles also. that's no cycle. expect major die off on your tank and i'd give your fish away before they die. crush coral i'd get rid of asap; and i'd never ever take it from a fresh tank to salt. ammonia is probably out the roof coming from a cichlid tank. i hope that you have an extensive test kit and use it.

imo.

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by AnthonyNYC
I actually just converted my freshwater 72gallon bowfront to a saltwater setup.
I already had an existing Fluval 404 and a Hang on back Emporer filter that I used. I did not add a powerhead until much later. I already had crushed coral as a base (cichlids) so it was relatively easy to convert.
I added the salt, gave it a week, added a fish (damsel) and have been checking parameters etc since and so far added a lot more fishes and all has been well.
Good luck and you are already doing the right thing by reading and researching.
Anthony
I have to agree with maeistero here. It sounds like you had a FW tank, took the fish out, poured in some salt and called it a SW tank. That's pretty risky IMO. CC is a nitrate trap (I know from personal experience) and you probably already have some nitrates trapped in there from the cichlids.
Also, it sounds like you may not have enough flow. Flow is critical as it helps oxygenate the water. There was a local guy who turned off his pumps for mainenance recently and forgot to turn them back on until the next morning and almost everything died. Also, I agree that cannister filters are usually not very beneficial to SW since they require high maintenance and few people provide it.
Have you tested for ammonnia, nitrites, and nitrates? If so, what were they at?

 

[anthonynyc]

It's not bad advice, it's my experience from fresh water to salt.
Damsels - why would you assume that I want to remove them? They are great active fishes (yellow tails) I see a lot of tanks with yellow tail damsels on the forum and i've also read they can be aggressive.
Canister filters - Again, I see a lot of sw tanks with fluval filters. I aslo have a HIB emperor. I used the exact same media from fresh water to salt. I changed it with new media but its the same stuff from the fresh water setup.
Crushed Coral - I already had it and used it but I would much rather have sand.
Of course before going to salt water, all media, including water was changed, I thought that was obvious but after reading my original post, I see where it could be misintepreted.
As for the tank readings, I keep a close eye on everything and take readings every 3 days. I did not use the same water from the cichlid tank, that would be silly.
Here were my readings... and since then all levels are perfect, no ammonia, no nitrates, no nitrites.
Salinity
10-Dec 1.019
13-Dec 1.024
18-Dec 1.024
20-Dec 1.024
24-Dec 1.024
27-Dec 1.024
30-Dec 1.024
Ammnonia
10-Dec 0
13-Dec 0
18-Dec 0
20-Dec 1
24-Dec 0.5
27-Dec 0.25
30-Dec 0
PH
10-Dec 8
13-Dec 8.2
18-Dec 8.2
20-Dec 8.2
24-Dec 7.8
27-Dec 8.2
30-Dec 8
Nitrates
10-Dec 0
13-Dec 0
18-Dec 0
20-Dec 0
24-Dec 10
27-Dec 20
30-Dec 0
Nitrites
10-Dec 0
13-Dec 0
18-Dec 0
20-Dec 0.5
24-Dec 5
27-Dec 5
30-Dec 0
I know in this hobby you will always learn new things and you need to ask a lot of questions. I just learned my lesson about not quaranting. I just bought a yellow tang and a few days later, I noticed he had ICK. But I learned and now have a small quarantine tank. When I posted I noted what I did and what worked for me, I don't think thats bad advice at all.
Oh, and the comment about giving my fish away before they die? I didn't take your advice
Anthony
Originally Posted by maeistero
sorry anthony, but veryyy bad advice man!
no damsels, they're evil. then, when you discover this, they're impossibly hard to catch. you have to remove all your lr in most cases and then you have another mini cycle due to die off.
cannister filters need to be regulated twice weekly to help at all and you can't use the same media as a fw tank. i use rubble in mine and floss it out with a carbon bag every once in awhile. the main problem is that you can't light a cannister filter, so you'll have to switch out your rubble a lot. cannisters take a lot of work, but i'm into it anyways on my tanks.
the lighting you're planning on will keep your rock alive and pretty for awhile, but it'll start die off in a couple months and you'll see a mini-spike in nitrates.
for a 55 you will need a few powerheads immediately. water flow is essential to avoiding lr dieoff. i would buy them as soon as you can. 3 at least, and then maybe 5. if you want to save money in the long run and go for the best i'd recommend maxijets.

anthony....
a week into your tank is likely going to cause you troubles also. that's no cycle. expect major die off on your tank and i'd give your fish away before they die. crush coral i'd get rid of asap; and i'd never ever take it from a fresh tank to salt. ammonia is probably out the roof coming from a cichlid tank. i hope that you have an extensive test kit and use it.

imo.

 

[hagfish]

That's not quite so bad. I thought you added salt to the existing freshwater after taking the fish out.
Your setup is doable. But I will still say that the cannister filter will probably not be worth it. You would be much better off taking that out and putting in a good protein skimmer. Yes, you see people use cannisters on SW tanks. You also see a lot of threads on here where people are getting rid of them because they are nitrate traps if not maintained excessively.
I agree, 5 powerheads on a 55 are probably overkill. 2 or 3 are probably enough depending on how many GPH they move and that there is plenty of surface disturbance. You probably want 10 to 15 times turnover with fish only. It doesn't hurt to have more though.
If you like the damsel, then don't worry about it. You will have to get slightly more aggressive fish as a result, but as long as you are aware, then who cares. I have one in my 80 gallon and I like it a lot. They have great color and they are ususally out in the open.