Is this correct for a setup of a small saltwater tank

trotsky123

trotsky123

Member
Hi, could you please let me know if I got this correct to convert my freshwater 16 gallon tank to saltwater according to my research:
Clean up the tank.
Add crushed coral/sand gravel. Add decorative coral/stones.
Rinse/clean my biowheel Marineland filter (for 30 gal) as the new bacteria is saltwater and the older one will die. I GUESS I can just clean everything including the wheel in the regular water???
Add heater w/ thermometer, and 1 Powerhead (240 gph).
Add ***** mixed saltwater (3 boxes at 5 gallon each) - CAN I ADD 1 gallon of water from RO???
Add saltwater Biozyme (for 7 days) as on the label to start the process.
While this is cycling I need to do 10% water changes every week???
Is there anything I need besides hydrometer to check water? Obviously I will take it to the store to test before buying my first fish.
Also, I get different opinions on what I can host.
I want to have 2 clownfish, few shrimp and few snails.
Is this ok? Is this too much? Is this too little?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HELP!!!!!
 
nikesb

nikesb

Active Member
to clean tank, rinse with water. fill with 50% white vinegar, 50% ro water and run powerhead to clean for 24 hrs. then flush with ro
add sand
add live rock
add new biowheel if you want (live rock will replace the bio wheel)
u should just make your own saltwater
no need for biozyme, live rock will start the process
change water as soon as nitrites hit 0
2 clownfish is fine. what kind of shrimp are you looking at? coral banded shrimp would be a no-no. snails fine.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Also..instead of a hydrometer look into a refractometer.....much more accurate to test sw
and get your own basic test kit...at least for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and p.h.....you will need t otest often to determine the beginning of your initial cycle, and to monitor the rise of ammonia..conversion to nitrites...to..nitrates...and to 0
IDK what you mean by decorative rock and stones.....if you mean the fake fish deco...no good...all you need is sand and live rock.....
I agree with making your own SW, and to NOT get biozyme....
 
trotsky123

trotsky123

Member
Thank you.
Also, I had some old corals I picked up on vacations. Can I get a 5lb live rock and add some of these as well?
 
nikesb

nikesb

Active Member
i wouldnt personally use the old corals. if you can clean em correctly, then it should be fine. for 16 gallons, you should be looking at about 20 lbs of porous live rock. or you can get some dry rock and add a piece of small live rock. the small live rock will be enough to get the dry rock to become "live"
 
trotsky123

trotsky123

Member
Also, no regular decorations should go into a saltwater fish tank.
I had a few plastic "barrels" from freshwater tank which I was going to put in for hiding place, but I guess I should just stay away from it?
And most important - I have the air pump (in a decorative voclano rock) - Can i still use it?
 
lil.guppy

lil.guppy

Active Member
The only decorations I would recomend are the realistic fake decos by Walt Smith. If your pet store does not have them ask they should be able to get them for you.
I would get rid of the penguin and get an Aquaclear. I started out with the penguin and the peller rusted within a month. Did some research and alot of saltwater users have the Aquaclear. There is enough room to put numerous types of filter media that you can have.
Carbon
Floss
Water polishers
chemi Pure
All kinds of options
Its also see through so critters will grow inside the filter like feather dusters n such.
Try to avoid the crushed coral and stick with aragonite sand if you can.
The animals you have listed are just fine
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
no air pumps in a salt water tank. Depending on how you arange your rock, you could end up with 20 hiding spots.
 
monsinour

monsinour

Active Member
Just the one positioned opposite the filter return to get a decent "current" in the tank should be sufficient.
 
trotsky123

trotsky123

Member
I am sorry again, by opposite you mean positioned opposite of hang on filter or on the same side pushing current into that diagonally opposite dead corner?
 
mstrangler

mstrangler

New Member
just a suggestion, add rock work before sand, that eliminates any chance of anything burrowing under the rocks and toppling them, also adding rock first will create a more sturdy base. just a thought
 
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