Moving to saltwater...

[1st timer]

Hello all,

Well after 8 long and great years with cichlids, the last of my seven year olds past on to that great rift lake in the sky. Ive been wanting to move to a saltwater setup for a long time now so I thought now is a good time to start... I realize I have much to learn

but Im going to do it. I have a 75 gal tank and Im going to go with a reef tank,so I went and got new lighting Im going with Coralife Lunar Aqualights Compact Fluorescent 48",for a skimmer I got the Coralife Super Skimmer Protein Skimmer with Pump For tanks up to 125 gallon I hope these are good choices so far... I have two canister filters that Im going to use ( try not to flame to bad) and new bio media ( any input on what brands is welcome) I do have one question on the most important ingrediant the water...I dont have accesss to RO water just tap and spring, what can I use to get my tap water ready,just for info my water is on a whole house filter that removes sediment and clorine oder and taste, I dont think the fish would like the taste... anyway,Im learning much and welcome any input If you guys and gals want I can post pics from the start to the up and running stage...now I just need a little luck and i think all will be fine...Now I just have to wait until 12:00 noon for the aqurium supply store to open...

edit: funny, I had to rewrite what I wrote because it changed,hmmm...

 

[ccws]

i dont know about these types of filters, but if you look on a famous auction site you can get a ro/di unit for less than $100. I just bought one.
Welcome from another newb.

 

[rpick]

i too, had cichlids for about 8 years. had bricardi's. very interesting fish. i had a 55 gal tank and a mated paire in there. i just moved to saltwater this year and have a 29 gallon tank. no room currently for my 55.
i do not have any place to install an ro unit. i live in a 1 floor condo and can't figure the logistics of installing it, yet. there are some lfs that sell it for .50 per gal. using tap water will cause algea. the composition of our drinking water has too much stuff in it to work properly with saltwater tanks.
with fresh water fish, it didn't matter, but you should start it off right to avoid problems later.
this is a high maintenance hobby but well worth it (especially after having africans

 

[jasonj75]

welcome to saltwater... well it sounds to me like you are looking to do what i had done about 2 years ago. a too bought the coralife lunar aqualight knowing that i was wanting to get into a reef setup. however these light fixtures are not adequate for a reef. you will most definately need some metal halide lighting. i am running 2x250 watts on my 90 gallon. this will help you do decide between a larger variety of corals and will in the long run save you. you can look on e-bay and find great retro kits and MH fixtures to get you started for way cheaper than im sure you will or have spent on your coralife fixture. im not knocking the coralife fixture cause ive used it for a year and a half with fish and LR only. something else that you might consider is a wed/dry unit or running a refugium for biological filtration. just search and read alot, you will learn that as im sure you know research will get you further than will $$$... good luck on getting up and running!!! :happyfish