New Hobbyist

[stunner197]

First of I would like to introduce myself, my name is Meg and I have had a freshwater aquariums all through out my life. I currently have a 75 gallon hex that is set up as freshwater. It has been set up for 2 years now and when I purchased the tank the guy threw in his fish so I left it freshwater. I have finally decided to take the "plunge" and do saltwater. I just finished the book Saltwater aquariums for Dummies. I realize that there is alot more maintance work involved but am looking forward to it. My first question is should I drain and clean the freshwater setup or leave it for the bacteria and add the salt mix? I am not planning on starting until about DEC. just to make sure I have proper knowledge and supplies. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. :happyfish

 

[1journeyman]

Welcome to the addiction!
First off, I've read that book.. the best investment in time and money you will ever make is Dr. Fenner's "A Conscientious Marine Aquarist". It's a far better book, and it is more up to date with filtration, etc.
Depending on the type of saltwater tank you want, maintenance does not have to be more than a few minutes a day; plus water changes when needed. Don't let the myth about intense maintenace scare you. It's not true.
I would definitely take down the tank and give it a thorough scrubbing before refilling it.
do a search on this site for information on "cycling". That is the process of getting beneficial bacteria in your tank. It normally takes from 4-6 weeks. Don't listen to your local fish store and cycle with damsels. They are mean and agressive little fish that will be monsters to remove from your tank later. Many of the "cycling" threads on this site will explain how using a cocktail shrimp from your local grocery store is beneficial to using live fish (that are permantly damaged by the high ammonia caused by a tank's cycle and often die in the process)
Has the tank you are using ever been medicated? Many freshwater medications use copper. Copper is a big hazard to reef and invert aquariums.
Good luck, and again welcome!

 

[wax32]

Welcome! At the very least the gravel in your tank is totally wrong for saltwater, you will want a fine grained sand. Stores have stuff specially for saltwater tanks. Don't let any one talk you into buying "crushed coral" which looks similar to freshwater gravel but is made up of pea-sized pieces of dead coral. It is a total bummer to have to take that stuff out of your tank later on when you realise it isn't what you want or need! I agree with the above book recommendation. I threw away my "dummies" book after I read Dr. Fenner's.

 

[blue oasis]

Hello, like you we also decided to try our hand at saltwater fish and we did read a book called "The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta" and found it to be very helpful. Another helpful yet confussing is reading all the opiions of everyone in the chat room. So many more things you can learn by just reading everyone's questions.
As we mentioned, we are new and went out a bought a 90gal drilled with 125lbs of live rock (Marshal, Tonga and Fiji) and 100lbs of live sand. Then we bought a 150 Berlin sump with a Euro - reef 5-2 protein filter and a 600 & 900 maxi jet power heads. We started two days ago our cycle and the kids are doing great helping us out with the tank. This is now a family project and the kids love going to the store to talk to the salesperson about what our next step is.
OK, I am going on and on, but we think you are going the right path by reading as much as you can and become educated, there are a bunch of great people in here who will help and we thank them everytime we ask a question. We feel its a big family helping one another out... OK BBQ at our house...lol
N & G

 

[stunner197]

Thanks everyone for the welcome. I am going to do a sand bed and didn't think about that when thinking I could keep my water. IT would be rather difficult to take the gravel out with water in the tank. I am thinking of using Home Depot sand for the bottom layer with a layer of live sand on the top but then read the other post concerning this. I look foward to lots of learning. THANKS everyone :cheer:

 

[tinmanny]

Welcome to the hobby

. I would watch the sand from Home Depot be sure it does not have metal shavings in it. if you do an advanced search on sand you will learn a lot about the kinds and the downfalls of inferior sand.
Good Luck and Welcome

Manny

 

[rev]

Welcome!One easy thing I can help with is when you go to change the substrate from gravel to sand.Get out as much of the water as you can,don't worry about the gravel.
Once you have 99% of the water out,use a wet/dry shop vac,and just suck up all the gravel,then you can dump it wherever.It takes about 15 seconds,opposed to 15 minutes+ by taking it out by hand.Then clean it up good.
Wtaer quality is going to be your main issue.You really must use RO (reverse osmosis) water.It is pure water.Tap water just won't do in this hobby.(learned the hard way)

 

[wax32]

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Tap Water = Serious Algae

 

[debbraey]

Originally Posted by stunner197
First of I would like to introduce myself, my name is Meg and I have had a freshwater aquariums all through out my life. I currently have a 75 gallon hex that is set up as freshwater. It has been set up for 2 years now and when I purchased the tank the guy threw in his fish so I left it freshwater. I have finally decided to take the "plunge" and do saltwater. I just finished the book Saltwater aquariums for Dummies. I realize that there is alot more maintance work involved but am looking forward to it. My first question is should I drain and clean the freshwater setup or leave it for the bacteria and add the salt mix? I am not planning on starting until about DEC. just to make sure I have proper knowledge and supplies. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. :happyfish
I found a post from you else where. I tried to email you but you do not allow it. I am also in Palm Harbor. Email me and I can help you out and hook you up with a few other people who you can also talk to. Everyone has a diferent opinion when it comes to reef tanks. The best thing to do is hear everyone's suggestions, read as much about it as you can. But most important research every creature prior to adding it to your system.
You being local could help both of us. We could team up on mail orders and things of that nature. (we already have 3 of us that order together)
We are curently trying to get a local club together for trades and things of that nature.
My email is my user name plus @yahoo.com