Newbie trying to learn....

juggernaut72

juggernaut72

New Member
I have been keeping an fresh water tank (75G) for a while with fancy goldfish and a couple plecos.
I have been interested in salt since I setup my tank but I thought I would try fresh first.
The tank has 2 whisper 60 HOB filters and I just picked up a fluval 403... I have all three filters running now. Lighting is 2 15" 4100k flouresents....
I would like to convert this tank to either a FOWLR or a reef not 100% sure yet.
My question is what do I NEED to start the transformation?
I assume the following:
Upgrade lighting.
Add a sump
I have been reading about the turf algae filter.... Is it as good as it sounds? No need for a protein skimmer???
What else do I need???
PS... trying to do this on a budget or at least a little at a time....
THANKS!!!!
 
keebler

keebler

Member
Originally Posted by Juggernaut72
http:///forum/post/2822954
I have been keeping an fresh water tank (75G) for a while with fancy goldfish and a couple plecos.
I have been interested in salt since I setup my tank but I thought I would try fresh first.
The tank has 2 whisper 60 HOB filters and I just picked up a fluval 403... I have all three filters running now. Lighting is 2 15" 4100k flouresents....
I would like to convert this tank to either a FOWLR or a reef not 100% sure yet.
My question is what do I NEED to start the transformation?
I assume the following:
Upgrade lighting.
Add a sump
I have been reading about the turf algae filter.... Is it as good as it sounds? No need for a protein skimmer???
What else do I need???
PS... trying to do this on a budget or at least a little at a time....
THANKS!!!!
First off, welcome to swfish.com
I too started out in freshwater and I have found that the experience from that does help a little. If you want to go reef, you need a lot of stuff, not so much on a fowlr. There is no true manual on how to do this, it's kinda like raising children (granted it's not nearly as hard). You can find out all about how to do it, but nothing will fit your specific case. Firstly, analyze your budget and research. Don't buy stuff yet. You may want to look into a an ro/di unit because unlike freshwater, tap water isn't going to cut it. Visit some local fish stores and ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. It is easy to tell if they are in it to make a buck any way possible or if they actually want to help. Ask questions that you know the answers to as well as ones that you don't!!! Research on this forum, research on the web, research at the lfs, and a good book can really help. Refractometers are worth the extra 20 bucks, so don't go with a hydrometer. yada yada yada. Ask us any and all questions we won't insult your inteligence, so any question that you don't know the answer to is a question you should ask. There are no stupid questions. Good luck.
 
emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
Originally Posted by Juggernaut72
http:///forum/post/2822954
I have been keeping an fresh water tank (75G) for a while with fancy goldfish and a couple plecos.
I have been interested in salt since I setup my tank but I thought I would try fresh first.
The tank has 2 whisper 60 HOB filters and I just picked up a fluval 403... I have all three filters running now. Lighting is 2 15" 4100k flouresents....
I would like to convert this tank to either a FOWLR or a reef not 100% sure yet.
My question is what do I NEED to start the transformation?
I assume the following:
Upgrade lighting.
Add a sump
I have been reading about the turf algae filter.... Is it as good as it sounds? No need for a protein skimmer???
What else do I need???
PS... trying to do this on a budget or at least a little at a time....
THANKS!!!!

Welcome to the forums

I think your first decision that YOU need to make is whether or not you want reef of FOWLR. This will help you determine what to do with your fiilters, lights, equipment, etc. I don't recommend doing a fowlr just because it is easier. The truth is reef is not much harder at all, and is SO worth the extra effort, and if you don't like corals, then go with a fowlr

as far as the sump goes, you don't have to have one, but here are some pros:
hidden equipment
added water volume
handy place to add chemicals and run bags of stuff
Cons:
niose
niose
niose

It's all really up up to you

You will need, though:
salt
refractometer
heater
powerheads
live rock
live sand
I think that's all you need to get it going. those are the basics, so if you wanted, you could get that stuff, get it cycling, and make your decisions while it's cycling

Good luck, and don't forget : there is very valuable information on these boards, but don't listen to just one person, it is always better to get as amny opinions as you can on stuff, and Good Luck !
 
juggernaut72

juggernaut72

New Member
Originally Posted by Emilaya101
http:///forum/post/2823039
You will need, though:
salt
refractometer
heater
powerheads
live rock
live sand
I think that's all you need to get it going. those are the basics, so if you wanted, you could get that stuff, get it cycling
That is basically what I planned on doing... I am leaning towards a full reef.
I am assuming a big part will be the lighting for the reef... Is that the main diff between a FOWLR and a reef??
 
emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
IMO, yes, lighting is the most important difference from reef and fowlr, only cause it costs so much $$. If you are sure you want a reef, now is the time to decide what kind of corals you want.
You could get relatively cheap power compact lighting and go with sps, the easier, and imo prettier corals, or go with metal halide or t5's and have lps and sps, pretty much any corals you want
 
mcbdz

mcbdz

Active Member
Originally Posted by Juggernaut72 http:///forum/post/2824391
Ok... what is SPS coral vs LPS coral??
Soft/leather/mushrooms/polyups-medium lights
LPS-large stony polyup- mediums light-medium flow
SPS-small stoney polyups-High light and flow
Not 100% but in general. You will need to research each coral before you decide.
Start here first:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/160830/beginners-12-step-program
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/301033/101-tips-to-beginning-and-maintaining-a-saltwater-aquarium
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/264597/a-list-of-extremely-helpful-threads-for-all-hobbyists

Pattie
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member
Welcome !
All great advice and now I add mine. My best friend and what I consider the most important pieces of my equipment is my skimmer. You can run without one but its always better to have one. I would rather go some time without one and save all my money to buy the biggest baddest one that is affordable and that you have room for. Good luck !
 
emilaya101

emilaya101

Member
Yes

Most people don't use a skimmer, but once you do, you will never go without one again after you see what those things pull out of the water
I don't recommend going cheap on the skimmer....
 
juggernaut72

juggernaut72

New Member
Originally Posted by Emilaya101
http:///forum/post/2835688
Yes

Most people don't use a skimmer, but once you do, you will never go without one again after you see what those things pull out of the water
I don't recommend going cheap on the skimmer....

What skimmers would be good then?
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member

Originally Posted by Emilaya101
http:///forum/post/2835688
Yes

Most people don't use a skimmer, but once you do, you will never go without one again after you see what those things pull out of the water
I don't recommend going cheap on the skimmer....
Actually most saltwater keepers use skimmers. If you were to poll evryone you would probably find that 95 % of all saltwater tanks use them. Some of the smaller tanks like cubes and 10-30 gallons don't have skimmers but once you've seen the difference you will never want to go without one again. The problem is if you are young and have limited funds they will seem quite expensive. The good ones can cost up to $300. The type you would want to get totally depends on what type of filter you end up using; ex: hang on back, sump or refugium. The best thing to do is figure out what you have and what you want to replace and what priority order that you want to do it in. Then factor out how much you can easily set aside and make yourself a game plan.
 
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