Oceanic100

[oceanic100]

Hello forum.
To start, I'm pretty new to saltwater. I currently have an Oceanic 100 gallon tank which is about 10 years old, and has had nothing but freshwater fish in it. Everything from cichlids to kois.
I decided that I'm going to convert my tank to saltwater.
What I have now is:
The Tank
A Hang-Over Pump. (~$50) or so Rated for 150 gallons
Dual 36" Coralife Colormax bulbs
Two Penguin 1100 powerheads.
I looked at the light packaging and it says freshwater, but will these work?
I've also bought the crushed coral (100 lbs)
I also have an under-gravel filter.... Should I lose it or keep it?
All input is greatly appreciated.

 

[pbienkiewi]

do you plan on a fish only tank or do you plan on doing corals ?

 

[oceanic100]

Actually both. I'd like to have a pretty good variety of colorful fish. Coral can come later. I'm not too worried about that. Fish are the main concern.
Thanks
--Mike (Oceanic100)

 

[treybomb]

read a lot on the forums a good book to check out would be the conscientious marine aquarist by robert fenner
i dont think the lights are gonna cut it
and as far as the undergrave filter.. u will hear some mixed reviews about it i havent had any experience with one of those in a saltwater tank
good luck

 

[pbienkiewi]

Check out the Archives in the message board for alot of tips.

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by oceanic100
Hello forum.
To start, I'm pretty new to saltwater. I currently have an Oceanic 100 gallon tank which is about 10 years old, and has had nothing but freshwater fish in it. Everything from cichlids to kois.
I decided that I'm going to convert my tank to saltwater.
What I have now is:
The Tank
A Hang-Over Pump. (~$50) or so Rated for 150 gallons
Dual 36" Coralife Colormax bulbs
Two Penguin 1100 powerheads.
I looked at the light packaging and it says freshwater, but will these work?
I've also bought the crushed coral (100 lbs)
I also have an under-gravel filter.... Should I lose it or keep it?
All input is greatly appreciated.
Definately don't go with the crushed coral or the under ground filter. They both will trap excess food and waste causing your ammonia to raise. I did them both 10 years ago and they are bad news. I did add cc to my current tank covered in live sand, but will be taking it all out very soon. Just my $.02

 

[oceanic100]

Everyone I've talked to says the crushed coral is an absolute necessity. Because of the ph balance.

 

[oceanic100]

What lights would you recommend?

 

[oceanic100]

Bumping this one up.

 

[rubberduck]

ok trust me... no crusheds coral, it traps allthe bad stuff.(nitrates,nitrites ect) if you are still bent on having cc..at least provide strong flow to stop any setteling of nutrients. a deep sand bed (over 2") will provide good stable ph. that is what i would go for. also about the lights. you would be interested in probly power compacts or vho (very high output) these are good for softies and most lps. also about your current pc. i would upgrade based on changing bulbs (along with looking at the calvin rate(sp which should be above or at 10,000) and getting more watts per gallon. this will help good grwth. plus the advious of cleaning the tank realy good.
travis~~~

 

[jacknjill]

NO CRUSHED CORAL! it sucks and you will sooo regret it later

 

[oceanic100]

I can't take it back to the LFS. No returns.
I already have most of it in the tank and am still in the process of cleaning it.
I ditched the undergravel filter.
Another question I have is about some old biozyme.
Is this stuff any good. Also it's about 3 1/2 years old. Is it bad, or can I still use it?

 

[computrgk]

crushed coral is awful stuff my nitrates spiked off the charts with CC Switched to LS and is much much better

 

[oceanic100]

I rinsed the crushed coral out really well and my tank still turned milk white. How long should this take to go clear?

 

[computrgk]

usually overnight but can take a couple of days depending on weather you rinsed it very very very thoroughly