Setting up conversion tank

[woodymdt]

Good afternoon!! Well I'm on the eve of breaking into the SW world!!
I have a 40 gallon long tank that I am converting from FW to SW. I've setup my old 29 gallon hex tank to take the transfer of FW fish, and when that is complete I'll be able to start the process. Following is what I'm starting out with so hopefully some of you folks will be able to add or subtract if need be for me.
40 gallon long tank: 36"wide / 18" tall / 12" deep
Emporer 400 filter system for top water flow
Penguin 1140 powerhead for opposite side tank flow
14lb bag of Red Sea Salt
30lb bag of aragonite sand
20lb bag of arag-live sand
heater
That's what I have to start out with. A couple of quick questions.
1. When I transfer the FW fish and plants, I'm assuming I'll empty the tank completely?? Is there anything to consider about just taking out all the gravel, plants, accessories, and leaving the water and adding the sand and salt? Or would that be a definite No-no? Just curious.
2. When I get the sand/water/salt etc. in the tank, how long should I wait to add live rock? I'm going to go with about 12-15lb of live rock. I can get that at my LFS for $5.99 per pound.
3. At what point do I throw in the raw shrimp?
4. I have a standard hood light for now. After things get cooking and I"m ready for live rock and fish, is that the time to upgrade the bulb to a higher spectrum lighting?
Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions and ideas. I'm really excited (And just a wee bit nervous) about this new venture.

 

[maggot]

I wouln't use the fw tanks leftover water. It's not hard to change it out completely/ If anything just dump the fresh water aquarium water in their new tank. I would say that adding live rock would be fine but add the bio spira and only add about six to seven pound of live rock in a week. Thats my opinion other wise it looks pretty good. Be careful though because you constantly need to check the quality of the water. Nitrates, ph, nitrates, ammonium etc....

 

[woodymdt]

Sounds good. I wasn't planning on it, but figured I'd ask anyway.
You said to add the bio spira?? That's the first I've heard that term...so I must ask. What is it? And what is it used for??

 

[woodymdt]

Ok, the 29 gallon is almost ready for the FW fish, then I can empty out the 40 gallon (I'm not sure it's exactly 40 gallons, but close) and start prepping it for the SW adventure.

 

[maggot]

bio spira is just friendly bacteria that helps your tank stabilize and cycle faster. I am using it. Not sure if it works but the store i go to has a guy that is very knowledgable about the saltwater setup and has advised me to use it. It is just a liquid that is stored in the refridge... I am pretty sure it works though. Make sure you get test the water though because i just made the conversion and saltwater fish can easily contract diseases that can be passed on to others in the tank just because they are stressed out. They need lots of hiding places and quality water. Good ph and no ammonia. Learned the hard way.

 

[woodymdt]

Thanks Mag. I have taken a couple of suggestions and made an excel spreadsheet with tests and results and dates, so once I get everything going, I'll be a testing fool until I get comfortable with it and it just becomes habit.
Thanks for the heads up about the spiro, I'll ask my LFS guy about it tomorrow.

 

[woodymdt]

Thought I'd add a little color to the post. Here is the tank that I've emptied out and it's drying today. I'm hoping to add the sand tomorrow and water/salt mix to the tank also tomorrow.

And here is the 29g hex that the residents of the 40g moved to.

 

[woodymdt]

So tomorrow (Saturday) will be the big start day. We're going to visit a couple of saltwater LFS's and talk to the owners, then it'll be back home to start laying the sand and mixing the salt/water.
It's getting exciting already, and we haven't even started!!!