# Just Thinking...



## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

Hey Folks! I have a 75 gallon tank right now with African Cichlids. My cousin wants my livestock which I will give to him. I'm thinking of converting my tank to salt water. I don't really know what to do. I only want fish in the tank no reefs. I've been researching online and I'm confused. Maybe it's because of the current hour? Calling out all saltwater pros. Please explain the process in detail with the estimated costs. Also what are some ways to cut costs?

Thanks a million!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

have a look on this one and others in the equipment section

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23669

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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

dynamite07 said:


> Please explain the process in detail with the estimated costs. Also what are some ways to cut costs?


Just be careful. Salt water tanks require more monitoring and maintenance than fresh water and cost more money to run than fresh water tanks. Cost cutting (although there are options out there) can lead to failure and loss of the tank and livestock. Be prepared to see an increase in your water bill, electricity bill and pet supply expenses.

With that said they are fantastic to watch and personally I find it very relaxing working with the water and maintaining the tank. It's an excellent hobby to get into.


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

Thanks for the link Sig!...ecoleshill I fully understand what you're saying. I'm thinking it might be too much work for me out of my schedule. I have 5 freshwater tanks right now. 2-75 gallons 1-55 gallon 1-20 gallon and 1-10 gallon. Might become too much commitment even though one 75 gallon is becoming salt water.


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

LOL the main problem is that once you start a saltwater tank, the freshwater tanks become nothing but a chore that you HAVE to do...when all you WANT to do is tinker with your saltwater tank


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

dynamite07 said:


> Hey Folks! I have a 75 gallon tank right now with African Cichlids. My cousin wants my livestock which I will give to him. I'm thinking of converting my tank to salt water. I don't really know what to do. I only want fish in the tank no reefs. I've been researching online and I'm confused. Maybe it's because of the current hour? Calling out all saltwater pros. Please explain the process in detail with the estimated costs. Also what are some ways to cut costs?
> 
> Thanks a million!


I have a 16 gallon Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) tank that has been running for 8 months now. It houses 2 ocellaris clowns and several snails for clean-up crew.

My equipment:

- Refractometer: crucial piece of equipment. Do not go with hydrometers even if they are cheaper, as they are notoriously inaccurate and is more of a hassle to use.

- Filters and power heads: I use a HOB filter and a koralia power head for water movement only. I do not use any kind of mechanical filtration, as I feel that they only serve to trap debris and are too much of a hassle to clean. My water is clear even without any mechanical filtration.

- Substrate: I use sugar-sized Aragonite sand. I tried to go for a Deep Sand Bed, around 3-4 inches. I'm still not sure if that was a good idea. On the one hand, it doesn't look that great in a small-ish tank. On the other, my NO3 is undetectable (thought that could also be due to the Chaeto), and it seems to house a lot of organisms.

- Light: believe it or not, I don't use any light. My tank sits beside an east-facing window, so it gets a lot of morning sun light. My live rocks are covered in all sorts of interesting macro-algae, but I do need to scrub the viewing glasses about once a month.

- Nutrient Export: I have two shoots of Mangrove and a big pile of chaeto to keep my NO3 at undetectable levels.

Here's how I set the tank up:

1- Bought sand, salt, and refractometer (which I ordered at mops.ca). Cleaned out tank. Filled it with sand and water, turned on the HOB filter and let it run.

2- Bought 2 pieces of live rock (about 5 lbs total) and put it into tank.

3- Waited 2-3 weeks while testing ammonia and nitrites. When nitrites went down to 0 around 3 weeks after the Live Rocks were introduced, I went and bought some clean-up crew: 2 trochus snails, 2 nerite snails, and 2 cerith snails. I think the trochus does most of the heavy lifting, cleaning up algae on glass. The nerites clean up food that the clowns ignore. I'm not sure what the ceriths do.

4- About 2 or 3 more weeks after introducing the CUC, I finally got the resolve to buy my fishes: 2 tiny ocellaris clowns, and one peppermint shrimp.

5- The NO3 at this point was pretty high, around 30-40ppm. I first thought of using mangroves for nutrient export, but my 2 seedlings weren't doing much. I also lost my peppermint shrimp around this time. So I went and got some chaeto as well. Shortly after introducing the chaeto (which came with a ton of tiny critters), my NO3 dropped to undetectable levels and have remained there since. My mangroves are doing very well too, growing long roots and shooting out leaves.

The live rocks were at first covered by coralline, then macroalgae began to take over. As the tank matured, different kinds of macroalgae grew and died, replaced by other species. Very interesting to watch.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

carmenh said:


> LOL the main problem is that once you start a saltwater tank, the freshwater tanks become nothing but a chore that you HAVE to do...when all you WANT to do is tinker with your saltwater tank


You have to come over to see the CRS tank......it gets it's fair share of attention


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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

carmenh said:


> LOL the main problem is that once you start a saltwater tank, the freshwater tanks become nothing but a chore that you HAVE to do...when all you WANT to do is tinker with your saltwater tank


So true......


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

LOL...Just being a smarta** 



ameekplec. said:


> You have to come over to see the CRS tank......it gets it's fair share of attention


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys and all you shared. Solarz I really appreciate the info...I'm afraid to see anyone's saltwater tank. That's what's got all this stirring in the first place lol. Everyone tells me the samething; freshwater tanks become a chore and boring after going saltwater. The more I research about this the more I want to do it and unfortunately incur some crazy costs...


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## teemee (Aug 29, 2009)

ameekplec. said:


> You have to come over to see the CRS tank......it gets it's fair share of attention


This is one of the nicest tanks I've ever seen. Ever...


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

dynamite07 said:


> Thanks for the replies guys and all you shared. Solarz I really appreciate the info...I'm afraid to see anyone's saltwater tank. That's what's got all this stirring in the first place lol. Everyone tells me the samething; freshwater tanks become a chore and boring after going saltwater. The more I research about this the more I want to do it and unfortunately incur some crazy costs...


That's not necessarily true though. Personally, I prefer freshwater *planted* tanks as I like seeing my plants grow and all the tank inhabitants interact with each other and the environment I provided.

Planted tanks also allows for more aesthetically pleasing aquascaping than saltwater, even reef tanks.

FW also offers more options for smaller-sized fish. Even with a 75-gallon tank, I would rather see huge schools of 2-inch tetras swimming around than 5 or 6 larger fish.

Another huge attraction of FW is that you can much more easily breed your livestock than SW. It's a joy seeing even Cherry Shrimps being berried.

As for the costs, what is your budget? I think my FOWLR set up cost me around 400$ total, including everything. However, I might soon have to shell out another 50$ because my salt is running out....


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

solarz said:


> Planted tanks also allows for more aesthetically pleasing aquascaping than saltwater, even reef tanks.


Ah, you are doing something wrong then


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

solarz said:


> That's not necessarily true though. Personally, I prefer freshwater *planted* tanks as I like seeing my plants grow and all the tank inhabitants interact with each other and the environment I provided.


I love watching my corals grow and everything picking over everything else - there's definitely a lot more going on in my reef than my fw tanks. So many more little critters and lots of different critters too.


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## teemee (Aug 29, 2009)

ameekplec. said:


> I love watching my corals grow and everything picking over everything else - there's definitely a lot more going on in my reef than my fw tanks. So many more little critters and lots of different critters too.


Yeah, whatever LOL you have to see his fw tanks!!!!!
To each his own ameekplec - I'd be happy to look at your crs tank all day LOL


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

You know what this is leading up to...WE WANT PICTURES!!! 



teemee said:


> Yeah, whatever LOL you have to see his fw tanks!!!!!
> To each his own ameekplec - I'd be happy to look at your crs tank all day LOL


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