# Can I start a saltwater?



## jdiaz (Nov 6, 2011)

I have a 29 right now in the making of a freshwater and I have been thinking of making it into a saltwater in the future. 
But till then I want to know if what I have now is good to just keep the fish with sand as substrate, no decorations or rocks ect. Currently I have a Penguin Bio Wheel 150, makes a good current, with a 200watt heater and 2 normal florecent lights. With what I have now, will it be enough to just keep two clown fish in the tank alone with nothing else. As time passes, if I decide to turn it to salt, I will add live rocks and anemonies. 

What do you guys think? What would I have to do to turn the filter to a saltwater filter and will it work? Do I need any of the stuff like a protine skimmer? And will someone tell me what is needed to run this tank without any problems?

I have wanted a salt water tank for like ever but only want to make it if I can support the fish with what I have now. And bare with me cause yes I am a newbie.


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## Fishguy2727 (Dec 22, 2011)

I would never run a marine system without live rock, it is at least 80% of your filtration. Almost all the fish you would put in a saltwater tank, especially in that size tank, are from a reef and would have a ton of live rock as their habitat. 

If you are going to do saltwater you have to do it right or it won't turn out well for you or the fish, so you you won't enjoy it.


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## SeaHorse (Dec 27, 2010)

(With what I have now, will it be enough to just keep two clown fish in the tank alone with nothing else. As time passes, if I decide to turn it to salt, I will add live rocks and anemonies.)
I agree with Fishguy2727 .....I've never done salt either but based on this sentence above.... You need to go salt before you do the clown fish, they are marine fish, and don't they need a host anemonie? that means going live rock and sand first, and to my belief none of the equipment on a freshwater is used for salt. Which is why I also have not tried it. And death is much more expensive in a salt water tank IMO.


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## jdiaz (Nov 6, 2011)

OK, so lets say I start it of with the live rocks and all. Do I need a protien skimmer and a powerhead?

Ohh and I am not running the Penguin filter, it is in storage, because I am using a diffrent filter for the freshwater. The Penguing was bought at a local saltwater store.


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## SeaHorse (Dec 27, 2010)

My understanding is that the whole system is different, completely different and you would need all new equipment. even your lighting bulbs may not be right. You will need to research and read a lot and speak to lots of "salty" peoplle. I'm sure there must be write ups in here like Byron's Bacteria and Ammonia cycling articles for Freshwater. 
Gonna watch this thread to see what the experts say.... Biggest piece of advice I can give you?
Take Your Time! Go Slow! If it is 6-8 to cycle freshwater?, it's way longer to get thru the blooms that happen in salt to my understanding and I'm very interested to see what they have to say. Good luck on your decision!!


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## Fishguy2727 (Dec 22, 2011)

Before You Start a Saltwater Aquarium


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Yes you need a skimmer. You need powerheads to move your water also, at least 10x your water volume, so you will need 300gph powerhead, or 2 150gph powerheads. At least 1lb per gallon of Live Rco, 1.5 is actually ideal but you can get away with 1lb. dithc the BioWheel as this thing will cause you Nitrate issues. Its only need would be fore using GFO, (Granular Feric Oxide) or running carbon. SKimmer should be rated at twice your water volume also.

Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhickers onLive Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way oyu go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon
.Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter)
Multiple Powerheads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph powerheads
.Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volumeSaltwater
 Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Tets for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
Rubber kitchen gloves
Fish net
Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon bucketsAquarium thermometer, digital being the best.
Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
Heater rated for your size tank.Saltwater Mix. 
Marine SaltSaltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate
Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, etc.)
Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed cora. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.


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## jdiaz (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks so much, I did not know that there was that much to saltwater. I will probably try to make it saltwater some day, but for now I am going to take it slow.


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## SeaHorse (Dec 27, 2010)

OMG and WOW! See jdiaz.... I rest my case! 
He didn't even mention that the fish start at $75 bucks a piece AND UP.... what if one dies...? What if the whole tank dies? I've heard of that too.
And yet some of the salt people in here make it all seem so easy. Suffice it to say, spending the money on decent equipment is half the battle. 
(I'm trying my first planted tank instead). You've made a wise decision.


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## Fishguy2727 (Dec 22, 2011)

No. You don't need a skimmer for a 29. Any skimmer is better than no skimmer, but on that size tank a good water change schedule will allow the tank to thrive. 

No, fish don't start at $75. Damsels and chromis start at $5 and less. Clowns start at $20. Most of the fish we sell at the shop are under $40. Few people are willing so spend $50 or more on saltwater fish. 

I would recommend 1.5-2 pounds per gallon of live rock (I had 3lbs/gal in my tank). You cannot replace live rock with dry rock, but you can use dry rock to supplement high quality live rock. I would say up to about 80% of your rock can start as dry, but you still need high quality live rock to introduce all the fauna so that the dry rock can become live. 

DSBs are not usually suggested in displays, and not for 29 gallon systems. 

Getting in to saltwater can be very overwhelming. There is a lot of information to sort through, and a lot of opposing opinions to deal with. It is easy IF you set it up right. If you do it right from the beginning the tank will run well. If you cut corners or rush things you will have problems.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Jakiebabie said:


> OMG and WOW! See jdiaz.... I rest my case!
> He didn't even mention that the fish start at $75 bucks a piece AND UP.... what if one dies...? What if the whole tank dies? I've heard of that too.
> And yet some of the salt people in here make it all seem so easy. Suffice it to say, spending the money on decent equipment is half the battle.
> (I'm trying my first planted tank instead). You've made a wise decision.


 It really is not all that bad. Truely. I got all my stuff used. 
240g tank and stand for $450
Powerheads off E-bay $40 for 6400gph, would be much less for a smaller tank
Sand, that all depends on what kind you get, but around $30 for his 29g.
Skimmer rated at 60g, a good one, for about $150
Refractometer $45
All Dry Rock, you don't need any Live Rock, usually the dry rock will run you $1 a lb, or you can use a MarcoRocks Aquarium Products which is very good. RO/DI I got from E-bay for $100. A 55g barrel to house the water for $14. Thats about it. The fish, well I never bought a fish for $75, I never spent over $35 for one, but I always get teh juvi fish, around 3-4". You can spend way more than $75 on exotic fish, and at full grown also, thats up to the owner. But, really, its not that bad. It looks tougher on paper than it is to actually do.


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## jdiaz (Nov 6, 2011)

I know to fast is bad and slow is a go, I have seen damsels cheap and I don't think that I would buy a super expensive fish right away. If I do start it I will just have the live rocks first before I do anything else. Where I live there is alot of people that sell rocks on craigslist cheap. I also saw an add for some free birdsnest, Don't know how much they cost but hey, free.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Free is always a good thing.


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## jeffnsa (Jan 3, 2012)

Your tank is good enough for a fish only with live rock, no corals. get your self some live rock, a cheap swing arm hydrometer (have it calibrated against the fish stores) and a small power head or two for water flow to get started. Buy the basic water test kits for the initail cycle to start and relax and read up on stuff you will get later on. If you want soft corals later on you will need better lights and a refugium or skimmer, if you want hard corals you need better lights, water flow, rodi , skimmer, and a whole spectrum of test kits. Salt water tanks can be set up and maintained fairly easily just go slow and listen to everyones advice but choose you own direction.


























55gl tank, 40gl refugium, tap water, 2 bulb t-5, 2 cheap power heads. I ran this system for two years when others said it couldn't be done and that i would have major problems. Make it simple and take it slow and enjoy.


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## mini reefer (Jan 30, 2012)

Jakiebabie said:


> OMG and WOW! See jdiaz.... I rest my case!
> He didn't even mention that the fish start at $75 bucks a piece AND UP.... what if one dies...? What if the whole tank dies? I've heard of that too.
> And yet some of the salt people in here make it all seem so easy. Suffice it to say, spending the money on decent equipment is half the battle.
> (I'm trying my first planted tank instead). You've made a wise decision.


here in so cal salt water fish start at $ 2.99 an corral the same i have a 10 gallon with hob no protein skimmer all is well so far


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## brokenrules69 (Aug 27, 2011)

i would do alot of research before thing about salt water i have been doing research and gathering supplies for months and still dont think i will be able to start a salt untill about aug. 

and i wouldnt use regular flurecents on any type of salt tank because u would be overrun with nuisance algae


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## jdiaz (Nov 6, 2011)

I am trying to get some lights for my tank. Might get some soon. Thing is that there was one made for my size tank and I decided to buy something else, dam. And the lights where only 30 dollars.


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