# It's official: I'm switching to saltwater!



## Freddy (Nov 17, 2009)

Since my parents kept procrastinating on letting me get some angelfish and breeding them (my mom was REALLY against that, but had agreed to it) I got to see many different types of fish that were "possible". Then while I was in my lfs I saw a snowflake eel! It's so awesome! My mom said it's "creepy" but I think she likes the idea of me having a saltwater aquarium - for some reason I'm not as attracted to breeding saltwater fish as I was freshwater. So having just one eel is fine. My mom is out buying play sand while she's out at Lowe's, and I'll slowly switch to an all - sand substrate. Then I'll add aragonite sand. My tank should be ready - by my best estimate - in one to two weeks. Wish me luck!:-D


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Best of luck. Feel free to ask for support when you need it!


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Very kewl. Good luck with it.


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## Freddy (Nov 17, 2009)

Do I have to have a protein skimmer? I want to have a snowflake eel, (eventually) a couple of clownfish, a targetfish (the guy at my lfs said some name before it, I forget what it was), and an anemone. Or maybe just the eel.:| So can I do without a protein skimmer if I have really good filtration?


Edit: Never mind! I found a protein skimmer that will work!:-D I thought they all cost ~$300, but I just found one wayyyyyyy cheaper.


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## NC Frank (Aug 24, 2009)

Freddy said:


> Do I have to have a protein skimmer? I want to have a snowflake eel, (eventually) a couple of clownfish, a targetfish (the guy at my lfs said some name before it, I forget what it was), and an anemone. Or maybe just the eel.:| So can I do without a protein skimmer if I have really good filtration?


The protein skimmer, live rock and live sand will compose your filtration system. You will want a couple of power heads to keep detritus out of your sand bed. Whatever settles your cleaning crew will take care of. I use a traditional filter for carbon filtering only. You need to change your ideas on how filtration works when switching from freshwater to marine tanks.

There are a lot of people here who can assist you further. Good luck.

BTW... what size tank are you going to use?


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## Freddy (Nov 17, 2009)

Maybe I spoke too soon. I talked to my dad about switching to saltwater (earlier yesterday my mom couldn't find the sand since there were no employees around to help her) and he said he would talk about it with his friend, who had had a 200 gallon saltwater aquarium, which he donated (just the tank) to my elementary school about 7 years ago. I told him I was tired of waiting, and he said he was tired of me coming up with new ideas. I told him I would be happy with just angelfish, and he said that if I could keep them with what I had, we could get them (the first possible day would be tomorrow). All I need is my mom's OK. So it looks like I'm still doing freshwater. But looking into this has shown me what it takes to have a saltwater tank, and I might try one in the future.

BTW, the tank is 29 gallons. Probably too small for the fish I wanted, but good for angelfish.


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Freddy said:


> :| So can I do without a protein skimmer if I have really good filtration?


I realize you are no longer doing saltwater, but I wanted to comment on this. In my opinion, if you are doing a marine tank, there is no such thing as "really good filtration" unless you have a protein skimmer. No amount of hang on filters, canister filters, trickle filters, or other man made filtration units are capable of doing what a protein skimmer does to the water. These filters are designed to do DIFFERENT things, and no matter how good they do what they are designed to do, they do not remove organic waste from the water, which is the function of a protein skimmer.


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## Freddy (Nov 17, 2009)

Well, I did eventually find a protein skimmer, it's an in-tank protein skimmer. Does that kind work well?


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Freddy said:


> Well, I did eventually find a protein skimmer, it's an in-tank protein skimmer. Does that kind work well?


It depends on the design. What brand? Can you post a picture?


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