125 gallon (6' long) conversion... fresh to reef

[adnedarn]

Hello all! I have a 29g planted freshwater tank and a 125L tank which was community freshwater. Slowly over the years the fish count has shrunk, and recently I lost the last Angel fish. Right about then, I decided it was time to switch to a saltwater tank... (although the thought has been in my mind for many years)
I have a internet friend which has been kinda pointing me in directions so I haven't been completely blind thus far. (He used to be into carnivorous plants... which I still do but he no longer does)
I started off with buying the book The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and have been slowly working my way through it when I have time. I also tried my hand at some Aragocrete, which failed by me thinking crushed coral was the same thing as aragonite. The kids, wife, and I had fun doing it though.

(left wife, right me, bottom two kids with my help)

I guess I'm probably about ready to start picking up equipment and after reading about failures of external overflow boxes I think I've decided to drill... Using the laptop and polarized glasses test I believe only my bottom panel is tempered.
I have a smaller tank which I believe is a 20h tank which I think I'll use as a sump.

Here is the list of stuff I've come up with so far to buy and begin. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome.
Thanks!

Diablo DC 5500 variable pump
Reef Octopus DCs170-int
dual di canister (already have RO) and resin
internal overflow box 1800 gph
1 1/2" bulkhead (slip x slip?) 3 (I think I'm going to do the bean animal system)

After that I realize I will need aragonite sand, live rock/proper Aragocrete, salt water mix stuff

My aim I believe is "mixed reef"? reef safe fish, reef safe inverts, and soft coral/LPS/mushroom/polyps you get the idea. But I want to aim lighting maybe a bit more down the road... I do have one 250w MH if I really need that much light in the start- but I'd rather get a LED down the road when it's needed than run that thing if I don't need to.

I think we'll stop there.
Thanks! :wavehand:
Andrew

 

[Cymonous]

Make sure to do a good cleaning of that tank. Either a bleach solution or vinegar and let it air dry for a while. I would assume you are NOT using those rocks correct? Just get some dry rock and dry sand to start the new tank. You can seed it with a couple pounds of live rock if you want, but not necessary. While reading books do help, I find more and concise information on the stickies at the top of this forum. You get personal experience from very experienced reefers.

 

[behlke]

Welcome to ReefCentral!

I switched my 29g freshwater aquarium to saltwater a couple of years ago. I don't mean to say the following to discourage you from setting up a Saltwater (SW) aquarium - I think it was a great move, and wish I had done it years earlier - but to let you know ahead of time that SW is very different from freshwater. The only thing you will use in the SW aquarium is the tank, and possibly the filter. All of the other equipment is not appropriate for a reef aquarium. My lighting was not intense enough, so I had to buy new lights. The canister filter is just a bad idea in a SW tank, so I bought a HOB skimmer. Which I don't like now and wish I had drilled the tank to start with and added a sump. You should look at a Bean Animal style overflow for your tank before you drill. My powerheads were okay, but I soon bought better ones. And of course all of the testing equipment is different for SW. Eventually I bought a RODI system, which I should of purchased off the bat instead of wasting money on other water treatments.

The two pieces of advice I have are to be patient and do lots of research.

 

[adnedarn]

Make sure to do a good cleaning of that tank. Either a bleach solution or vinegar and let it air dry for a while. I would assume you are NOT using those rocks correct? Just get some dry rock and dry sand to start the new tank. You can seed it with a couple pounds of live rock if you want, but not necessary. While reading books do help, I find more and concise information on the stickies at the top of this forum. You get personal experience from very experienced reefers.

Hello, I gave a good vacuuming (drained 4/5ths) then refilled it and added some chlorine. Ran that for 5 days. Completely drained and refilled and ran for a week. (did that 3 times to make sure it's rinsed well). I'm still going to scrub out the tank well too.
eh, I haven't decided yet... I know they are not ideal (not very porous)- but surely they'd be better than nothing. At least on the bottom of the rock pile somewhere.
I have definitely been checking out the stickies! The most recent one being all the pests to watch out for- kinda scary. :uhoh3:
Andrew

 

[adnedarn]

Welcome to ReefCentral!

I switched my 29g freshwater aquarium to saltwater a couple of years ago. I don't mean to say the following to discourage you from setting up a Saltwater (SW) aquarium - I think it was a great move, and wish I had done it years earlier - but to let you know ahead of time that SW is very different from freshwater. The only thing you will use in the SW aquarium is the tank, and possibly the filter. All of the other equipment is not appropriate for a reef aquarium. My lighting was not intense enough, so I had to buy new lights. The canister filter is just a bad idea in a SW tank, so I bought a HOB skimmer. Which I don't like now and wish I had drilled the tank to start with and added a sump. You should look at a Bean Animal style overflow for your tank before you drill. My powerheads were okay, but I soon bought better ones. And of course all of the testing equipment is different for SW. Eventually I bought a RODI system, which I should of purchased off the bat instead of wasting money on other water treatments.

The two pieces of advice I have are to be patient and do lots of research.

Thanks for the welcome! Uhm did you read my whole post? I realize it's different which is why I bought the book, have joined this forum, and have my friend to help me out. I only plan on using the aquarium- as you should be able to tell by the list I'm asking about as items to buy to get started. Even the light I mentioned was from growing carnivorous plants and not from my tank. I also mentioned doing the bean animal style overflow now that I've tested it and believe it isn't tempered on the sides. I even mentioned buying the DI canisters to add to my exsisting RO systems (I have 4 total, one I will designate for this tank).
Patients is one thing that has been really stressed to me, I'm pretty good at that- for the most part.
Andrew

 

[jpitch]

You want your sump to roughly be at least 1/3 the size of your MT. Also, you want a sump that will be able to accomodate equipment you will be purchasing in the future. Your skimmer, return pump, etc might not fit in that 20h. You may want to consider a refugium as well. I wouldn't put those original rocks in your tank if they were made from crushed coral. I believe they will mess with your parameters. If you want a mixed reef you will definitely need better lighting after your cycle your tank. But that is still several weeks away. Make sure you have a check valve on your return line. You don't want water being siphoned back into your sump when the pump is turned off. This is very basic info for you to consider. Perseverance, patience, and a VERY methodical approach is key to success. Good luck to ya!

ps- I have over 30 years experience in the freshwater hobby. It amounted to about 2% of the knowledge I now have in saltwater LOL

 

[sh0ck]

I suggest that u buy bigger tank.
I have 55g with DSB AIO, ~160l of water and it is so small for any tang.
Especially for soft corals, everything get really big really fast in few months.
Tank itself is probably cheapest thing, and difference in equipment between 150l and 400l is like none (considering skimmer and reactors).
Yes lights scale up with size, but it is worth.

 

[dava6711]

I've just finished converting a jewel rekord 600 into a marine aquarium.

I use a heavily, Frankenstein modded MCE600 for protein skimming and a fluidised sand bed for biological filtration, both of which are powered by closed loop, external pumps as I hate having pumps inside the aquarium. I modded the skimmer to reduce its vibration noises as it's in my bedroom on my PC desk so I needed absolute silence!

So, your tanks will be fine if stocked 'conscientiously' lol.

 

[adnedarn]

You want your sump to roughly be at least 1/3 the size of your MT. Also, you want a sump that will be able to accomodate equipment you will be purchasing in the future. Your skimmer, return pump, etc might not fit in that 20h. You may want to consider a refugium as well. I wouldn't put those original rocks in your tank if they were made from crushed coral. I believe they will mess with your parameters. If you want a mixed reef you will definitely need better lighting after your cycle your tank. But that is still several weeks away. Make sure you have a check valve on your return line. You don't want water being siphoned back into your sump when the pump is turned off. This is very basic info for you to consider. Perseverance, patience, and a VERY methodical approach is key to success. Good luck to ya!

ps- I have over 30 years experience in the freshwater hobby. It amounted to about 2% of the knowledge I now have in saltwater LOL

The return pump I have listed above is an external- but I will take into consideration your suggestion for a larger sump. Thanks!
The rocks are made of aragonite, but either way they are not as porous as I was expecting so I doubt I'll use them. A refugium is in the plans... for some point, but if I decide to get a larger sump- the 20tall can switch over to the refug.

I suggest that u buy bigger tank.
I have 55g with DSB AIO, ~160l of water and it is so small for any tang.
Especially for soft corals, everything get really big really fast in few months.
Tank itself is probably cheapest thing, and difference in equipment between 150l and 400l is like none (considering skimmer and reactors).
Yes lights scale up with size, but it is worth.

I'm sorry 125L means "125Long" which is a 125 gallon tank that is 6' long... I wasn't referencing Liters.

Thanks for both the replies!
Andrew

 

[adnedarn]

Hello all! I have a 29g planted freshwater tank and a 125L (*edit* 125 Long meaning 125 gallon 6' long tank not 125 liters tank which was community freshwater. Slowly over the years the fish count has shrunk, and recently I lost the last Angel fish. Right about then, I decided it was time to switch to a saltwater tank... (although the thought has been in my mind for many years)
I have a internet friend which has been kinda pointing me in directions so I haven't been completely blind thus far. (He used to be into carnivorous plants... which I still do but he no longer does)
I started off with buying the book The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and have been slowly working my way through it when I have time. I also tried my hand at some Aragocrete, which failed by me thinking crushed coral was the same thing as aragonite. The kids, wife, and I had fun doing it though.

(left wife, right me, bottom two kids with my help)

I guess I'm probably about ready to start picking up equipment and after reading about failures of external overflow boxes I think I've decided to drill... Using the laptop and polarized glasses test I believe only my bottom panel is tempered.
I have a smaller tank which I believe is a 20h tank which I think I'll use as a sump.

Here is the list of stuff I've come up with so far to buy and begin. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome.
Thanks!

Diablo DC 5500 variable pump
Reef Octopus DCs170-int
dual di canister (already have RO) and resin
internal overflow box 1800 gph
1 1/2" bulkhead (slip x slip?) 3 (I think I'm going to do the bean animal system)

After that I realize I will need aragonite sand, live rock/proper Aragocrete, salt water mix stuff

My aim I believe is "mixed reef"? reef safe fish, reef safe inverts, and soft coral/LPS/mushroom/polyps you get the idea. But I want to aim lighting maybe a bit more down the road... I do have one 250w MH if I really need that much light in the start- but I'd rather get a LED down the road when it's needed than run that thing if I don't need to.

I think we'll stop there.
Thanks! :wavehand:
Andrew

Oh I guess if I edit the top post it quotes it below... anyway- here is the tank right now.