Freshwater to saltwater conversion??

[tktodd]

Hello


I just finished a fishless freshwater cycle in a 10g tank and it is ready to go. Halfway through the cycle I decided I wanted to Make this tank saltwater with some live rock only. Can I just add the salt and live rock and still have a cycled tank??? Or does the cycle start over after adding live rock and salt.. I will be buying Live rock that has already been cured in tanks at the store. probably about 10 pounds of live rock.


Thanks

 

[Avi]

First of all, make sure that there are no metal objects (other than titanium) in the the tank. Things that are safe for freshwater will not be for saltwater. Mix the salt in the water in the tank to a specific gravity of about 1.024 or thereabouts and let it stay for a day or so. Then, put the live rock in. Even if the live rock is "fully cured" there will be some die-off and that will get your tank re-cyling. It will recycle to some extent so just test your water, using test kits that are for saltwater. Watch the numbers for the progress of the cycling.

 

[Swanwillow]

the tank will have to re-cycle... and do research, LOTS of research before jumping into this hobby.

 

[tktodd]

Thanks alot for the advice guys. I already own a 55g saltwater tank that I started the right way and has been going very well..I just decided to go with saltwater on this 10g after already setting it up as a freshwater and wasn't sure about the cycling. There is no metal items inside the tank, just gravel and a few fake plants. I will do as you said as far as adding the salt and live rock and keep an eye on the levels..........Thanks again

 

[Steve Gordon]

Yep, it'll have to re-cycle. The nitrifying bacteria for freshwater is not the same as for saltwater. If you want to speed the cycle up, and possibly avoid it altogether, may people use BioSpira. You can get it from just about any pet store, just make sure you get the one for saltwater.

 

[MCary]

Yeah about that, forget the biospira. The liverock will have more than enough bacteria to seed the system.

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

[welcome]

Woohoo I finally did it.

 

[PatMayo]

awww come on it was easy!!

Regards,

Pat

 

[tktodd]

Ok.........I got all of the live rock, then decided I did not want to keep the gravel and wanted sand. I ended up adding 15 pounds of fiji live rock and white ocean sand to the tank. After a day I tested the water and the results for the ammonia and nitrite were

ammonia - 0 ppm

Nitrite - 3.0 ppm

Does this sound right to you???

Below is a pic of the new setup..

 

[Avi]

Sounds right...for a tank that's still cycling since your nitrites will go down and haven't finished quite yet. You ought to be testing for nitrates as well, and once the cycle is over, in fact, it's the nitrates that you'd be continuing to monitor not ammonia and nitrites, for the most part.

I'm wondering what you're going to be doing for general nitrate control...you have live rock and it looks nice the way you've got it now. But, I'd consider adding a bit more if you can. Also, I know it's a 10-gallon tank, but I really believe that you'd benefit from employing a small protein skimmer. A lot of people feel it isn't necessary with a small tank like that but I disagree and I've seen the addition of a protein skimmer to 10 and 15-gallon tanks eradicate micro-algae problems that seemed impossible to overcome.

It appears that you have a powerfilter there hanging on the back of the tank...what is it? And make certain you have some adequate water flow in that reef.

One more thing....I'd get a Diamond Goby to keep that sand nice and clean.

 

[tktodd]

Thanks alot for the help Avi.....The power filter in that tank is a Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel 150. I believe it is made for up to 55 gallon tanks. Maybe I will do as you suggested and look into a protein skimmer. Thanks again.


Todd