New to saltwater, need advice

[legacyxboo]

Hello Reef Central!
I am new to the forum and new to saltwater tanks, I currently have a 60g tank on a Marineland c360 canister filter. I am currently keeping it cycled with a couple of small fancy goldfish but I am looking to turn it into my first saltwater tank. How hard would this be? Would this cause my cycle to crash?

The tank already has pool filter sand in it and I'm planning on adding live rock. I really like dwarf lionfish and would love to be able to keep one in this tank, what else could live peacefully with it?

What extra equipment would I need?

Thank you in advanced!

 

[JD9]

IMO it would be best to start over with new water. Salt water tanks have a lot more chemistry involved to create a stable environment than fresh water. Lionfish can be very aggressive towards many different species of fish so be careful in selecting which ones to pair it with. It will be a lot of work to transfer to salt, but you will love doing it in the long run.

 

[scooter31707]

I would start over with clean water and IMO, I would not use that kind of sand.

 

[Gladmaker]

I have both fresh water and salt water tanks. There is no comparison as to time, and expense for the two systems. I rarely need to do anything to the fresh water but salt water is daily maintenance to do it right. Do not try to turn your fresh water into salt water. Totally empty it out including the sand. Live sand is good if you can get it, otherwise use aquarium sand - not pool filter sand. It is important to use RO/DI water instead of tap water. I started out using good quality filtered tap water, but had a lot of nutrient problems until I switched to RO/DI. If you're going to get live rock, it helps with the cycle, so get it right away. Starting from scratch, it will probably take about 6 weeks to get it ready for fish. Some say put a couple of fish in for the cycle, but you're stressing the fish when you do that. It's best to wait until the cycle is complete. There is a lot to learn and it can get expensive replacing fish and inverts.

 

[GimpyFin]

+1 to what the others have said. The tank should be restarted, IMO. The silica sand will give you problems in a saltwater tank (Using something aragonite based will work much better.) You could probably do a dwarf lion in the 60g, but it will likely need to be the only fish. Anything that it can fit in it's mouth is a potential snack.

 

[Pelagic_e36]

I had a freshwater tank for over 10 years until last summer when I "converted" to saltwater. The first and most important thing you should do is research, I read tons of forums as well as watched videos on "how to start a saltwater tank". As far as equipment: I spent about $200-300 on the initial startup not including a more powerful light for corals if you wanted to do a reef. I also ran a canister filter with just carbon and light floss during the initial startup. If you plan to use your canister filter make sure you clean it once a week. I did this until I got tired of it and could afford to do a DIY sump.
A few things you will need:
- Protein Skimmer, I have a HOB Eshopps skimmer works great
- Minimum of 60 lbs of rock, I did half live and half dry
- 50 to 60 lbs of live sand; will be worth it in the long run
- A few powerheads for water circulation
- Salt if you are planning to mix your own, I use Instant Ocean
- Refractometer to measure salinity, got mine on ebay
- Good quality heater if you don't have one already, I have a Eheim Jager

 

[legacyxboo]

Thanks to every one who commented! I will be draining my tank and replacing my sand with live sand. I ordered a power head yesterday and I'm about to order live rock but I wanted some opinions on it first. It says base rock so I was wondering it is actual live rock or just for looks? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...oF4-921qKYeRx2cLKpP8lckCoTT5fNlSN7xoCqXjw_wcB

I will probably hold off on the lionfish and start with some more peaceful fish

 

[accordexi]

My only recommendation is to buy the best equipment you can afford.
and read as much as you can.

i would also start over from scratch for saltwater.

i on the other hand dont agree with the post that said you need to do everything daily.
I do water changes weekly ( at least 10% weekly )

let the tank cycle with everything in it (except fish) for at least 3 - 4 weeks with adding tank starting bacteria.