Possibly Switching Over To SW

J

jar05g

New member
Hello all!

I currently have a 60 gallon FW tank up and running and have been thinking of converting it to SW. As far as equipment goes, I have the below:

  • Tank measuring 48"x18"x25"
  • Two Emperor 400 HOB filters
  • Two Aqueon 150w heaters
  • Current USA Satellite LED

I'm pretty sure I can keep the filters and heaters, but would my light be sufficient to house corals or would I need something more powerful? I know the tank would need to be cycled again, so I'd probably end up buying new bio-wheels as well.

For substrate I'd get arogonite and probably another 75-80 pounds of LR.

Outside of the lighting question, what kinds of fish would I be able to keep in my size tank? I've always liked the Flame Angel...would that be a possibility?

Thank you all for your help! I don't know if I'll make the switch, but if I can get these questions answered...it may help me make the decision quicker :)
 
Sounds like a 90G tank. You can definitely have a flame angel, those are dwarf angels. You could have a good amount of fish in general in that tank, search 90g stocking list or similar and see what others have done.

Lights would need to be upgraded to have better corals and anemonies but you could get away with shrooms & soft corals most likely. You can find pretty cheap chinese LEDs on ebay (or used on the forums here) that are very powerful.

Also pretty much everyone will tell you to ditch the HOB filters. Your rock will be your main filtration, although drilling and having a sump to fit a skimmer and other things is preferable, there are hang on skimmers & refugiums.
 
Pmj said:
Sounds like a 90G tank. You can definitely have a flame angel, those are dwarf angels. You could have a good amount of fish in general in that tank, search 90g stocking list or similar and see what others have done.

Lights would need to be upgraded to have better corals and anemonies but you could get away with shrooms & soft corals most likely. You can find pretty cheap chinese LEDs on ebay (or used on the forums here) that are very powerful.

Also pretty much everyone will tell you to ditch the HOB filters. Your rock will be your main filtration, although drilling and having a sump to fit a skimmer and other things is preferable, there are hang on skimmers & refugiums.
Click to expand...

Sorry about that...the 18" isn't right...it's only 12"...which is 60 gallons.

The stand that the tank sits on only has a small section under it as a cabinet, so I wouldn't be able to fit very much under the tank and would prefer not to drill it lol.

So with the new tank dimensions being said...you think a Flame Angel is still possible? I'd like to have one centerpiece fish with other schooling fish such as Damsels or PJ Cardinals. Of course my wife would love a clown fish with anenome.
 
12" width sucks. You would be better of with a 40 breeder for $40 or a 75gal tank. 12" is very narrow once you start putting rocks in the tank. Also you would want a sump under the tank. Is there enough room for a 20gal or 10gal tank under the stand? The first thing to ask your self is do you want a fish only tank or a reef? Once you decide that and your tank size you can post a list of fish you like here
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2068112

I would look at RO/DI filters as one of the first things you buy.
 
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I'd do the same search on google with 60-65 instead of 90 but don't think you'd have any problem with a FA, a clown or two, and 2 other small fish like you mentioned in a 60ish tank. I've had 2 clowns, two chromis, and a goby/shrimp combo in a 34 for 2 years. Good luck!
 
SFish said:
12" width sucks. You would be better of with a 40 breeder for $40 or a 75gal tank. Also you would want a sump under the tank. Is there enough room for a 20gal or 10gal tank under the stand? The first thing to ask your self is do you want a fish only tank or a reef? I would look at RO/DI filters as one of the first things you buy.
Click to expand...

Agreed with SFish, if you can go different size and get a sump you'll be better long term, but doable without.
 
I think your best bet would be a 40 and make a stand for it (Petco $/gal sale). HOB filters are junk for saltwater. Bio wheels I would get rid of. Lights are no good for a reef tank probably fine for fish only. You would need power heads for the tank for water movement. Prepare your self for sticker shock is the best thing I can tell you.
 
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I'd prefer to keep the tank and stand I have now because it looks very nice in the space that it's in.

If I left off the HOB filters and relied on the LR for the filtration, would I be able to get away with some power heads for water movement?
 
Pretty sure you would want a skimmer. There is so much stuff to a set up and a few different ways to go about things. Let me give you a rough idea. This is my work in progress.

 
Tank to the left is a refugium. The tank in the middle is a sump. That round red this is a skimmer. The tank to the right is an auto top off tank. The small black thing is a reactor.
 
jar05g said:
Yeah...I'm not sure I want to get quite that involved.
Click to expand...

This is a pretty standard set up. A lot of people put the refugium in the sump. There are also HOB sumps. A few people go without but I think more people have them then those that don't.
 
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jar05g said:
I'd prefer to keep the tank and stand I have now because it looks very nice in the space that it's in.

If I left off the HOB filters and relied on the LR for the filtration, would I be able to get away with some power heads for water movement?
Click to expand...

I'll leave this one to someone with more experience. I can tell you without an ATO maintaining your SG will be a pain in the azz.
 
You need a return pump as well to pump the water from the sump to the DT. The cool thing about making a stand is it can be any size you want and it will be cheaper and better made then the ones you can buy.
 
Hmm...I need to give this some thought. If I were to go this route...I'd have to get a different stand because there is zero room for any equipment inside the cabinet.
 
WHat you're looking at in that sump build: 1) the skimmer ---removes amino acids: 2) a GFO reactor (removes phosphate). It will also contain the ATO (autotopoff float switch) and that will need an ATO reservoir to supply fresh water to keep the salinity steady. And the heater and return pump (about a Mag 9.5 (950 gph)) ---there's more gear, but once you have it going, it takes care of itself pretty well: refill the ATO reservoir, run weekly water tests, and feed the fish, which also feeds the corals. Stability is key to success, that and setting your salinity, alkalinity, etc properly in the first place, which you do with a good salt mix and a little hand-dosing and testing. Once you have it right, there are ways to hold it there for weeks on end, especially with stony corals.

Getting a reef-ready tank saves a lot of hassle: spendier, but easier. Skimmer, lights, and pump are the pricey items.

OTOH, I have a thread floating around here about managing a very basic marine tank with a couple of inexpensive Penguin filters---you'd need the ATO.
 
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