Changing over

[Armadillo]

Hello There,

I haven't put my marine tank in service yet. Really I have just emptied my freshwater tank and getting ready to move it to my new house. My daughter of course after finding nemo would like a nemo fish.

I have wanted to switch over to marine type tank but since I already had the fresh up and running was waiting till the move.

I have a 55 Gallon tank glass top with double canopy light. I was told i would need a bigger filter when changing over to the salt water. I was hoping to find out what type of hardware would I need when changing to a marine tank of this size with minimal costs.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

:oops:

[Darlene]

Hello,

I'm new to the hobby also. Switched my fresh to saltwater 8 months ago. And the only advise I feel quailifed to give is to go slow, ask lots of questions and do lots of research before purchasing anything. I went about it too quickly and am now being told to switch filters and lose the protein skimmer. And both I had bought when I switched, wasted money. But there seem to be some folks on here that really know their stuff. So you are starting out right. Good luck! :)

[Armadillo]

Thanks I will.. I went slow building the freshwater up. I planned on having the tank filled and running for about 2 months before fish. I was also wondering if that was being over paranoid?

[Darlene]

Don't feel confident enough to give any advise, still too new at this. But I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will get back with you soon.

[tnguy86]

i'm glad to see that you're changing over. i believe 2 months for a fw tank is a bit much, but 2 months for a sw tank is about enough. however, 2 months isn't always a good thing to go by. it's best just to test frequently to ensure your tank has completed the nitrogen cycle. some wait 4 or 6 months to ensure their cycle.
please post what you have now and what kind of setup you plan on having in the future.
your options are fish only (fo), fowlr(fish only with live rock), or reef. you should read the articles listed in the forum to see what type of filtration best fits your needs.

[Condiman]

tnguy86, you hit the nail on the head. I know when I started I didnt test much and I had many problems but now I do weekly water changes and test 2 to 4 times a week and things have been running alot smoother.

[Armadillo]

Ok well I was hoping to start a reef tank. I picked up a Eheim canister for the tank. Also the LFS guy mentioned a skimmer? Do you need a skimmer or not? I was planning on getting the tank set up this weekend should I get my rock right away or fill the tank first then visit the shop for rock? I will be adding a couple of critters to the tank after the reef has started to settle or should I approach this differently.

Sorry about all the questions I am so confused with all the different information I have read in some books and here being confilicting.