New Tank

[Armadillo]

Hello There,

I have had a fresh water tank for a few years, would like to move over to marine. Is there a preferred way to clean the tank before switching over to marine?

ok.. 55 Gallon tank, 2 bulb over tank canopy, Penguin 170 filter.
I would like to put in a clown fish as well as a hawaiin tang, with some live rocks.

I was wondering if my filter was big enough also what other equipment would I need keeping costs fairly low.

Thanks

Armadillo

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught."

- Baba Dioum, 1968

[tnguy86]

i'd get rid of the filter altogether. you can go about finding someone to drill your tank, or you can buy an overflow and a sump. pm me and i'll get bak to you.

[crazy_reefing]

You can also use a good canister filter. That would save you on the hassel and expense of drilling.

A skimmer

Also what kind of lighting are your bulbs?

[Armadillo]

I picked up a Eheim canister last night, and atm I have a double floresecnt ballast with a 50/50 andcoral life bright.

I have also read that you should have a softer light start before you lights come on full bore for the critters?

This tank will be up on the main floor should i be worried about algae growth due to sunlight? I had a problem with that with my FW setup.. although now that I have been reading more I think it might be the lack of proper filtration and water flow.

[Charles Poole]

You can clean the tank with bleach, but be sure to rinse it out thoroughly, and use a declorinator in the final rinse. :)

[crazy_reefing]

If you keep Phosphates low you shouldn't have a problem with algea. Filtration is key with tanks.

[Armadillo]

Ok great I am going to be cleaning tonight for teh big move of the tank so I will be a thorough as possible.

[MikeS]

If you have hard water stains, you can scrub them off with vinager. Like Clkeep said, you can use a weak bleach solution to sanitize it if you desire, but rinse well and use a dechlorinator. Don't wash the tank with any detergents!

Mike

[Armadillo]

I will keep it in the same post since it pertains to equipment for this tank still..

Skimmers, uv sterilizers and heaters.. What are your thoughts on these items?

With my FW experience I never used skimmers or uv sterilizers could just be a lack of knowledge on my part but with heater I have two smaller Hang in tank heaters for my 55 gallon. Are there better options? :?

[Charles Poole]

I prefer to run skimmers for the following reasons:

Removal of waste products before being biologically broken down
Increase aeration ( aiding in high oxygen levels )

I do not like UV clarifiers as they will kill of beneficial organisms such as Phytoplankton, bacteria ( good and bad ), and pose the possibility of reducing an animals immune system effectivness, which means if the UV starts to fail, the animal is at a higher risk for disease and infection. Kinda like letting the boy in the bubble out.

Heaters are a good way of stabilizing tank temperatures in the tropical reef range. In all but the summer months, it would be next to immpossible for me to keep my tank at a stable 82'F. Just buy 2 or more heaters that have a combined rating suitable to heat your tank. This way if one fails the other can still help keep the temp from crashing to rapidly. Also, this helps to protect against possible malfunction that could potentially overheat the tank. If one heater gets stuck on, the other(s) will shut off.