[bigwall70]

alright ive been keeping freshwater fish for about 2yrs now and have been very successful so far and have decided to leap into the wonderful world of saltwater aquariums but i need a little help on some certain things. Well for starters i am going to convert my 55gallon freshwater tank into saltwater and have been a little confused i know i need a good protein skimmer, 2-3 power heads, and im probally going to go with a canister filter. Is it ok to keep my biowheel filter as like a backup filter or no, and i dont know if i should change my lighting from flouresent to something else, i dont know if i want a reef tank yet i want clown fish and some tangs mabey a trigger but i dont know if i should put coral in or not, I know i need live rock but dont know if the fish would do better with coral or not, (i have decided to go with live sand as my substrate) but i need some help ur input will be greatly appreciated i also bought a book to help me with my questions "The Complete Book Of The Marine Aquarium"

[Tonz of fun]

Originally Posted by bigwall70

alright ive been keeping freshwater fish for about 2yrs now and have been very successful so far and have decided to leap into the wonderful world of saltwater aquariums but i need a little help on some certain things. Well for starters i am going to convert my 55gallon freshwater tank into saltwater and have been a little confused i know i need a good protein skimmer, 2-3 power heads, and im probally going to go with a canister filter. Is it ok to keep my biowheel filter as like a backup filter or no, and i dont know if i should change my lighting from flouresent to something else, i dont know if i want a reef tank yet i want clown fish and some tangs mabey a trigger but i dont know if i should put coral in or not, I know i need live rock but dont know if the fish would do better with coral or not, (i have decided to go with live sand as my substrate) but i need some help ur input will be greatly appreciated i also bought a book to help me with my questions "The Complete Book Of The Marine Aquarium"

I would suggest figuring out what you want first then go shopping. Your skimmer, filter, and lights will be based upon if you do a Flower or Reef tank. And welcome to the hobby. What kind of chemicals did you use on your freshwater tank?

[bigwall70]

not a lot i know if i used i think its mercury correct me if im wrong its used for curing ick i always took the fish out and put them in my 30gallon to do that but i have used salt and dechlorenators and some clear water stuff i just dont know if the tank will look right without coral or not

[msbdiving]

It was probably malachite green (only m word I could think of). In the event that you used copper to treat for ich, I would suggest that you do fish only. I hear that the copper stays in the system for a very long time even though you try and rinse it out. This could have an effect on inverts that you might want to put in the tank. Tanks are cheap compared to other things such as lighting, protein skimmer....You might look into switching everything out. Fish don't need corals but they sure are cool to look at. Even having LR with all the little hitchhikers onboard. I would definately go with the live sand versus crushed coral.

As far as the fish go, a tang would be cool if you go with a small one (check saltwaterfish.com for profiles) the trigger is not reef safe but the clown would be neat.

I personally would go without the canister go with a sump. As long as you don't put anything but fish in the tank you can go with flourescents. However, that probably won't last and you will want to go with PC's or metal halides. Best to think about what you want first then buy.

[bigwall70]

but for a sump dont i have to drill into the tank because its tempered glass, i just read in the book about there not being enough oxygen for the bacteria in the water but is it ok to use my biowheel filter in it i have read mixed thoughts about it oh and i have only used the wardleys ick treatment thing but didnt put it in the tank only the 30gallon havent had a lot of ick break out since i got a bigger tank (knock on wood)

[msbdiving]

Unless you plan on replacing the glass in the back to put an overflow in, I don't think drilling into tempered will work, can't say I have tried it. Nothing that I have heard or read about biowheels are good. You might want to keep that 30 as a qt. I was originally thinking of putting a divider in there and have a sump and a refugium but a qt is in my opinion more important. You could get away with a good protein skimmer (read up on them) and 1.5-2lbs live rock, dsb and plenty of flow and you could probably do away with the wheel. I have heard of people replacing the wheel portion with a bag of chemipure. Ask around, lots of different ideas and ways to skin a cat. Some I'm sure are better than mine.

[bigwall70]

yeah i planned on getting a good protein skimmer im actually researching them at the moment see i have a plan on buying one piece of equipment at a time untill i have enough of it to get it started and enough to buy live rock and oh and i actually have another 55gallon tank in the garage was going to give to my bro in law for a b day present but the divider for the lights were they set on was broke so i look for solutions then i just ended up buying him a different tank

[NATIVEVAMAN]

As for drilling a tank,its no big deal. For 99% of the tanks out there only the bottom is tempered glass(they drill the back glass) and most lfs will drill it for around 75$'s.When you start talking about a sump run by a siphon you are talking big problems and big money(it will make 75$'s seem cheap).As for lighting I would avoid compact flourescents. There bulb life is not that great and they run on the very warm side.I also would avoid mh especially in a smaller tank they run HOT and the bulb life is poor at best.Also depending on the wattage of the mh lights you may need a chiller.I would recoment t 5 lights,for your tank a 4 buld set up would be perfect.If you have the right amount of live rock and sand that will be your biological filter and a skimmer will be the mechanical filter.You truly wont need anything else.If copper has been used in a tank you can tell by the blue tinted silicone in tank corners.If you use a skimmer there will be more than enough oxygen in the tank for all biological process's.A sump/refugium is very important to the whole process I would get the largest sump tank that will fit under your tank.

[bigwall70]

ok but when u say a sump ive been looking at them and i dont quite get how they work i was up till 5 last night researching this stuff

[NATIVEVAMAN]

iagram: F.O.W.L.R Aquarium Here is a drawing that will help (forget the trickle filter part). Imagine a tank under your tank,water flowing from your display tank is coming down from the left and enters the tank where the protien skimmer is. After skimming the water goes thru a set of over under baffles that can contain bagged carbon filter media or small chunks of live rock rubble. This will pop all those nasty little micro bubbles.The next chamber is for the return pump,heater and othe pumps (so far the water has been going from left to right).The third compartment is the refugium.it is fed from a 1/2 inch pipe that is comming all the way across the the tank from the drain line and into the refugium where you have algea growing with all sorts of other pods and critters.The flow here is from right tot left running into the return pump compartment.Comparatively the flow here is slow,around 50/100 gallons per hour.I hope i havnt completely confused you.

[e_baer]

yes, a sump is also used to house your equipment like a heater, UV sterilizer, protein skimmer, etc. you can also make half of the sump a fuge. add some lights, and grow some cheatomorpha in there. a fuge is also good for a copeapod breeding ground. it is a natural food source for many fish. anotherreason for a sump is to add more water volume. the more water, the longer it takes for something bad to happen to a tank.


regarding how water will get to a sump, you dont need to drill the taqnk, you can buy something called an overflow box. this is basically the same things, except no drilling is needed.



and no, this is not my algae filled tank!

but you can see the sump/fuge and the overflow box.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I put absolutly no faith in siphon systems.If your pump stops the siphon keeps going until the water gets to the bottom of the highest pipe in the siphon.If that happens to be more than the sump will hold guess where its going.

[bigwall70]

eBay: Siphon Aquarium Overflow Box 600g w/ Lift Pump (item 160137198797 end time Jul-22-07 00:39:03 PDT)

so ill need this and a sump tank and wat else i feel like a complete retard i have a 55 gallon tank in the garage i can use then ill need a wet dry filter correct

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by NATIVEVAMAN

I put absolutly no faith in siphon systems.If your pump stops the siphon keeps going until the water gets to the bottom of the highest pipe in the siphon.If that happens to be more than the sump will hold guess where its going.

Yes but there is the key right there. With a good steady pump you should not need any external overflow pipe to be but about a 1/3 to 1/2 inch under the water. So only about 2 - 3 gallons tops should be able to hit your sump with a pump shutting down.

[e_baer]

that is right, it is not just siphoning, if you look at the design you will see how it will not overflow more than a few gallons back onto your sump and then the siphon will automatically start again, so your main tank doesnt overflow.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I just read about the siphon overflow and it claims a 600 gph flow but provides a pump for 100 gph.I guess I am going to remain a hardliner on this and say there are three ways to do anything.The right way,the almost right way and the wrong way.You can count the number of people that have had problems with a drilled tank on one hand. To count the number of people who have had trouble with a siphon you would need all your fingers and toes and maybe a calculater.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I give up lol

[e_baer]

lol...i guess its all opinioin, as long as you have valves and whatnot, everything should be fine.

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by NATIVEVAMAN

I just read about the siphon overflow and it claims a 600 gph flow but provides a pump for 100 gph.I guess I am going to remain a hardliner on this and say there are three ways to do anything.The right way,the almost right way and the wrong way.You can count the number of people that have had problems with a drilled tank on one hand. To count the number of people who have had trouble with a siphon you would need all your fingers and toes and maybe a calculater.

I agree with you about them not being the optimal solution for this. However, there are time that people just don't have options. So I would still say that they are better then having a bio-wheel or many other types of filters. So I guess we work with what we have. I personally have a internal overflow, but I was setting up from scratch and new what I wanted. Some people are using converted fresh water tanks or picked up a tank at an incredible price used.

[e_baer]

well me, im just adding a sump to my 2 year old 55g reef. so its not an option to take everyhting out and dril lthe tank, so an overflow box is my only option that i can see.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I guess our mission here would be defined as"trying to prevent others from making the mistakes we made".And I view a siphon system as a mistake.If he buys the siphon overflow on e bay he will spend 29$'s and shipping and then buy a pump that makes it work proprly and shipping and that certainly will add up to more than the 75$'s it would cost to get it drilled.Not to mention the time he will more than likely spend trying to find the pump.I am sorry to say it sounds like a lot of effort to do it halfway.will someone please lock this thread? lol.

[bigwall70]

u guys have helped me a lot i just need to make up my mind none of my lfs will drill my tank

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by bigwall70

u guys have helped me a lot i just need to make up my mind none of my lfs will drill my tank

No most of them won't and if you do find one that is willing too, they will not
guarantee against breakage of the tank. At least this was my experience. I found a used tank that was reasonable but no one would guarantee the job. So I risked spending $400.00 on a tank that I could potentially break drilling it myself. I just was not willing to take the chance of spending 400.00 to chance it, so I found one with an overflow built in. I have seen several people here who have drilled tanks successfully, so it is doable. However, if you decide to go this route, be very careful about finding out if the bottom glass is tempered. If it is you will have to drill the back wall.

[e_baer]

it is just easier to buy the overflow box.

native, just look around on google and you will see how an overflow box works. maybe you already understand how it works. it stops siphoning as soon as the water drops to a cetain point. then starts back up again when it reaches a certain point.

[Tonz of fun]

Why not buy a tank with the predrilled holes. You should play it safe and buy a new tank because you used it for freshwater for one...and two because you will be doing it the right way the first time. So here is the deal. Save yourself the 400 dollars not because of drilling or anything like that...but because you will want to do it the right way later and save yourself the hassel. I vote new predrilled tank