New to saltwater

Hi everyone im new to saltwater have been doing freshwater forever. i currently have a 55 gallon freshwater tank that i wanna convert to saltwater FOWLR tank. I have the two regular filters then a heater and lights that all came with it. I was wondering equipment wise what do i need to upgrade. Thanks guys appreciate the help.. ;D

 

For those of you joining us that are new to the hobby - the best piece of advice you'll get around here as a saltwater newbie is 3Reef's slogan
"Go slow, let it grow."
And for those experianced hobbyists joining us - it's still good advice
good luck and post pics soon

The heater and the lights should be fine to start with, you will likely need to upgrade the lights if you ever decide to start addinng corals to the mix.
what type of filters are your "regular filters"?

you will want a protein skimmer, dont skimp and try to go as cheap as possible, it will just cause you to spend money twice for the same equipment, especially when you get hooked and start upgrading

peronally I would use a 20L and build a skimmer/sump/fuge and not worry about any other mechanical filtration

light reading:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/basics-flow-78711.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/basics-filtration-79766.html

good luck

 

will i need any power heads?

 

yes, you will want flow from a powerhead to help tank circulation - a koralia 2 would be a good start for a 55 FOWLR.

 

Congrats and welcome to the big leagues! ;D Like most everything in life...the answers to your questions "depends." Your very first step should be to clearly know what you want your tank to be. We just knew that we wouldn't be able to stop at FOWLR, so we bought really nice equipment all-around for a full blown reef setup from the get-go. Could you provide a little more information on what kind of filters and lights you currently have? And yes, the single most important piece of additional equipment you will need is a protein skimmer. I highly recommend designing an overflow/sump/return system...but if you want to stay with a hang-on-back approach to start you certainly can. I've heard pretty good things about the AquaC Remora skimmers, you might want to check them out...

Edit: Cool, we're now Spanish Shawl Nudibranchs...whatever they are...gotta Google them...always something new to learn in this hobby!

 

hey good luck man i just converted also and im already loving it with just my live rock and two fish and shrimp the best thing is when your live rock gives you a prize i just found a sea star in mine to cool...so just wait and read on here very good advice

 

LOL, unless your live rock gives you a gift that you want to give back!
http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/crab-hitchhiker-82898.html

 

Get a protein skimmer. Don't use your old freshwater filters because they won't do any good most likely. I would upgrade the lighting, doesn't have to be anything crazy though. right now you probably have one 40w T8 or something and you are going to want more light. Develop a livestock list. Look around like crazy for good deals on Live Rock...I got all my LR from someone breaking down his 150 for about $2/lb and I transported it wet so my tank didn't have to cycle.

But yeah, go slow. And ask as many questions as you can on here.

 

ya i would say get a sump fuge and skimmer along with one or two powerheads also dont forget to cycle your tank

 

I too upgraded my 55 fresh to reef about 2 months ago. I had already upgraded the lighting from the 2x20w flourescents to 4x65w pcs (don't do that). I just upgraded to a MH/T5/Moonlight fixture (Wish I would have done that in the first place). I got an overflow/wet-dry/skimmer setup from a guy for $150 w/return pump. But if you think that you will EVER get corals, upgrade the lighting now so you don't waste a bunch of money like I did. I spent $300 on the PC fixture and only used it for 6 months and 2 extra sets of bulbs. Dr. Foster and Smith had the Koralia powerheads on sale (may still be) so I bought 2 K2's for my 55 and they seem perfect. Like RSX said... plan for the future now.