switching over to salt water from fresh water

hi all!! ive always wanted to have a reef tank but it seemed to be so intimidating not to mention the $$$$ factor. im a diy and was set on doin a nano tank for my 1st reef tank. i couldnt compromise a location for the nano tank with my wife, soooooo.....i have a reef ready 120g fresh water tank with a 30 gallon sump, it has flowerhorns, an arowana and parrot fish. im goin crazy with wanting a reef tank and was bummed when the boss said no to the nano, she wants the 120g turned to reef. oh well. ive read and read and read so sorry if this stuffs been covered before, just want to make sure!! AWESOME SITE!!

what is the best way to clean out the tank?? can i just add vineger to the tank with the fresh water thats already in there?

im gonna have to check and make sure there isnt any copper in there. if there were, isnt it possible to filter it out? but im pretty sure there isnt any.

im gonna get @50# base rock from marco or something and just add 50# each time over a few months till i get @200#. does that sound ok? when doin the aquascape for the rocks, could i put egg crate just under the rocks that contact the tank to distribute the weight some? or is the glass plenty strong?

i was thinking about getting pulverised limestone for my sand, prolly @100# of that. does that sound ok?

could i run without a skimmer through the cycle and add it later? i have a tunze skimmer that i bought but it isnt rated for my size tank.

and i will add a t5 retro kit before i add coral.

my sump is a 30 long, im planning to have about 4 compartments. display will drain into 1st comp that will be filled with live rock rubble. that will flow into 2nd comp which will have a skimmer. the 3rd comp will be my return. the 4th comp will be my fuge with dsb, live rock, macroalgae and ill have a tee with water flow adjustment of some sort comin from the display.

im gonna need to get some power heads

im not looking to have a lot of fish, but dont know what corals to put in there yet. i will make sure everything is compatible before they go in the tank though.

sorry so long, any comments and suggestions are welcomed!! thank you come again!!

 

completely empty the tank have someone help you get it to a garden hose and wash the inside of all particuale/algae. you can start off with some base rock...and add more as you can. you will want to get a few chunks of live rock to get your base rock growing. the eggcrate idea sounds like a good one although im not sure if its neccessary. i got upwards of 70 lbs live rock in my 55 with no support remember all the weight is spread out. you will want a good skimmer rated for your tank a.s.a.p. powerheads are a must...you said 125? i would do a koralia 4 on each end and maybe a 3 in the middle on back glass, this helps create more random flow as it interacts with the other 2 koralias. copper i am not sure about but i think if you are emptying this tank, cleaning it, and starting new youll be safe. i would not use any chemicals to clean.....but vinegar would be safe. just have a washcloth to scrub the glass then rinse. did you mention lighting? most people with a 125 would use metal halides but im sure you could get a large t5 fixture also.

 

Thank you come again <- that got a good laugh out of me.

Welcome to 3reef and good luck.

 

well peredhil covered everything! good luck and welcome to 3reef!

 

Please dont stock your reef the same way you have the freshy setup now . . . that would end very badly. Vinegar works in a 50/50 solution for cleaning out a tank, but is not entirely necessary unless its really scummy.

Copper test kits are like 8 bucks, if you EVER used copper on the tank to treat ich, its in the silicone and will slowly leach out over time. 200 pounds sounds like a lot of rock for a 120 unless it is very dense, start with 100 pounds of porous base and see how that fills up the tank, remember to leave room to clean the glass around the rock piles.

Not sure about the limestone sand, do a google search for "limestone sand in a reef" and see what you come up with. Running without a skimmer is fine while your still cycling, but once you start adding fish and corals your going to need a decent one (dont skimp on the skimmer). I would need to see a paint sketchup or something similar to comment on the sump. for corals, I would go with a softie / LPS reef tank. There way more forgiving and very cool to watch move and sway in the current.

what are you planning to get for a skimmer, return pump and powerheads?

~Will.

 

thank you peridhill!! answered a lot of my ?s!!

 

If you can afford it I would get this from Marcorocks

It will give you a great initial base of dry rock and plenty of sand for a full 2" bed in the tank and a good 4" to 5" DSB in the fuge. it will leave you with a few extra pounds you can use later if you ever need to add more to the display tank for some reason.

other than that Peredhil has you pretty well covered

 

you could also get rock from reefcleanors thats where I got mine and im happy with it

 

I'm actually getting rock in the next few minutes from someone kinda local, he sold me 50# of that Marco rock and about 20# of Fiji for a slammin deal..It's live! Been sittin in his tank for 6 months... Gonna try to find a koralia 4 today at a few lfs, gonna get another one later.. Building my sump asap and gotta order an ro kit... The ones from air water and ice looks pretty good.. Can't wait!!

 

Be aware that adding more rock later may cause the tank to re-cycle depending on the amount of organic material on it. I would try and make large additions of rock as few times as possible. The best quality a person can have in this hobby is patience so just be sure to take it slow and research research research.

Your plan sounds good so far, be careful about getting caught up in all the pretty stuff, it's easy to go overboard in the first year of the tank and end up overstocked, with coral or fish.

One thing, I agree with not using egg crate under the rocks for the reasons Peredhil said. I used a few sheets of cheap acrylic from Home Depot to cover most of the bottom under the sand. I don't like the idea of potentially sharp rock points resting on the bottom of the tank and creating pressure points that could some day lead to a crack starting. I'm hoping some acrylic down there will help even out those pressure points.

Good luck!