tropical to marine. need advice please!!!!

hi i have been running my tropical tank for around two years now and havent had any major problems at all. i found out the other day a friend of mine has set up a marine tank and all he is running is an external filter a protein skimmer and an internal powerhead. he has been running it for about seven months and everything looks perfect in there. is it really this easy to set up a marine tank? and how hard is it to keep on top of? i thought there was a lot more needed but if anyone can tell me what im looking at buying roughly i would be very grateful?

 

To 3Reef!!!

Glad to have you aboard!...You are starting off on a great adventure and a load of fun. Please take a minute to read the link below and make sure you want to get into this. It is not hard at all, but you need to make a solemn commitment for the sake of yourself, pocketbook and the creatures you plan on keeping.

From what you say above, it looks like you are well on your way. Just need a good salt mix and some LR (live rock) to get over first hurdle.



The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00





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The best thing that you can do is go ahead and do some research. Also try this web site; Saltwater Aquarium Setup Guide. Before you go out and spend alot of $, do the research and find out what your looking for. If you want fish only tank, thats very simple to do. once you start adding sps,lps, etc, it starts to get complex. Dont get me wrong, its an awesome hobby, very relaxing and sometimes adds to your bank account. It can be over welming at first, but dont give up. I also started with a FW tank and later changed to SW.

 

I'll bet if we took a poll, probably 99% of us started out with FW. ;D

 

I'm an exception. But it really isn't that hard if you research first

check out Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information I read every page on that site before I setup my tank And bugged these guys on 3reef!

There are many great sites like the ones mentioned above also
WWM can get into specifics (which interest me, but maybe not others)

 

Also remember that what might work for me, might not work for you. Every tank is different, one can only share what has worked for them. The bottom line is that, its going to be a trail and error project. Dont ever stop learning about the hooby and bother the hell out of us any time!;D

 

Welcome to 3reef!
As for the marine tank and all it entails...IMO, as I have had tropicals and Africans as well as many saltwater tanks over the years, marine are actually easier than tropicals and Africans being probably the easiest to keep based on experience.
The advice I can give you to ensure your success in the marine world is to read and research and NOT attempt to delve into salt without going slow and be prepared as the cub scout motto portrays!
If you don't prepare yourself and take things in stride not to rush things, you will fail miserably, however, if you follow the guidelines to proper and safe marine biotope and set-up, focusing on the whole tank and all it entails and be a coscientous aquarist, you will be able to feel, live and achieve what we have been doing with a enjoyable, entertaining and gratifying tank for you and other to share for years to come!
Best of luck...

 

As everyone here has said, the most important factor to SW is research and going slow. You can't just fill the tank with water and a few days later add livestock. The biggest mistakes I have seen from various newbies, is not doing the homework first and then going too fast. One piece of advice I can give is buy the good equipment from the get go, if you cheap out in the beginning you pay more in the end and have lots of equipment collecting dust. Some people run their tanks with sumps, refugium,liverock and skimmer. There are also others who run sumpless. I opted for sumpless and it works for me, there are no guaranteed rules, we all have different yet similar setups. If going with a reef here are the basic equipment you will need:

Lighting: metal halides, t5ho, vho or power compacts
Substrate: aragonite sand, crushed coral, or bottomless
Liverock: 2lbs per gallon
Powerheads: for flow (how many depends on tank size)
Heater: get a good reputable one
Skimmer: Highly recommend Aqua c Remora
Test kits: to begin Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, then Alkalinity, PH, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphates.
Never close the top of the tank, it needs to be open.

On average you need to run your tank with the liverock and water 6 - 8 weeks for it to cycle before adding anything.

 

wow guys thanks very much for your help. im definetly going marine within the next few weeks, as soon as i have sold all my tropical fish an ornaments im going to do it. i have a 4ft L x 3ft H x 2ft W clear seal tank would this be an ok starter?

 

hello and welcome mate ....sounds good, best of luck