after 30 years of FW (started when I was 7) I want to try SW

modemmix

New Member
Just wanted to say hello and toss out my situation and questions.

Ive been keeping freshwater tanks continuously for the last 30 years. We now have only one 10 gallon community tank in my 10 year old sons room that im using to teach my kids the hobby. So I thought it was time for a new cichlid tank in the living room. After never having anything larger then a 29 gallon tank, I went out and picked up a nice Marineland 60 with stand on sale with full intention of setting up an african tank.

While doing my research and checking out what exactly I wanted to do with my new cichlid tank I kept getting side tracked by the colors and beauty of everything available for saltwater. Ive spent the last couple weeks looking at equipment and reading the questions asked by others, trying to figure out the basics.

Ive decided that I intend to do fish with live rock. Since I already have a tank im stuck working with that and the limited space available, meaning I wont have a sump, I plan to use a hob skimmer. Where I come up short, is that my freshwater background and all the ideas of canister filters and media for live bacteria all seem to be useless. Im at a point where beyond the water testing kit, hydrometer, heaters, protein skimmer, live rock and live sand and power heads for water flow, im not sure whether I need a power filter Or any other equipment.

The stocking limits for saltwater seem to be much diffrent. I know nothing about what species of fish do well together, nor what fish are suitable for a tank this size, its basicly the same deminsions of a 55 gallon tank, just a tad deeper allowing a little more volume. I know there is no easy answer, but im curious what options are available for a tank this size with the limitations I have, money also being an issue as this will already cost much more then it would have if I had stuck with the cichlids I had planned and budgeted for..

Getting to the point, what other equipment is a must, and with as much color diversity as possible, what are some stocking options that others have found functional with a setup like mine, which includes only basic florescent lighting?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.
 

Mayja

Social Media Moderator
RS STAFF
Welcome to Reef Sanctuary! I guarantee that you will find all the answers here. Here are a couple great reads that are fantastic for newcomers to saltwater: "The Consciencious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner (his website for questions is Wet Web Media) and "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta (Plantman - is this you??). Both give excellent advice on tank setup, equipment options, pros/cons, beginner fish, etc.

To answer your immediate questions: You have plenty of time to figure out if you will need extra filtration. The equipment you have listed is an excellent start and can be expanded as your needs and bio load develop. As for a FOWLR tank with basic T5 lighting, there's still a lot you can do! Your biggest concerns are aggression and size. You don't have to worry about "coral nippers". LiveAquaria has a great site listing some beginner, hardy fish and that's a nice visual place to start.
 

kyle4201

Active Member
U came to the right place. If I could go back I would have been on this site LONG b4 I started! Every1 hete is very helpful & knowledgeable. Dont make the mistakes I did & GO SLOW! ! I could give you some great advice but (being new myself) all my advice came from this forum, , so ill let the experts take it from here. Welcome to RS & look 4word to following your build. After 5 comments u can post pix so make sure u do. Visit my chronical when u can. I also learned a lot juat by reading others chronical & knowing what to ask. Also im sure people with the same size glass will show u pix & show u what u can really do with it. Good luck & go slow! ! :)
 

nivek

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
RS Ambassador
Welcome to RS :) First of all start doing your research by browsing the beginner forums here and the sticky threads that will contain loads on info to kick start your project. Spend the next few weeks to plan what you intend to do and cross reference with the folks here to ensure you're going in the right direction before committing to the design :)
 

kyle4201

Active Member
Also, I wad a fish only guy,, for about 1 week!! Lol. So plan 4 coral. Just beautiful stuff out there.
 

modemmix

New Member
What can I do with my lighting, without buying new fixtures will diffrent bulbs or anything make a diffrence?
And how much uv is recomended, or is it even wortb it on what im planning? im seeing 9w uv lights in the store saying they are good up to 75 gallon but that seems a bit low.
 

nivek

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
RS Ambassador
If you're only planning to go with fish only, then lighting is not that important but if you're going to have corals eventually, you'll want to switch to marine specific lighting as the corals need the spectrum to grow. For now you can use back your current lighting till you're ready for corals. RO/DI is recommended as heavy metals and dissolved materials are removed as compared to tap water. Things like phosphate can be found in tap water which encourages algae growth, coral die off in the marine tank.
 
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