Rob2904 Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hi everyone I have a 430L freshwater tank set up with good lighting and a canister filter. I was wondering if I would be able to convert over to a Salt water fish and either live rock or even dead rock with the equipment I have already? Or would I need to get the tank drilled and make up a wet and dry sump with a protein skimmer? I would be looking a fair way down the track to start keeping corals too but not for a year or two. Any help or advice would be great. Also, do any of you have a simalar size tank and if so how much does it cost to run a month as it would be a waste of time if I cant afford to run it? Cheers :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matto Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 im thinking of going marine myself :thup: with a tank that size i believe a sump is a must and a decent skimmer as well,i have been told canisters are pointless in a marine setup because the build up nitrates or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinefish4life Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 lots and lots of algae with canisters, i had 1 with my local tank and we had to clean thick green algae every few days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 it shouldnt cost a lot more to run if its fish only, a lot of the cost of running a marine tank is the lights which you wont need to have heaps of for fish only. you will need a a decent skimmer you can get away without having a sump if you by a decent hang on back skimmer i would also reccomend having liverock , this is the marine equivalent of a biological filter your biggest running cost will probably end up being salt for doing water changes unless you have easy access to a clean beach to collect your own saltwater do a google search for FOWLR ( fish only with live rock) seel the cannister filter to help fund the skimmer and above all be patient it takes long to cycle a marine aquarium compared to freshwater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 To be honest I would just sell the old tank and get a smaller one. Too much work and cost for 450L A tank like these are cheap to run and stock. http://www.livingreefs.com/d2minis-real-130g-rimless-cube-build-thread-t22481p130.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgi27/3737615367/in/photostream/ Remember marine fish are expensive and its far cheaper to fill a small tank with coral and fish than 430L. 430L will look empty, you will need to spend $2k on fish/coral to make it look as good a one of these with $200 of coral and a say 3 fish. Reef lighting is way cheaper on a small tank. Use this to light it http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-PAR-Bulbs/Categories I have a 350L tank so speaking from experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 but....., saltwater is all about volume, the more the better. Stability is the key and this is achieved easier the bigger the volume. Get the biggest one you can afford, light one side only if money is an issue, (isn't it always :roll: ) and save up for the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Yes but you can have a large sump for that inside a stand and still get 300L 1) You get the water volume this way 2) lighting is half the price as the surface area is smaller 3) Sump for large skimmer Having a huge display tank is all good but eventually it is going to cost money if you want to or not. More power heads, more salt, more lighting, more rodi, more coral, more fish, more sand, more rock etc My recommendation is based on being on a budget, if large budget then biggest you can fit/afford. Im going to do a 2nd tank once my corals are large enough to be fraged and will do this as its cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Get a sump big enough to hold your skimmer and extras, it wont matter how big, you have heaps of volume in there, in fact, the larger size should actually make it CHEAPER in some ways. especially if you use natural sea water. Most of your live rock will be in your display tank, nothing wrong with that at all. You don't NEED a wet/dry setup, a skimmer will be your best investment. at 470L+ your going to be nearly self-sustaining, just need to make sure you can handle the water changes is all. this is if you really want to have a big display. Also, don't bother with sand, bare bottom tanks eventually get coralline algae all over them anyway, sand is just a piss-off to keep clean, also can get into your power heads and pumps etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 All good points, but Nick, i wasn't talking about a "huge display", just as big as you can get. 470l is a nice size, far from huge though, just look at Fays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 whats the actual dimensions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2904 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 whats the actual dimensions? 1200x600x600. I contacted Hollywoods yesterday and asked about he Deltec MC500 Protein skimmer, it is an internal skimmer suited for 550L has anyone got one or know anything about them? I dont want to spend $500+ on any old crap They also said I would be ok using my canister filter with sponge and to get dead rock and cycle it. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 HOB skimmers are never as good as a fullsize one, external or internal, are you having a sump? That said, if you are restricted to a HOB, deltec are the way to go. As to a canister filter, save it for your next fresh water tank, really not needed. They tend to raise nitrate levels but for a fish only thats not such a biggie, but if you have a reasonable amount of live rock in the display/sump it pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 1200x600x600. So it 4x2x2, that a nice size tank to go on with. TBH, a sump that is big enough to hold your skimmer (always going to better/cheaper than a HOB, as PuttPutt points out, and, second hand is always a winner) and gear would be ideal, your live rock will be mostly in your display (nothing wrong with that at all). and you'll be over the 500L mark, making it very stable, both thermally and chemically. I'm a slight jelous... Your going to end up with a VERY nice tank. :thup: Don't let the idea of costs drag you away from it, Rome wasn't built in a day, and patience is ABSOLUTELY a virtue when it comes to marine, remembering that you probably wont be stocking out for at least 2 months, preferably 3... plenty of time to save up for different bits and bobs, and to do your research. EDIT: oh, and you wont need to have a HUGE amount of lights. 2x 150w MH would do just fine, and if your not looking at polyps or corals you could get away with just flouros... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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