Paul & Lana Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hey guys, We have an empty 90 gallon tank and filter etc. that we'd like to convert to salt. Without selling everything and buying a whole new set up, what options for tank set up do we have? The stand has two cabinets, one side houses a rena xp3 filter. The hood has a 3 foot light fixture (2 bulbs). There's also a heater, some powerheads and so on kicking around. If we go with FOWLR, can we still run the rena with more rock? Or? Or do we not need it? Would we have enough light to do anything with soft corals of any type (with the right bulbs of course)? I know we'll have to get a new heater, and protein skimmer, and some powerheads as well as live rock and sand. Just want to know what our options are for set up before I spend hours reading up on what to do next. Every site I've gone to has all different information . Thanks! Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodogg02 Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 (edited) get about 75 to 100lbs rock keep the filter ,for lights with a fowlr you could get away with a good t5 ho setup for any corals you will most likly need metal halid for a 90 you may want to upgrade to some saltwater spec power heads go see colby at elite his shop his on the south side of big 4 just off maclead trail he will help you out to get set up and he wont sell you anything you dont need. Edited July 25, 2007 by prodogg02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 For softs, you should be able to get away with a dual-tube HO T5 unit, although a third tube would not hurt....this would be a mite less spendy than a halide unit, although a dual CF, 250w halide would be ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 ...to upgrade to some saltwater spec power heads .... Seios...the only brand I would suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 You also need to be sure that the tank never was treated with anything with copper in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul & Lana Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 For softs, you should be able to get away with a dual-tube HO T5 unit, although a third tube would not hurt....this would be a mite less spendy than a halide unit, although a dual CF, 250w halide would be ideal. So we could do soft corals without a sump? The stand we have doesn't have the space for one, and the tank isn't drilled. Upgrading the filter or adding one is an option though... a reef tank would be my first choice. The tank should be fine, it had fish in it until we redid the floors and moved them down to the other tank, where they're all doing well. Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 So we could do soft corals without a sump? The stand we have doesn't have the space for one, and the tank isn't drilled. Upgrading the filter or adding one is an option though... a reef tank would be my first choice. Sure, a good canister will work, just not as efficiently or well as a sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midgetwaiter Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 The canister isn't going to do you much good if you are looking to do corals. You won't get much flow out of it in SW and it will end up being something you need to clean constantly in order to avoid excess nitrate problems from all the junk it traps. You'll never find somebody with a sump that says "I should have done a canister instead". In addition to the ability to move more water around you have more space to add equipment and various filter media. There is additional cost to getting a sump and having an overflow of some kind installed of course but one place that this is offset is the cost and efficiency of your skimmer. You will get much more out of a comparatively priced in sump skimmer that you will a hang on. A lit refugium chamber that can grow macro algae is also a HUGE help in most systems. Without a sump I still wouldn't use the canister your rock and sand will do most of your bio filtration, you'll just need to add water flow and a skimmer. A pair of Sieo 1100s would work and or Hydor Korallias are nice too. This system can't handle a big fish load well so no triggers or such but many people have been successful with it. You'll never find consensus between different web sites or reef keepers and different thing work for different people so YMMV. Some time ago I had a dual canister system and sump system side by side and I probably spent twice as much time messing with the casiters alone than I did with the other system all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul & Lana Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 After doing some reading, I think what we'll do is go towards a sump. That of course means getting a different stand, but that's not a huge issue, I'm sure we can trade or figure something out. The canister can go on the tank downstairs and we can get rid of the filter there.... One thing at a time... Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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