Going to start up! What i Need?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone I am looking into starting up a saltwater aqaurium from a freshwater setup! I currently have a 56gallon tank, eheim 2217 canister filter, Ebo 200w heater Aquaglo bulb and aquaclear air pump for bubbles. I currently have sand bottom and few rocks and peice of drift wood in it. I would like to have a FO tank with 3-4 clown fish and a couple tangs. What do i need to replace and what can i keep! Do i need a protein skimmer and do i need a power head? and what type of protein skimmer and powerhead if i need them should i get?

thanks i really need some input!!!

Quincy

[bosshog]

Go to canreef, aquariumpros, reefcentral, nanoreef, and spend a couple months reading and researching. You're going to need new lights, and live rock at a minimum. I'm new to the reef thing too and it seems to be going well as of today. Day 6 of the tanks.

Brad

[Quincy]

Actually i am looking at Fish only tank no live rock. Im considering converting my fresh water tank to saltwater.

[Osprey]

Youll need to scale down the stocking list, for starters. Tangs are big, active fish, so unless you are planning on setting up a larger SW tank for them down the road, scratch them off the list.

Clowns are ok, but make sure you stick to one species, and ONLY ONE FEMALE, the rest undecided. Otherwise they will wipe each other out with territory wars. If you dont know what I mean about the sexes, you need to do some more research on clownfish. Check out www.wetwebmedia.com. I also recommend The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner.

In a 55g, youll want to keep 5-6 relatively small fish; basically in the 3-5 inch range. Saltwater stocking is more conservative than freshwater.

For FO, youll want a big canister filter (the Eheim might be ok), or you can drill the tank and put in a big wet-dry filter. A top-notch skimmer is also important; brand will depend on whether or not you decided to put in a sump...Your call. Nix the bubble wand; it wont do much, except make a mess. Direct the return flow from the canister across the surface of the water, and the oxygenation will be fine.

Also make sure you have either a hydrometer (cheap, but inaccurate) or a refractometer (expensive, but a fine-tuned instrument) to measure the concentration of salt in the water. Also decide on a mix. Instant Ocean is a reliable brand found pretty much everywhere.

FOWLR is much more interesting, and much more stable, but FO is cheaper... in the short term. FO requires more consistent water changes, and SW water changes arent free anymore, so keep that in mind.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Osprey

[Quincy]

Youll need to scale down the stocking list, for starters. Tangs are big, active fish, so unless you are planning on setting up a larger SW tank for them down the road, scratch them off the list.

Clowns are ok, but make sure you stick to one species, and ONLY ONE FEMALE, the rest undecided. Otherwise they will wipe each other out with territory wars. If you dont know what I mean about the sexes, you need to do some more research on clownfish. Check out www.wetwebmedia.com. I also recommend The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner.

In a 55g, youll want to keep 5-6 relatively small fish; basically in the 3-5 inch range. Saltwater stocking is more conservative than freshwater.

For FO, youll want a big canister filter (the Eheim might be ok), or you can drill the tank and put in a big wet-dry filter. A top-notch skimmer is also important; brand will depend on whether or not you decided to put in a sump...Your call. Nix the bubble wand; it wont do much, except make a mess. Direct the return flow from the canister across the surface of the water, and the oxygenation will be fine.

Also make sure you have either a hydrometer (cheap, but inaccurate) or a refractometer (expensive, but a fine-tuned instrument) to measure the concentration of salt in the water. Also decide on a mix. Instant Ocean is a reliable brand found pretty much everywhere.

FOWLR is much more interesting, and much more stable, but FO is cheaper... in the short term. FO requires more consistent water changes, and SW water changes arent free anymore, so keep that in mind.

thank you osprey for your info! i appreciate the help. Yeah i was thinking on only having a few clown fish same breed. I understand that clownfish are able to change sexes. goal is to have a total of 4 to 5 clownfish. and maybe eventually may go to live rock or coral.