[rpc07]

Hi all first post, I have a 29 gallon established african cichlid tank right now and was curious what it would take ( time and money ) to convert it to a salt water tank and what am i looking at as far as maintenance. Right now i do my water testing 2 times per week and 10-20% water changes weekly how much harder is a salt water tank to maintain?

Thanks, Ryan

 

[petlover516]

well a saltwater tank would usually need a protein skimmer if u plan on keeping corals, anemones, and other invertabrates. u would probably need to test lets say..once a week. u should continue changing about 10-20% per week, and u need to mix the water with the salt the day before maintenance day-it can be pretty caustic when freshly mixed. many people use live rock as biological filtration to save money (though we don't). if u don't use live rock, canister filters(we use fluval)and corner filters(ours r filled with angel hair cotton, activated filter carbon, and riverstone 4 wait.)work well for our 125 gal saltwater, along with 2 powerhead/filters. if u know someone else who owns a SW tank, ask them 4 a bit of their substrate 2 cycle your tank. otherwise, u either use live rock(it cycles the tank while it's curing.), commercial chemical products(check around the internet 2 find ones that work), fish(blue devil damsels and other similar devil damsels and chromis do pretty good.), fish food, or just sit back and wait, testing daily until u test 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites, and below 20ppm nitrates(if u want ornamental invertabrates, u would want below 5ppm nitrates.)for any way u cycled the tank-than u r ready for some hardy fish. u might be amazed by the pomacantus and holacantus angels and butterflyfish, but hardy fish can be just as magnificent! blue devil damsels r a striking electric blue, and males often develop yellow to red fins when they mature, clownfish(specifically the species Amphriprion ocellaris) have a comical white-striped orange pattern, centropyge angels r extremely colorful and one of the most hardiest type of angels, though on a difficulty rating of 1* to 5* they would probably a 2.5* rather than the 1* clownfish and blue devil damsels r. hope this helps!

 

[rpc07]

Gave me an idea but im not to sure about the live rock or substrate or what kind of filters to use on a 29 gallon and what not trying to learn more about it. and i see your from long island i am also, any place on li you would recommend i talk to for advice? or maybe go to check out some fish and setups ( not petsmart, petco ect.. )

 

[archer772]

I would go for about 35-45lbs of LR and about 40 lbs of arganite sand, 2 Koralia 1 or 2's, a HOB overflow or even better have the tank drilled, a 20 gallon sump/fuge and a return pump rated at about 400 GPH at zero head, good protien skimmer and lights depending on what you want to keep. The maintenance should be no different than your FW tank and after about 1 year I feel they are easier to maintain than FW and make sure you buy the correct pieces the first time as it will be much cheaper than buying 2-3 times before you get the rite pieces.probably looking at $500 depending on prices and if you can find some used equipment. I will also say that most all of this is a 1 time cost except for bulb replacement or if a pump goes bad.

 

[petlover516]

for your tank, a single corner filter filled with everything along with a fluval 205 canister filter will work. our 125 gal has no live rock nor protein skimmer or sump tank. we do have alot of clams, that act as bio. protein skimmers. for substrate, u would want crushed coral or sand. our substrate is mostly crushed coral, along with riverstone and pieces of rainbow rock with a layer of sand beneath. i live in massapequa and BTJ's Jungle seems to be the best pet shop around. BTJ's Jungle, Pets warehouse and Mutts and Butts r the only pet shops that sell SW in my area. petco and petland discounts gave up on saltwater a while back, i asked petland about it and they said "no one was buying saltwater fish", but my dad used to work at a different one and they left SW as soon as he quit. coincidence? i don't think so.

 

[archer772]

Well what do you plan to keep just fish or do you plan to have a reef. You should never use Crushed Coral as it is a nitrate trap use sand, and cherry stone clams are NO SUBSTITUTE for a skimmer, LR, sand, proper flow and a skimmer are all the filtration you will need and will work better than any corner filter, canister filter or clam oh and a sump is a very good thing to have

 

[petlover516]

our 125 gal runs on 2 corner filters,104, 105, and 304 fluval canister filters, and 2 powerhead filters. the clams may not be as good as a protein skimmer, but 17 clams still keep the tank clean. oh, and by the way, u must have at least 1 wall with algae. algae provides nutrients necessary 4 the tank. oh, and what makes u think they're cherry stone clams? we have had crushed coral as substrate in our tank 4 longer than i have been around.

 

[archer772]

What nutrients from what I assume is hair algea are needed for the tank, you would be better of with a fuge with macro algeas so your display doesnt get taken over by algea, cherry stone clams have been used around here for years for nitrate reduction with minimal success but when a tank is setup properly with sand bed, LR and proper flow, a fuge and a quality skimmer you should not have any issues with trates and these items are much more reliable and effective. A good CUC should include snails, crabs, bristle worms, pods and SAND siffters and sand siffters dont usually do well in CC also CC traps detritus and food and will break down and cause nitrate blooms. I have not had a Nitrate reading in well over 3 years with what I have suggested and only do 15% WC's every 8 weeks.

 

[petlover516]

our tank is'nt 4 display. its just focused on our shark and we have never used a refugium. to make it seem like a peek into nature, u would have algae in it. our tank algae is not hair algae-its a brownish-red algae. o, we do have a few snails and feather dusters, but all other invertabrates were attacked by our puffer. our tank does have alot of sand under the extremely thin crushed coral layer. my dad does want a skimmer, but he can't afford a big enough one. when we get a 250-300 gal for the shark soon, the 125 gal will be made into a freshwater tank and we will have a 45 gal sump for the new tank.