converting a 300gallon freshwater aquarium to a marine tank

[cichlidite]

Hello. I'm a new subscriber to this site, which was referred to me by Stang69 (who owns and operates an outstanding shop called Shark Reef in Washington State).

Anyway, in the next month or so, I will be taking my 300 gallon tank out of storage and setting it back up. It was formerly a fantasitc cichlid tank, holding many Tanganyika species. But I have decided to go a different route this time...to take the plunge and go marine.

Currently, I have a 30 gallon wet/dry sump with plastic bio-balls and several stages of mechanical filtration. I will also purchase a protien skimmer.

My questions:

1. I think to convert to salt water, I need to get rid of the bio-balls, right?

2. I have also been told that I could set the sump up like a refugium? Does a refugium (or just additional live rock) in the sump need light? If I placed a live crushed-coral bed in the refugium, does it need an under-gravel filter as well?

3. I'm told a marine tank needs more water flow...more water movement, than my fresh tanks. How much is adequete? With my 300 gallon tank, it will be hard to generate much more current.

4. Will I need a UV device?

5. How hard is it to find attrtactive, large, cured live rock? Obviously, I need a bunch of it....I'm told 1-2 pounds per capacity gallon.

OK, thats all for now. Thanks. This site looks great and I hope I've posted my questions in the correct spot.

Mike

[karsco]

Hey Mike, Welcome to The Reef Tank!

Well Mike sounds like you are taking on a BIG project! First of all to answer your questions:

1) Get rid of the Bio-Balls, they will increase your nitrates and you do not want that.
2) Yes you could use your sump as a refugium, but if I were you I would utilize your sump for a skimmer, heater, and return pump. For a tank your size I would install a seperate tank just for a refugium probably around the 50 gallon size. (Here is a link to a bunch of different refugium sites : http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/ref...tups/index.htm
BTW you do not want under gravel filters in a reef tank or for that matter any salt water tank.
3) For water circulation in reef tanks you want anywhere from 10 to 20 times GPH of the volume of the tank water. So you are looking at a minimum of 3,000 GPH for circulation in your tank.
4) A UV device is not necessary, although some people swear by them. I would use your money to buy a RO/DI unit for water purification instead. (http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/index.htm)

5) Not hard but it gets pricey, here are few sites I would recommend getting rock from:
http://www.ffexpress.com/
http://www.exoticfish.com/
http://www.waltsmith.com/products/live_rockandsand.html

What kind of lighting do your currently have for this tank. If you are looking to keep corals, anemones etc. you will need high output lighting such as VHO's or Metal Halide.

Well that is about it, now all you will need to do is go get a bank loan to pay for all this!

[karsco]

Mike,

I forgot to put this in my last post. You will also want to look at putting in a DSB (deep sand bed). This has many benefits in keeping a healthy reef tank. Check out the following article:
http://rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

[m3rma1d]

welcome welcome welcome to the reef tank!!

(btw, jeff (stang69) is an awesome guy )

for that mater, everone here is a great guy/gal!!!!!!

one thing you must think of, is if yer cichlids ever had ich, did you give them a copper treatment? if so, it won't be good for corals in yer new marine tank..that stuff STAYS from what i hear

[OodleyBoodely]

Hi! Welcome to TRT, Cichlidite! Sounds like an exciting project! I have to get to work now, but, I'll jump back in the frey later when I have time, In the meantime, go slow and research your project befor you run out and spend a bundle on it-it will save you $$ and frustration down the line. SP has a valid point about copper use in the tank-if you ever used any, the tank is contaminated and would not be suitable for a reef tank. It could, however, still be used as a fish-only system. Good luck and talk with you later!

[Sebastian]

Sounds like you have a good LFS and there are plenty of good websites full of information for you. My first suggestion is to buy a couple of good books this will be something you will return to time and time again.
If you plan to setup a fish only tank I would recommend :
1. Marine Atlas by Baench
2. The New Marine Aquarium by Mike Paletta
or anything by Martin Moe.
If your goals are more toward a reef system then:
1. The Reef Aquarium I and II by Delbeek & Sprung
2. Corals: A Quick Reference Guide by Sprung

These are some in my Aquatic Library

[Stang69]

Thanks very much for the compliments MIke but the store is not mine. I work there while the owner is out maintaining tanks for customers. If youd like I will sit down with ya and tell ya what works for me. There are alot of options out there on how to set a tank up. I have learned that you use what works best for you. Above you have been goven alot of material to check out. Once again use what works best for you in your tank.


Jeff

[seahawkjohnny]

Originally posted by Stang69
Thanks very much for the compliments MIke but the store is not mine. I work there while the owner is out maintaining tanks for customers. If youd like I will sit down with ya and tell ya what works for me. There are alot of options out there on how to set a tank up. I have learned that you use what works best for you. Above you have been goven alot of material to check out. Once again use what works best for you in your tank.


Jeff

Jeff .....

Hows the FO system progressing?......

[Stang69]

Im at a standstill The stand and canopy I ordered was built wrong so he is rebuilding it so im prolly 4 weeks out or so


Jeff

[cichlidite]

Thank you all for the advice. It was just what I was looking for frommy very first post on this great site. Just browsing the previous posts/topics, I learned a great deal. I'll post again later as my project progresses. I will be giving Stang69 all my LFS business. :-)

Mike