Thinking of Converting My Freshwater 100L into a Marine Tank

[HunterSteel]

Hi everyone, I'm going to be honest, I am new to the Marine Aquarium World, and thinking of getting into it by turning my old 100L tank into a Marine Aquarium (its only got 3 Goldfish in it and I'll be moving them over to the 400L tank that'll be converted into an Ecosystem Tank as a nice home for my Axolotls)

Yes, I'm aware the glass is filthy, one of the reasons I want to reuse it is because I'm moving the Goldfish over once I drain the tank and start scraping it clean. It'll much, much cleaner after this.
I'm not going to do a complex setup though, I was thinking of a couple of clowns, some shrimp, a couple of small Anemones (If I can have more than one) and a few soft corals to start with. Reusing this tank helps because lately aquarium stuff has been rising in price and I'm kicking myself for not getting into Marine aquariums sooner before prices rose thanks to the pandemic.

For filtration: Can I use a Tidal 55 HoB? I'm also thinking of just throwing in a basic powerhead for now. As for the light... I've no idea what light to use, that's going to cost the most out of this whole build. My budget for a light is at most 1500, I can't go higher than that right now. (But I am thinking of later in the year upgrading to a wifi LED and powerhead to mimic the tides)

Does anyone have any good recommendations? I live in Brits, Northwest Province so access to marine goodies isn't readily available so I'll need to look at rather hardy fish and corals. (I'm not going to let the water foul, despite what the glass looks like I do tests daily with testing strips and my parameters in my normal aquariums are stable and healthy. Water has a fair amount of Calcium in it though since I use our Borehole water. Ironically our Borehole water is perfect for South American fish. I do intend to use still water for the marine aquarium though unless our borehole water is fine.)

Any advice would be welcomed. Yes, I know Marine Aquariums are not the same as Freshwater Aquariums and they're an entirely different ballgame. That's why I am here for some advice.

~Hunter

 

[Garth1]

Hi Hunter
I am totally new to the marine game… but certainly not to fresh water fish keeping.
Marine is a totally new ball game, I am buying my equipment month by month knowing there is no short cuts or definitely a cheap way especially in South Africa.
A Tidal 55 perfect choice for flow and surface skimming.

Protein skimming will also be a bit of a issue , unless you on top of the water changes like clockwork.
Salt becomes a costly affair especially if you far from the coast for natural salt water.
In my opinion go for it if your heart is in it!

Good Luck

 

[HunterSteel]

Hi Hunter
I am totally new to the marine game… but certainly not to fresh water fish keeping.
Marine is a totally new ball game, I am buying my equipment month by month knowing there is no short cuts or definitely a cheap way especially in South Africa.
A Tidal 55 perfect choice for flow and surface skimming.

Protein skimming will also be a bit of a issue , unless you on top of the water changes like clockwork.
Salt becomes a costly affair especially if you far from the coast for natural salt water.
In my opinion go for it if your heart is in it!

Good Luck

Yeah, water changes are something I am not new to. I am considering a Protein Skimmer, maybe an internal one for now since I do plan to do a sump a bit down the line as funds become more available for it. I'm planning a stand where I can in the future install a sump and get it running. I'm likely going to be going secondhand for a lot of my equipment until I can buy new. But yeah, I'll post updates in one of the other forum sections how the build comes along, just want to see what some of the seasoned keepers will say and what advice they can give to someone who's rather new to this. I do not intend to take shortcuts. Things like cycling the tank for a month and whatnot are things I intend to do. (I hear I can chuck a couple of mollies in for the filter cycling to kick off and since they like saltwater.)

~Hunter

 

[Dexter]

I don't like the molly way...Unless you intend to keep them in the tank. You can't just chuck them in. You need to drip acclimate them over to salt. In todays day and age there are many other ways to cycle a tank. From buying bacteria in a bottle to adding fish food or a piece of prawn or hake. There have even been guys that added dirt from their gardens. But yeah. I like to stick to the bacteria in a bottle scenario

 

[HunterSteel]

Okay, 100L cleaned and moved to its new location into the living room.

Now its ready for me to begin building.

I don't like the molly way...Unless you intend to keep them in the tank. You can't just chuck them in. You need to drip acclimate them over to salt. In todays day and age there are many other ways to cycle a tank. From buying bacteria in a bottle to adding fish food or a piece of prawn or hake. There have even been guys that added dirt from their gardens. But yeah. I like to stick to the bacteria in a bottle scenario

I'll keep the Mollies. I'm not going to throw them out when I'm done with them and they'll add a little life to the tank. I like to see fish swimming around happily lol


~Hunter

 

[Dexter]

Me too..but I prefer salt water fish...don't want a tank with a 100 mollies swimming around. From my freshwater days those things bred like rabbits

 

[hotdog83]

I ran a coral qt in a similar way with a Tidal 110 and also a hang on back skimmer, can be done, and can thrive with easier to keep corals and one or 2 smaller fish, especially if you want to do regular water changes.

 

[Prav]

Watch the full BRS 52 weeks of reefing series, will give you a great overall view of this hobby. Many think the move from fresh to salt is an easy one, but although they both are fish tanks, the norms are totally different. You can do almost anything with your tank, but your equipment, setup will then speak to the type of coral/fish you will keep.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBaMLrfToJyybUT18OE3fMomFb9XU0ffC

 

[Dexter]

I had a standard 3ft tank that use to run on a heater and a sponge filter. I kept one of my angels in it for close to two years. Didnt have any fancy equipment. I just did a waterchange every now and again when i felt like it.

 

[HunterSteel]

Watch the full BRS 52 weeks of reefing series, will give you a great overall view of this hobby. Many think the move from fresh to salt is an easy one, but although they both are fish tanks, the norms are totally different. You can do almost anything with your tank, but your equipment, setup will then speak to the type of coral/fish you will keep.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBaMLrfToJyybUT18OE3fMomFb9XU0ffC

Thanks. I'll give it a watch. Lately I was watching some videos of reefers that gave tips on running a Marine Aquarium without a Skimmer (Since a skimmer unless secondhand) isn't on my immediate budget since the Tidal 55 and the Light will take up most of it with the rest being spent on the substrate and rock to begin the cycling process. I'll likely get a skimmer a little later though since I don't want to run too long without it. At that point I'll build a Sump for it. But will do things one step at a time. Slow and steady wins the day at the end with Marine Aquariums. Since from my understanding is they cannot be rushed like with Freshwater.

I had a standard 3ft tank that use to run on a heater and a sponge filter. I kept one of my angels in it for close to two years. Didnt have any fancy equipment. I just did a waterchange every now and again when i felt like it.

I'm most likely just going to go along with the Tidal 55 to ensure I have enough filtration going on and a good light for some of my hardier corals and that should be good to go. At least hopefully. I know there's people that swear by the Protein Skimmer and Algae Reactors. But a low-tech setup works with the occasional water change when parameters start to go wonky. At least I found that to be true from a couple of youtubers. I can't say I know more than the seasoned reefer and I know what I am saying here is going to make some angry lol But well, there's no easy way to make Marine Setups really work.

~Hunter

 

[Dexter]

I could never watch YouTube videos. Just because their tanks are not my tank. Think since I've been fiddling with marines I might have watched one video. And I don't even think I watched the whole thing. All I know I learned the hard way by trying things and getting my hands wet.

 

[JpPaulKruger]

There are way easier ways out there to start a marine tank
And to cycle it. No one does it with fish anymore. The fish suffers. Yeah I know you can convert them. But for less than R300 you can buy a bottle of stability and seed the tank that way, and add fish a lot quicker. Marine fish that is

I know a bloke that runs a 3ft tank with only hang on equiptment. And he has one kickass tank. And he started everything on a budget. So yes. It can be done.

Since you stay far away, I would recommend you buy a RODI unit and salt, and mix your own saltwater. Get a few test kits (reefers sells them in the classified sections often.) Get a Refractometer. DONT use LED spotlights as a source of light. You’ll suffer with algea.

 

[HunterSteel]

There are way easier ways out there to start a marine tank
And to cycle it. No one does it with fish anymore. The fish suffers. Yeah I know you can convert them. But for less than R300 you can buy a bottle of stability and seed the tank that way, and add fish a lot quicker. Marine fish that is

I know a bloke that runs a 3ft tank with only hang on equiptment. And he has one kickass tank. And he started everything on a budget. So yes. It can be done.

Since you stay far away, I would recommend you buy a RODI unit and salt, and mix your own saltwater. Get a few test kits (reefers sells them in the classified sections often.) Get a Refractometer. DONT use LED spotlights as a source of light. You’ll suffer with algea.

Welp, stability is luckily pretty affordable. So I guess I'll take the route of adding Stability + some fish food to start the cycle.
I'll need to take a detailed test (Might take a water sample to my nearest LFS that sells Marine supplies) but I believe my Borehole water is perfect for Marine Aquariums down to the Calcium and Magnesium. I know my water is a bit on the hard side (which my Mexican Dwarf Crayfish love). So I'll just get a detailed test done to see all the parameters and from there I'll go further. We have an RO unit but not an RODI unit. That said, we're looking into an RODI unit anyways.

Thanks for the advice, I wanted to get an LED system since pretty much all my aquariums run with LED and I personally don't like flourescent bulbs, but I guess I'll go for the more affordable option and upgrade later down the line.

~Hunter