Freshie maybe going salt with my 300 gallon?

[Hustler]

Hey all,
Im mel from edmonton.
I am a long time freshwater keeper zero hours saltwater newbie :)
Every time im at the pet store i stomp right through the salt section just like when the wife comes and trys to stop at the kittens....
Were not salt people i say..... life is complicated enough.....
But doing exotic freshwater for 15 years plus the question does start to widdle you down lol....
And when i got my 300 set up thats all anyone asked.... Is it salt? will it be salt? blah blah blah....
So now im sitting here... watching youtube videos of how too reefs, seeing all the lion fish, and panther groupers and crazy corals and I feel a little like one more video is going to push me over the edge.
I know there is ALOT to do when it comes to salt but for the average freshie how hard is it to make the switch?
My 300 has a giant sump with room for a skimmer, I have an RO unit and the tank has been nothing but perfect since the week I filled it as far as PH and ammonia ect
Is this a cross over worth doing? lol Is this just evolution and Im trying to fight the current http://albertaaquatica.com/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

I would love to do a reef setup with a community of fish and critters and right now I am trying to price out a rough cost to get going...
from what Ive gathered so far ill need,
-Salt
-Skimmer
-Big mother lights
-Live rock
-water/light measuring tools

Here is what Im working with right now,
300 gallon 96x24x30 with a 6x18x24 sump and a Giant pump (from pices store rack system) Tons of mag powerheads and fresh water drip system run into the tank and drains to the sewer (can switch to RO ect)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dragonfish1ca/020-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dragonfish1ca/038-1.jpg

Any advice where to start Is greatly appreciated :)

[Zoaelite]

Personally I think jumping it right at the 300g mark will make you go a little crazy, at that point there's an enormous start up cost and with 300g of life on the line a newbie mistake could cost you big time.

I'm 5 upgrades in and building my 250g so this certainly is an addicting hobby, why not start small and see if you like it before taking the plunge? You can find some amazingly priced used equipment in the for sale forum, this way you can learn before you get something massive going that you might regret.
Levi

[RedCoralEdmonton]

Hey nice looking setup you have there, if you plan to switch to salt, its not that hard, but more pricey to do right, justmake sure you dont cheap out on the skimmer and amount of live rock, and you shouldnt have a problem, dependant on light you can expect to spend 3500 to switch over properly, and most of that cost is the live rock if you bought from a store, if you find some deals from canreefers on rock you can slash that number in half easily.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me or Denny/Reefwars, he is great to help out

Steve

[reef-keeper]

Man nice set up!! Once you go salt you never want to go back.

[riceboy]

HOLY CRAP!! how do you have 10 arawonas in there and not have them kill each other :lol: i need to know your secret my arowana tank is so lonely lol

[Hustler]

Thanks guys she is my baby :)
As for the arowanas and fighting... I a hit and miss. had a super red almost beatn to death a few times so its how many fights you can handle before you break them of the mean streak :)
As far as livestock its not going to be that drastic of a switch from 2k tigrinus cats, asian arowanas, sting rays ect it seems most salt fish that catch my eye are pretty affordable..... but the corals and rock are a bit daunting.
for a 300 gallon i need 150lbs of rock plus live sand correct? Can I add rock in say a second sump thats all plumbed in aswell to keep the water flow in the tank from being obstructed?
Im a little worried as Ive seen live rock in bins for sale private that may or may not be dead and I have no clue what im looking for as far as quality rock other than its shape?
Im trying to find a good starter walkthrough for my type of setup but they all seem to be for small sized tanks and dont really get into larger applications.... Like the old inch per fish rule the stores used to quote.... Goes out the window when half your fish are over 2 feet LOL then its how many GPH your pushing :) salt must have a few of those rule of thumbs that are in the grey area as well?

[Slick Fork]

You want the rock there to provide shelter for fish and inverts, it's fine to have some in the sump but definitely provide enough shelter for your critters.

If it were my setup to convert I would probably add ~150lbs of dry rock, check out CACO reef in Calgary He can probably also set you up with sand. This would be pest free and significantly cheaper than buying liverock from the store or even from other reefers. Being dry you get more rock/lb than you would buying wet rock. Then add the remaining rock as live stuff from a store or another reefer. This will seed the dry rock, which will become live over time. Another good source of beneficial life (pods, brittle stars, etc.) would be handfuls of Chaeto algae from other reefers.

There's no reason whatsoever that you can't start as a "Fish Only with Live Rock" (FOWLR) and save the $$$ on the light and possibly skimmer, and grow into a reef over time.

Good luck

[RedCoralEdmonton]

Yes you can add dry rock in with the live stuff, but you are going to want 300 lbs of rock not 150lb IMHO, if you do want Marco Rock to seed we carry it in the store as well, hell if you arent busy def stop in and we can go over what would be the best way to convert, I have a 300g tank here you can see what we have done!

Steve

[Hustler]

That is a great little tid bit of info :)
The way I understood "live rock" Was alot like my bio media now
Big sumps need tons of ceramics so I used to have 45 gallon drums with powerheads bubbling away with sacs of them and seed fish to get it live and cycled before a build.
I dont want a full on reef in a week or two... Ill kill it.... But i would like to take a few months building and adding to a frame that will one day next year or the year after look like some of your guys tanks.

[Hustler]

Well after a long and joyful hobby of freshwater monsters Ive finally decided to make the switch to salt and just start very slowly working my way to a reef setup.
I have about a million questions even though Ive studied up and googled and you tubed just about everything i feel like I still need to ask :)
once i get my fish out of the tank I do a complete tear down, get rid of most of the bio in the sump and then start it like a brand new tank going salt correct?
I would like to get it going soon so I can get the live rock in there and bubbling away with some base rock....Im in no hurry to get fish in there I just want to do it right the first time. Any advice is worth gold to me.

[Milad]

I've never had a fish tank before my 180g. And so far I really havent killed much but I did alot of research. Right now I wish I had a 300g instead of 180g, lol.

[kien]

This will be a great set up and I think you are already on the right track with the correct mindset. You already know that it's going to cost you time and money :lol:

As you suggested yourself, just start out slow. Rocks, salt, a few fish. That's really all you need beyond what you already have. Things like sand, skimmer, lights, is sort of a personal choice and usually ends up depending on what your ultimate goals are with the tank.

[e46er]

My advice
Spend the money and do it right the first time
Good skimmer good lights good pumps
I'm on my 4th submerisble pump for a return in 3 years and just moved my 120 today and will be drilling the sump and running external pump that will also run phosphate and Bio pellets they are so much more maintaince free

[Kevotron]

Quality equipment will make life much more easier ie. skimmer, lights, pumps, powerheads etc, sure u might spend lots of money to acquire all these items but in the end it will save you alot of headaches and potential livestock losses which in the end saves the money u originally put into investing these equipment.