Conversion from freshwater setup sequence

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by raoul duke

Hi, Converting my 180 gallon freshwater tank to my first saltwater setup, did my homework, came up with a plan.
This is all new to me so I just need somebody to make sure the steps sound logical.

1.Remove all existing livestock, decor, substrate etc, drain and clean tank to eliminate any colonies of freshwater bacteria.

2. Remove existing media from my fluval fx5 canister filter, clean and dry it, replace with all new media (floss, inert porcelein, carbon maybe?) Is it a good idea to keep the mechanical filtration at all?

3. Install sump, skimmer, return pump, powerheads

4. Fill tank, mix salt, start up all the equipment, check consistency of temp, gravity, etc.

5. Add 1 pound of live rock per gallon (or a mixture of live and base rock to be seeded?) and a liquid bacterial starter (whats that stuff called again?)

6. If everything's cool after a week or two, start by adding one or two hardy, inexpensive fish (Chromis or Damsels)

7. start thinking about upgrading lights etc., adding LPS down the road in the future

Does this make sense? I Should be able to complete 1-5 over a couple of days yes?

Thanks

looks good to me however why add a fish do it the natural way with some food and let it take it course over a couple of weeks or more. DONT RUSH ANYTHING. SKIP 6 FOR NOW and you dont always have to have 1 pound for 1 x gallon. For a FO system you can have a powerful skimmer to handle the crap in the tank. and a good UV or OZONE will work too. but remember with a OZONE it will convert AMMONIA to NITRITES fast ,but then you are stuck with NITRATES and they can build up fast,

But dont get me wrong rock is good to have for later down the road.

[Skimmerking]

is Duke your real last name.

[sphelps]

More details on #3 is key. Is the tank drilled? What size sump, skimmer, return pump, and so on. The canister filter is not likely needed, I know I wouldn't use it as it's more trouble than it's worth.

Depending on what rock you use it will take sometime to cycle the tank, we don't like to use fish for this process around here

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by sphelps

More details on #3 is key. Is the tank drilled? What size sump, skimmer, return pump, and so on. The canister filter is not likely needed, I know I wouldn't use it as it's more trouble than it's worth.

Depending on what rock you use it will take sometime to cycle the tank, we don't like to use fish for this process around here

thanks Steve

[raoul duke]

Thanks for the input so far, I'll take it into consideration and just progress with baby steps.

is Duke your real last name.

:No it's actually Gonzo... Dr. Gonzo to be exact! LOL