starting up

shorty

shorty

Medium Fish
#1
Mar 18, 2003
90
0
0
wales, uk
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#1
hello everyone i am completely new to saltwater aquarium but i have decided to use the 90 gallon tank i used to keep freshwater fish in to house a saltwater comunity. I know that i have to research this a lot and everything so you will have to excuse my lack of knowledge but im very confused with everything i have read about equipment that i need.underneath the tank i only have draws and not a cupboard so i can not store a filter that needs to be stored under the tank.from this i gathered that i would have to have a fish only aquarium but i still am unsure what filter i will need with this.would it be possible to use a power filter that just goes inside the tank like i do with the salt water tank?what else do i need?does it look hopless for this conversion to happen?:(
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#2
nothing is hopeless...if you want corals, however, most people are going to reccomend a sump/refugium in a tank that size and that would be the right recomendation. that said, you can have live rock and a nice community SW or aggressive SW setup in a 90gal with a good hob filter...if you dont want corals it is considerably easier to mainatin a sw setup....read a bunch of books, anything you can find, and do internet research to get started
 

B

BrianH

Medium Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
82
0
0
Oakland, NJ
#3
A sump is not required for a reef tank. I'm currently running a 50gal. sumpless reef tank. You will need 1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon minimum of live rock and a 4" - 6" Deep Sand Bed for your filtration. You will also need a few powerheads as a minimum as 10 times the tank volume turnover is required for water movement. There are many people who run successful sumpless reef tanks.

Brian
 

B

BrianH

Medium Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
82
0
0
Oakland, NJ
#6
If you go with LR filtration you actually need less equipment.:) The LR and DSB act as your biological filter so no other mechanical filter is necessary except for the powerheads to create current. Also, you mentioned that you may want more than just fish right? If you plan on adding corals what will you place them on? The live rock also gives you a place to lay corals and some cover for your fish to feel safe. One other piece of equipment I would recommend is a protein skimmer. I would get the best one you can afford.

Brian
 

D

druxcyck

Small Fish
#10
Jul 13, 2003
43
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45
Daytona Beach
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#10
lighting depend on if it is fish only or a coral reef tank...

I have 40 watts over my SW 55 gallon takn right now and my live rock is doing fine, I just have to seriously upgrad before I can get any corals, because much liek freshwater plants they require 3-5 watts per gallon, however unlike FW plants I can't just run to homedepot and swithc to compact flourescent to get it because corals require a certain spectrum of light.

my fish and live rock are doing fine with a 40 watt coralife flourecent bulb in it. I hope this helps
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#11
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
3
0
#11
Druxcyck - research what corals you want. Most corals don't need mega high spectrum 18000 K actinic lights - many people use 6500 or 10000K. Sunlight isn't actinic
 

shorty

shorty

Medium Fish
#12
Mar 18, 2003
90
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0
wales, uk
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#12
thanks for the info. I went to the shop and asked the man there about it and he said that i would need to shell out for ew lighting fixtures and new bulbs for a higher intensity to keep the live rock alive.
 

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