New to SW hobby, need help.

[JinxXx0085]

I admit this site is booming with information, I haven't quite gone through them all yet.

So, here I am picking at your brain :D
I currently have a FW 10g that I want to eventually convert into SW within a few months.

1) Will it be ok to use the same substrate in there (playsand) while I'm raising salinity level. I would give the substrate a good stir and then do a big WC prior to raising salinity level.

2) Sump? Refugium? Skimmers? Would it be necessary to have those for 10g? I have AC20 that I plan on using for circulation.

I thought it would be nice idea to have a sump/refugium but somebody said it’s not necessary for 10g.

Some help would be extremely appreciated!
Thanks!
~Jinx~

[geno4361]

I would upgrade on the tank-- the bigger the tank the less the hassle... 10 gallon tanks are tough with a fresh water system and tions harder with a saltewater system or reef.... try and get something over 50 gallons..

[Shooter7]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

I have a 10g reef and no, the sump/refugium thing is not a have to have item. Would be nice to be able to hide away your heater and have some more live rock and macroalgae, but not necessary. Neither is a skimmer. My philosophy on it though is that you need to stay up on water changes and topoff. A 3 gallon water change at least every couple of weeks is what I try to stay with and it keeps things happy. You will want to probably add at least one powerhead in addition to the HOB filter as, IME, the filter doesn't give the amount of flow you need. I keep my HOB filter empty most of the time except the occasional carbon run. I use it mainly for additional flow and to break up the surface of the water, otherwise you get a film on top of the water. Not sure about the sand. If you're already using it for FW fish, I'd think I'd want to rinse it out really good before re-using it.

And to me, a 10g is a piece of cake as long as you monitor your salinity closely and keep up with water changes.

[bertoni]

I'd probably ditch the substrate, to make a clean start.

You'll probably want at least 100 gph total circulation for the tank. I agree that a sump and a skimmer would be very optional. I just use water changes on my 12g.

[familyreefer]

First of all I would NOT use the sand. It may compact and house some badd stuff that will stay there until you accidentally stir it(placing rocks, chasing fish etc..) I would use aragonite from the local fish stoe (because it is more coarse) No compaction problems. Its only 10 Gallons so dump that old water and start with new. Many folks go "bare bottom" (no substrate at all) and avoid all of the potential problems. I would not worry about a sump. I have a 55 gallon running well without a sump. You will need plenty of live rock. About 1 pound per gallon. this will be your "filter" I would run a skimmer to pull out all of the funky, sticky, smelly stuff. Put a power head in there to move the water around and through the rocks. You should be fine as long as your lights are strong enough for whatever, if any, corals you choose.Hope this helps and good luck!

[theatrus]

Normal sand is actually quite alright, if its clean. You want to pull it out and give it a massive rinsing session. It may be cheaper to just replace it though.

For sandbeds, don't stir it yourself (or attempt to vacuum it, which you should never do) if you get a depth over 2" (also known as a deep sand bed, DSB).

Sump and fuge is not nessecary. Its kinda silly on a 10g. You can get a nano-skimmer if you want a skimmer. Live rock, keeping up with water changes and topoff and temperature control is a must though.

[Swanwillow]

my first saltwater tank was a ten gallon too. I used everything from my freshwater setup, and it ran nicely even during my upgrades, since it was my mantis shrimp tank.
just keep up on water changes.

ummm, I'd personally, just start adding salt to up the salinity of the water, and stir the sandbed to get the cycle going. all that dead stuff in the already existing sandbed will start the cycle for ya! just, think back: did you EVER use copper based treatment for ich in your tank?

[kelly630]

Going from FW to SW is going to be a difficult change in a 10 gallon tank. If there is any way possible, I would recommend purchasing a larger volume tank.

A sump will only add to the total water volume, which is a good thing...makes water stats more stable.

Start with the 10g, and start adding to it every chance you have!

[JinxXx0085]

Wow, what a record for me... fastest responses I've ever seen within 2 hours. :eek2:

As for upgrading, its out of question. No room for other bigger ones. The largest one I have is planted 29g and its staying that way. I know that smaller tanks usually require more work as in topping off and so on. I'm ok with that.

As for the sand, there's different opinons in here about that. Maybe I should use this as experiment and see what happens. Of course without any fish but with the LR. What do you think guys & gals?
Again, what I would do with the sand is to give it a real good stir prior to huge water change and then after that, I would start raising salinity level and of course I'll find some LR to use to cycle the 10g.
Hows that?

[Tang_Cool]

I personally would chuck the FW sand, start fresh and use LR to cycle it, good luck with your tank! My friend runs a similar 12g without a sump, he has a nano skimmer though....

[bertoni]

Likely, the only issue with the sand is that it might contain enough organic debris to rot and contribute to poorer water quality, well, assuming there's been no medications containing copper used in the tank. I wouldn't bother raising the SG slowly. I'd just pitch the fresh water and add saltwater.

[Shooter7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8292727#post8292727 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Likely, the only issue with the sand is that it might contain enough organic debris to rot and contribute to poorer water quality, well, assuming there's been no medications containing copper used in the tank. I wouldn't bother raising the SG slowly. I'd just pitch the fresh water and add saltwater.


What he said. :D

[atty]

why cant you add new sand? Too attached to the stuff you got lol. Aragonite sand, looks great, clean no probs and its only like $2 kg. oh, and the smaller the tank the more ugly things can get so i think a protien skimmer is a must, thats my opinion.

[Tang_Cool]

I agree with atty there :thumbsup:

[JinxXx0085]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8293200#post8293200 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by atty
why cant you add new sand? Too attached to the stuff you got lol.
LOL! Nah, I was looking for easy way to do it. It's a pain to get sand out of a tank!! :o
I'll go and find some aragonite sand around here and see what its like. I have a couple of months before I can start setting up the tank.
Is there any variation of aragonite sand such as in colors? Or are they mostly white?

[atty]

If the sand is not white it has impurities (eg: dirt). Oh and about the sump if you can do it you should because it’s a dream but if you cant don’t worry about it.

[Shooter7]

To me, a protein skimmer on a 10g is a luxury item. If you can afford it and feel you have the room to put one on it, then have at it. But if you don't overstock the tank and do regular water changes, it's completely unnecessary IMO. I've been running mine for over 2 years this way and done just fine.

Mine changes its look often, though. Just did a revision of it this past week. Had to remove some rock and rearrange things as I had a bunch of frags I needed to house in it. Here's a pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v385/DavidW/DSCN0432.jpg

As you can see, I have just the one chromis in there.