Conversion from Freshwater - couple of questions

[Brooklynesia]

Hi there,

I am planning to finally convert my 40 G Tanganyika to Saltwater. (will take some time, I'm sure)
Anyway I've a couple of questions and would like to get some input.

I'm planning to get a Aqua C Skimmer and "the LR Package" from
Tampa Bay Saltwater, I'll still have the Fluval 405 Canister and I'm
thinking to use it with Poly Pads, Carbon and possibly Chemi-Pure.
I was not planning to do a sump.
For the the light I'd happy to get away with using the 96W CF Coralife
(10'000K/ 03 Act).
2 or 3 Maxi-Jet Powerheads.

Q:

- I've heard a lot about the Aqua C, seems to be a good HOT Skimmer, no?

- The Tampa Bay Satwater Live Rock, Live Sand and cleaner crew package looks pretty good to me, however quite pricey with the shipping...
Any experience anybody with Tampa Bay? Other LR ok?

- to canister or not to canister? Will skimmer and Live Rock do it? Is the canister counterproductive?

- Sump? I'm sure it's better to have one, but I'd have to drill the tank (or get it drilled) yadda yadda...
Sumpless tanks ARE doable, right?

-96W CF OK?

-preparing Saltwater: I can't really put a RO/DI in the bathroom or kitchen or anywhere else at this point.
Anybody using Tap, (dechlorinated, aerated and aged) in Brooklyn?
Is there a place to get RO/DI somewhere in Brooklyn? How the @#%$ do you get that home every week?

many more Q's but 'nuff for now.

 

[muntai]

Q:

- I've heard a lot about the Aqua C, seems to be a good HOT Skimmer, no?
yes
- The Tampa Bay Satwater Live Rock, Live Sand and cleaner crew package looks pretty good to me, however quite pricey with the shipping... there r cheaper n better rocks if u wait for a mr breakdown sale.
Any experience anybody with Tampa Bay? Other LR ok? ok

- to canister or not to canister? not Will skimmer and Live Rock do it? yes to some extend Is the canister counterproductive? yes

- Sump? I'm sure it's better to have one, but I'd have to drill the tank (or get it drilled) yadda yadda...
Sumpless tanks ARE doable, right? doable but u'll thank me u drill it in the long run.

-96W CF OK? ok for softies

-preparing Saltwater: I can't really put a RO/DI in the bathroom or kitchen or anywhere else at this point.
Anybody using Tap, (dechlorinated, aerated and aged) in Brooklyn? save yourself the headache. get rodi.
Is there a place to get RO/DI somewhere in Brooklyn? How the @#%$ do you get that home every week? u can use a faucet adapter on a rodi.

many more Q's but 'nuff for now.

seems like u may already know some of the answers u asked. u seems to wanna know what u can get away with. with this hobby, it requires a lot($,time,knowledge,patience)to do it right to b successful.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

I don't recommend using tap at all.Do what I do,use the filter and use a faucet adapter and make water in the tub.

 

[Lenny718]

Welcome to MR! Where in Brooklyn are you? Feel free to stop in our store for good advice and to talk about your set up, I'm sure we can help and get you going in the right direction. Regards, Lenny

PS Tap water is the devil in our hobby, stay away from it!

 

[Brooklynesia]

Thanks for reply and input

Q:

- I've heard a lot about the Aqua C, seems to be a good HOT Skimmer, no?
yes
- The Tampa Bay Satwater Live Rock, Live Sand and cleaner crew package looks pretty good to me, however quite pricey with the shipping... there r cheaper n better rocks if u wait for a mr breakdown sale.
Sounds good, no rush, will wait for that. Any experience anybody with Tampa Bay? Other LR ok? ok

- to canister or not to canister? not thought so.Will skimmer and Live Rock do it? yes to some extend Additionally you would recomment:.......? Is the canister counterproductive? yes

- Sump? I'm sure it's better to have one, but I'd have to drill the tank (or get it drilled) yadda yadda...
Sumpless tanks ARE doable, right? doable but u'll thank me u drill it in the long run. Need to look for more info
- glassdrilling 101, sump design etc. That stuff's new to me. Getting away without...., I'd take that.
(Any cost-conscious advice appreciated)



-96W CF OK? ok for softies
not really thinking corals, but all other inverts, easy on the fish


-preparing Saltwater: I can't really put a RO/DI in the bathroom or kitchen or anywhere else at this point.
Anybody using Tap, (dechlorinated, aerated and aged) in Brooklyn? save yourself the headache. get rodi.
Is there a place to get RO/DI somewhere in Brooklyn? How the @#%$ do you get that home every week? u can use a faucet adapter on a rodi.
Stupid question:
Can I put the RODI on the faucet over night and disconnect in the morning, is it drying out? Do I take the menbrane out and put it in water/ziploc?

many more Q's but 'nuff for now.

seems like u may already know some of the answers u asked. u seems to wanna know what u can get away with.
kind of, know will cost $, but have to at least try to do it within finacial reason.Getting away with...seems right...
with this hobby, it requires a lot($,time,knowledge,patience)to do it right to b successful.

Thanks again.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

use the canister as a carbon filter is good but remember to clean frequently.
since it is not se thru you may orget easily.

 

[Brooklynesia]

Welcome to MR! Where in Brooklyn are you? Feel free to stop in our store for good advice and to talk about your set up, I'm sure we can help and get you going in the right direction. Regards, Lenny

PS Tap water is the devil in our hobby, stay away from it!

I'm in Fort Greene, will try to swing by on Sunday.
In terms of treating source water: You guys carry, or have experience with Kati Ani Ionexchangers? With no waste water and at ~12GpH they look promising. I just need something I can put up in the bathtub over night,and put away for regular business in the morning...

 

[Keith P]

I live in a TINY cottage. Just setup the RODI overnight with an auto-shut-off valve. In the morning I disconnect the filter and tuck it in the closest. As long as you make water weekly, your filter will be fine. An RODI setup can be as cheap as $100 and will pay for it's self (compared to buying pre-made water). If you keep it setup, you could also enjoy crisp clean drinking water (RO pre-DI water)!

As far as the sump, they are great to have but WILL complicate things. It's something that has to be well thought out...

 

[Lenny718]

I'm in Fort Greene, will try to swing by on Sunday.
In terms of treating source water: You guys carry, or have experience with Kati Ani Ionexchangers? With no waste water and at ~12GpH they look promising. I just need something I can put up in the bathtub over night,and put away for regular business in the morning...

Tap water filters are simple and make Deionized water for your tank, there plug and play and easily store away when you done.

 

[reefman]

with twp, it will cost you more money over the long term in replacement filters. measure your tds else defeats the purpose n wasting $.

 

[premilove]

i strongly recommend that you do not use a canister filter unless u are prepared to change the media every 2 weeks. I converted my 75 to saltwater and used a 405 as well. At first everything was fine until i noticed a hair algae out burst. I also noticed the water had this great layer of junk or something on the surface. Stupidly, LFS told me to put on another filter so i bought an ehiem canister filter. After this, a huge outburst of algae occurred. Horrible spikes of chemicals, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite all through the roof! Surpisngly all my fish lived, this must have been a 2 week period. I came to the conclusion that i need to take the canister filters off asap. I took off the 405 and the ehiem. I went out and bought myself a refugium, and now the tank is so clean. No hair algae, no chemical spikes, nothing. Water is crystal clear. IDK if it was just me, but this was my experience with canister filters and i will never use them again. Def get a refugium. You can even make one urself. Tops u will spend is 300 and trust me u will save alot more this way rather than buying media every so often.

 

[Brooklynesia]

Thanks everybody!

So I guess the canister filter is gone...
With treating source water, I really want to check out those ionexchange things, if I could find those resins in bulk somewhere, I might be able to build one myself. Why am I so sceptical about setting up a RODI in the bathroom?
I don't really know.

I think I'll get a good skimmer, the best rock I can afford, perhaps a HOT refugium (later), no sump (for now), no canister, and some kind of source water treatment (TBD)

While I get ready for the 40 G Conversion, I thought I do a little science project, and took my 5 G Hospital tank, filled with SW (from destilled water)let it stabilize and put some LR, a pwr-head and an Aquaclear with just foam,with it.

I can hear the outcry..."5G?" "You're doomed! At least!"
What I'm trying to do here is getting a feeling for SW, cheap and easy for now...call it a lerning experience. No higher lifeforms are planned to go in this tank, well, if I keep it stable for 4-8 weeks I might reconsider and put 1(one) small featherduster and a snail in there. I'm sure it will teach me a lot, and if it goes sour, the damage will be small. I have 5G of aged SW ready, and will top off with destl. water and change a pint of water a day.
Will get a copper test, to see if my destilled ever ran trough copper pipes...

Science project -> low cost lerning -> minimalistic bioload -> better understanding, kind of. I am NOT planning to do a coral etc. pico.
More like a sump, that suddenly became a stand-alone...
I wish there would be an affordable nano skimmer, the Aqua C Nano is too much ($ 175), and the Fussion Nano Skimmer (~$26) people say is total junk. There is the "Skilter" but that thing looks questionable, too....

I've access to some pretty nice plexiglass manufacturing tools, any Nano-DIY skimmers?

Thanks for all your input! Really appreciated!
And please don't hang me, for going 5G as a first timer.

Cheers.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Canister filters are a no no with salt water tanks. Using it temporarily as a carbon reactor seems to be acceptable. Problem is they are too good for their own good. They become very efficient biological filters building your nitrates very quickly. In saltwater tank the idea is to pull of the bad stuff (using skimmer) before it gets broken down.

As to TAP water everybody says it bad, I tend to strongly disagree.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Science project -> low cost lerning -> minimalistic bioload -> better understanding, kind of. I am NOT planning to do a coral etc. pico.
More like a sump, that suddenly became a stand-alone...
I wish there would be an affordable nano skimmer, the Aqua C Nano is too much ($ 175), and the Fussion Nano Skimmer (~$26) people say is total junk. There is the "Skilter" but that thing looks questionable, too....

I've had great success with Prizm (which can be purchased on ebay for cheap) on smaller tank. I have even used it on a 30 long and 135 gallon tank until it was replaced by a Turboflotor Multi. It's a small hand on skimmer but requires frequent cleanups to keep it skimming. In other words, you don't clean, it won't skim.

 

[Brooklynesia]

Canister filters are a no no with salt water tanks. Using it temporarily as a carbon reactor seems to be acceptable. Problem is they are too good for their own good. They become very efficient biological filters building your nitrates very quickly. In saltwater tank the idea is to pull of the bad stuff (using skimmer) before it gets broken down.

As to TAP water everybody says it bad, I tend to strongly disagree.

xoomercom,

the canister filter is out, wish I could trade it for a skimmer...
So you're using TAP? I got myself a TDS meter and it reads 059ppm,
which seems pretty clean, however it's not "Zero" of course, and who knows what other stuff is in the water that the TDS can't detect...

Anyway, I'd like to hear your experience with TAP.

BTW, the 5 G Science project is going well, so far, and in comparison
to most people out there who say Marine beginners must not start with a nano, I absolutely believe I learn a lot for a couple of bugs.
And hey, if can keep that 5 G straight, the 40 should be easier...jk.

At least I'm not loosing sleep right now thinking I'm going to kill $600 worth of LR...

Talking TAP and NSW, does anybody have experience with a local Northeast Atlantic Tank? Big chiller needed, I guess, but could be pretty nice...

 

[BZOFIQ]

xoomercom,

the canister filter is out, wish I could trade it for a skimmer...
So you're using TAP? I got myself a TDS meter and it reads 059ppm,
which seems pretty clean, however it's not "Zero" of course, and who knows what other stuff is in the water that the TDS can't detect...

Anyway, I'd like to hear your experience with TAP.

BTW, the 5 G Science project is going well, so far, and in comparison
to most people out there who say Marine beginners must not start with a nano, I absolutely believe I learn a lot for a couple of bugs.
And hey, if can keep that 5 G straight, the 40 should be easier...jk.

At least I'm not loosing sleep right now thinking I'm going to kill $600 worth of LR...

Talking TAP and NSW, does anybody have experience with a local Northeast Atlantic Tank? Big chiller needed, I guess, but could be pretty nice...

I've had great expirience using TAP water in my saltwater tanks. I've been into saltwater part of the hobby for about 4 years now and FW since 6 years old. A lot of people claim that TAP water is like putting sewer in the tank and I strongly disagree. Water in NY is of high quality and most of the complaints are about it's smell (chorine and chloramine) but that could be eliminated with remover very quick and effectively. I've never had problems using TAP. Algae problems are were not existant to me in my 30, 135 and now 180G tanks. The reading of 59ppm that you're getting is pretty good (for tap at least). From my expirience and I have seen plenty of tanks during BAS SIG meetings I believe overfeeding is number 1 contributor to most algae related problems with their tanks. I have seen people feed and I kid you not when I tell you I would feed about 10 times less then what they put in their tank. I feed very small amounts and even then I don't just dump it all at once for it too float around the tank. I slowly release so that the fish can catch everything as it float pass them. If the food hits the bottom, I am feeding too fast. I also alternate at least 4 different dry foods and 4 different frozen foods. I feed sparingly and once per day (evening). There are days I forget to feed and I don't worry about it. The following day I don't feed any more then I normally would. Same if I forget to feed 2-3 days in a row.

I run decent size refugium (75G) loaded with Cheto and LR rubble and a skimmer, there is also a bag with carbon (changed every 4-6 weeks) and a bag with PhosGuard (changed every 2 months or so). I do 40G water changes every 6-8 weeks and top off water (7G) every 4 days. For water changes TAP water is dechlorinated, salt mixed and then slowly pumped in over the period of 2 hours allowing the pump to mix it thoroughly as it slowly drips in. PH is stable at 8.25-8.30 during the day and falls overnight to 8.10-8.15. Fuge lights are on 24 hours. Tank lights (12 x 54W T5) are on 10 hrs for actinics and 8 for white. Nitrates are anywhere from 0-5 so the fuge is working great. I do water changes more to replenish minerals then to control Nitrates. I add a bit of Iiodine every 2 weeks.....but now we are getting off-topic.

BTW. I keep soft corals only, but I have kept SPS sucessfully in the 135 even with 1/2 light I have now, water quality obviously wasn't an issue. Hope this helps.

 

[mcnuggget]

how about showing us some pics of your successful system with tap water?

 

[BZOFIQ]

how about showing us some pics of your successful system with tap water?

I don't see why not. Lets me see what I can dig up.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Ok, here is what I quickly found.

This is where it started (135G) tank. 72x18x18. Light fixture was only 48" long with 8 regular output T5 giving the tank a total of 1.6W/Gallon

Same tank later.

Evening view (actinics on)

Another shot closer

And another one here

 

[BZOFIQ]

More here...also some inhabitants.