Newbie Question

[fordmustang22]

My wife and I are looking at buying a 140 gallon complete saltwater aquarium. It currently has live rock and 4 fish in there. The problem is that we have zero experience with saltwater. We have had many freshwater tanks in the past, but they've all been < 55 gallons.

My plan was to try to get as much water as possible to my house and try to re-establish the tank. Is this going to be way over my head? I don't want to kill the fish currently in there, since they've been living happily in his tank for the past 2-3 years. Especially due to my lack of knowledge.

The other option is to just buy the tank and convert it to freshwater. What's the best option for the current fish and rock in there? Will my LFS take them back? I've seen people post about their stuff for sale, but their tanks are established.

Sorry for the long post. I appreciate any advice you have.

[edawgm]

Welcome to MAAST
Yes the LFS will take them back if you do not want to keep the saltwater. It is not that hard of a process to move a tank, but one of that size you will need a little help. Unless I am wrong about it, if you can keep at least half the water to reestablish the tank at your house it should be ok.

[erikharrison]

Could give a run down of EXACTLY what it comes with? I know it would be hard to give any kind of advice unless we know what it comes with. How much rock does it come with? Sandbed depth? Lighting (type/wattage) does it have a sump, or a canister filter? Any powerheads inside the tank? What kind? Is there a skimmer on it? What type is it?

You will need to use R/O water to fill up what you could not bring. You also need either a refractometer, or a hydrometer to be able to tell what the salinity is at. Then you will need to match that salinity with what you put in. The temperature needs to be accurate as well to keep from stressing out the fish more than they already will be from the move.

There is alot to deal with if you have a reef type setup in comparison to a Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) tank. When you move the rocks, if possible, try to wrap them in some newspaper and pour some salt water on it to wet it down. That will help keep bacteria/critters alive.

Hopefully you are not moving the tank too far. You should get some buckets for the fish and if possible, aerate them for the trip. An easy way to do that is to get an air pump and hook it up to a cigarette lighter adapter. Or you could go to a bait shop and buy the battery powered aereator.

If you have a successful move, you should be fine, and have plenty of time to read/post on this forum and learn the ways of the saltwater Jedi. There are alot of people that I am sure would be willing to help with advice, and possibly with your move and setup. Keep your eyes peeled!
and by the wayyyyyyyyyy...


WELCOME TO MAAST!

[fordmustang22]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Here are some additional details about the tank.
140 gallon tank (mistyped in first post)
2229 eheim wet-dry filter
turboflotor 1000 protein skimmer
802 aquaclear powerhead
1 fluorescent light strip (probably the one that came with the tank, so not very good)
Not too much live rock. 5-6 pieces. (Not sure on the weight. Largest is probably 14 in x 12 x 3. Hard to tell from the picture)
I believe the bed is crushed corral. Probably about 2-3 inches thick.
1 damsel, 1 clownfish, 1 flame angel, 1 yellow tang
Not sure what you mean by sump.


He has some sort of plastic tool that he is giving us that tells us the salinity. Not sure if it's a refractometer or a hydrometer. Went by the fish store, so we can get RO water there.

The one advantage we have is that we only live 5-10 minutes from him. Can we not transport the live rock in a bucket with some salt water in it? How long can the rock/bacteria survive in a bucket?

Thanks for all the help so far.

[erikharrison]

Living close is awesome! Yes the rocks will survive in buckets of s/w, no problem. The plastic thing you are speaking of is a swing arm hydrometer. It sounds like a fairly decent setup, good to start with. A sump is essentially another aquarium which houses extra rock, pumps, heaters, skimmers, and macro algaes. They are typically used in a reef type setup. You have the makings of a good Fish Only (FO) setup, and to be honest, with time, I am sure you would grow to love it. Essentially, you want 1lb per gallon in your setup of Live Rock, which houses beneficial bacteria that aid in biological filtration. The fish listed are pretty hardy fish, so they should move fine as well, although if they are going to be in buckets awhile, you should aerate the water. If you have enough people to move the tank, move it with the sandbed intact, as that is always the thing I hate taking in and out of a tank. Make sure to remove all of the water though, as it will create a wave effect if you try and drive with it in there, and at some point would probably aid in a split seam. I was just talking yesterday about "if I could start again" I would go with a much larger tank! Your bioload is extremely low for that big of a tank, but don't go bananas buying up every cool fish you can find. Research each fish (some stores have books to study an impulse buy fish) before you buy!

[erikharrison]

Also, the guy that is selling it to you should take a look before you turn anything on! You don't want to lose a ton of water on the floor, as that will just start you off being frustrated! :)

[erikharrison]

Here is a good link as well.
http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37713&highlight=moving+tanks

[fordmustang22]

Ok, no sump (At least not one that I can identify based on your description. :) ) There isn't heater included with the tank. He said that he usually hasn't needed one due to the size. Is that true, or would it be prudent to add one?

Also, the lighting of the tank isn't very good. Would you recommend T-5 HO 4-bulb lighting or a metal hallide system?

What if we only have enough buckets to move 30-40 gallons of the existing water? Would that be enough, or is there a trip to Home Depot in my future for additional buckets?

[Zoofan]

Moving a tank can be tricky, if the sand bed has a die off then you could easily cycle the tank. (meaning a cycle of microbial death leading to increased level of toxins such as nitrates in the water that can kill your fish.) You might get away with water changes since it only has fish in it, and a few at that. Just have you a good saltwater test kit and some salt mix ready to do water changes if needed.

[MissT]

Don't be intimidated by the mass of information and instruction listed above! Just remember that as long as you can keep up with a schedule of partial water changes, and are willing to provide your inhabitants the food they need, you can do it! IMO the old sand should be discarded and buy new. You don't want to start off on a bad foot, and using old sand can really disrupt your cycle (it will go through a small one even though the rock is cured). Also, lighting really isn't a priority if you are doing a fish only tank. Lastly, remember to just put the time in at the beginning to set it up right from the start.
If you have any more questions, or need help getting started, I see that you are in Austin, so come up to River City Aquatics and we can help you out!

[fordmustang22]

Misti,
What if it's not sand, but crushed coral? Would you still recommend throwing that away and starting "fresh", or does that only apply to sand?



Thanks everyone for all the great advice so far. We might actually be able to get a saltwater tank going.


Also, is the transition between freshwater and saltwater that big of a deal? Is it really as intimidating as some people make it out to be?

[erikharrison]

It is intimidating, but as long as you are patient, and slow to add things, you should be able to be pretty successful. If you want to buy a light, you could go with a combination of metal halides and VHOs. I am currently saving to buy some VHOs for additional lighting to combine with the use of my Metal Halide.
I know I gave alot of information, I did not want you to go into anything blindly! Also, I don't think I would toss out all of that crushed coral. If worse comes to worse, put portions of it into buckets with some saltwater and wash the crushed coral really well and dump out the excess water. Buying all new sand for a tank that large can get to be an expensive venture. All of the sand in my tank has come from others, which I diligently washed before adding. You can also buy some large Rubbermaid tubs from Wal-mart to house additional water. Try and get around 50% of your water, and replace the rest. That will be a good water change, and in a 140 at that point, I wouldn't worry too much about the tank cycling. I moved tanks (about six of them) in the last six months and I suffered no casualties.