Newbie Question

[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.