what is the bare minimal cost to upgrade to salt water?

[Fishbird]

Freshwater led’s will grow lots of bad algae in the saltwater world such as cyano. Not a good idea imo.

I’m not saying that you’re definitely wrong, but I also think it’s inaccurate to say that a freshwater light will definitely grow algae. There was another thread on here the recently where somebody was pointing out that all our lights claim to be emitting light in a certain spectrum but there isn’t third party testing.

I also see a lot of tanks running under white lights (including my own) that don’t have algae issues.

I think it’s possible that whiter lights can in some cases contribute to algae but I don’t think it’s as simple as saying “x spectrum = algae problems forever” and if the OP does find that they want to change lights they can do so.

 

[RBZ]

Freshwater led’s will grow lots of bad algae in the saltwater world such as cyano. Not a good idea imo.

Actually that is not the case. I run several tanks with Freshwater Lights and have no bad algae in any of the tanks.
If someone is starting off and can't afford lights and have freshwater lights they can still use them without issues.

 

[...]

You don't even need a light but if you want healthier fish set up a schedule, white light is fine... you MIGHT have a TINY bit more algae because they like white light but it won't make a difference because in your first year blue or white light your destined for algae.

 

[fotonikt]

Well...what do you have on hand at the moment aside from the tank? You can upcycle a lot of things used in freshwater, especially if you don't plan on having corals/photosynthetic stuff. List everything you've got, and then I (we?) can fill in the gaps.

One of the things you'll need right off the bat is salt.

i have a juwel rio 240, with a bioflow m filter, (wich should allso be usable for saltwater tanks, i have a good heater, and an airstone, togetter with a set of led lamps, (idk if suitable for saltwater but i suppose so since it came with the tank and they said the set is allso usable for saltwater

 

[sas226]

Don’t need a QT.
Don’t need a skimmer.
Don’t need test kits.
Multiple ways to accomplish the same thing.

Yeah, there's good habit and bad habits. You can accomplish the same short term goal while setting up for long term failure.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Only reason I said that is because I know a few people that actually use their old freshwater lights over their fuges and grow lots of macros and cyano like weeds. Keep in mind that there are also very, very different white lights and different units have higher and lower outputs. If you want a clean tank, it’s best to spend $100 for a current orbit marine led strip and avoid the algae.

I’m not saying that you’re definitely wrong, but I also think it’s inaccurate to say that a freshwater light will definitely grow algae. There was another thread on here the recently where somebody was pointing out that all our lights claim to be emitting light in a certain spectrum but there isn’t third party testing.

I also see a lot of tanks running under white lights (including my own) that don’t have algae issues.

I think it’s possible that whiter lights can in some cases contribute to algae but I don’t think it’s as simple as saying “x spectrum = algae problems forever” and if the OP does find that they want to change lights they can do so.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

So bare minimum.
You have the tank. $0
Go to your LFS and purchase already made saltwater for $0.50 a gallon $30.
You will need containers for the water if you don't have. $7 per container.
If you have a heater already from one of your tanks. $0.
If you have a HOB from one of your tanks. $0
Add the water and start your cycle.
so bare minimum $30.

All the rest is wants and extras.

You can start this way and try it but the real question is what fish are you wanting to keep.
Wrasse and goby require sand so you are looking at $60 FOR LIVE SAND.
So bare minimum also requires you to think about what fish you want to house to really get to your answer.

Testers are kind of essential unless you want a tank full of dead fish.

 

[sp1187]

Yeah, there's good habit and bad habits. You can accomplish the same short term goal while setting up for long term failure.

Because there’s only one way to do things.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Because there’s only one way to do things.

Testing your water and maintaining clean water are definitely not important in this hobby.

 

[sp1187]

Testing your water and maintaining clean water are definitely not important in this hobby.

Taking a water sample to the LFS to get tested at $1/2 per doesn’t make sense, especially when people here tell you the test kit you bought isn’t accurate.
Because there’s no other way to maintain clean water.
Because there aren’t fish you can buy that don’t need QT.
You win.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Taking a water sample to the LFS to get tested at $1/2 per doesn’t make sense, especially when people here tell you the test kit you bought isn’t accurate.
Because there’s no other way to maintain clean water.
Because there aren’t fish you can buy that don’t need QT.
You win.

When you can buy the nitrate, nitrite, ammonia test kit for $20-$30, you’re right, spending $6 a week on tests at the lfs makes no sense. You have to spend time to go down to the store. And by the end of the month, you could’ve bought the test kit and saved money. It’s kind of like not spending $200 to buy an rodi unit when you’re going through 50 gallons a month at the lfs. Within the year you’re saving money with the rodi unit.such foolishness!

 

[Perthegallon]

I set up a tank that had sand bio wheel and a kessil lighing for corals and a heater all for under 130

 

[sp1187]

When you can buy the nitrate, nitrite, ammonia test kit for $20-$30, you’re right, spending $6 a week on tests at the lfs makes no sense. You have to spend time to go down to the store. And by the end of the month, you could’ve bought the test kit and saved money. It’s kind of like not spending $200 to buy an rodi unit when you’re going through 50 gallons a month at the lfs. Within the year you’re saving money with the rodi unit.such foolishness!

As I said, you win.

 

[ichthyogeek]

i have a juwel rio 240, with a bioflow m filter, (wich should allso be usable for saltwater tanks, i have a good heater, and an airstone, togetter with a set of led lamps, (idk if suitable for saltwater but i suppose so since it came with the tank and they said the set is allso usable for saltwater

Cool! You have the light, the heater, the tank, and the filter! I assume that you have other basics like a gravel vacuum/hose for doing water changes, and a thermometer as well, so I'm not going to include them in this list. You don't want to keep live coral yet, but might keep some in the future. So here's what I recommend you buy:

• Salt (~55$ at cheapest): you need this. You can't just skip using salt in the setup. But, you can buy the cheapest brand (Instant Ocean) and it will still keep the fish alive. If you want to keep corals, then maybe think of a slightly more expensive brand like Reef Crystals.
• Refractometer/Hydrometer/salinity checker: when making water, you need to check to make sure it's at the proper salinity.
• Fish Cover: This is a variable expense because it depends on what fish you're buying. Most fish like cave structures (terra cotta pots, PVC tubes, live rock, plastic ornaments, etc.), but some like using sand (live or not, try to buy aragonite). A large number of people use live rock and sand, or start off with dry rock/sand and seed it with a small amount of live rock/sand. But it's not a necessity.

Here are some highly recommended but also optional (and sometimes controversial!) things that you should consider buying to save time/money:

• A large trashcan + mixing pump: It gets tedious mixing saltwater all the time. Having a trashcan and mixing pump that mix the water for you is a real gamechanger.
• RO/DI filter (~60 USD at cheapest); you could get away with not using RO/DI water and using tap, but depending on the coral you want to keep, it might be useful to get used to using an RODI unit. If you use tap, you might run into things like algae blooms based off of what's in the water (nitrates/phosphates), but heavy metals can be neutralized using water conditioner. I will say that since you are thinking of keeping corals that you really really consider purchasing one of these.
• Testing Kits (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate): Do you need them? Sometimes. Have people gone years without using them? Yes. As somebody who is transitioning to using test kits after 15+ years in the hobby, there's something to be said about the comfort of knowing what's in the tank. But you can also do a 33%-50% water change to fix the problem as well, which is what I did. The fish were perfectly okay with it. The galaxea coral I kept for a while (died due to lack of maintenance via parents in college) also was perfectly okay with it. Same with the kenya tree. SPS corals? Maaaaybe not so much. But it's definitely something you can use the wait and see approach to do.
• Protein Skimmer: this depends on what fish you're keeping and how heavily you're feeding the tank. I highly recommend buying one. But if you're keeping up on your large water changes, then you can suck off the surface scum.
• Sump: Necessary? Absolutely not. But it's a great place to put all of the equipment to make the tank more aesthetically pleasing, as well as increase the amount of water volume in the system.
• Circulation pumps: are probably a necessity at this point to keeping corals. But not a necessity for a fish only tank.

 

[sas226]

Taking a water sample to the LFS to get tested at $1/2 per doesn’t make sense, especially when people here tell you the test kit you bought isn’t accurate.
Because there’s no other way to maintain clean water.
Because there aren’t fish you can buy that don’t need QT.
You win.

They hyperbole is off the charts.
No one here said every test is inaccurate. They say bring it to LFS when something is abnormal. When you feel like a reading might be off, that's when they say bring it to get tested. It's to confirm/acknowledge an issue or the opposite.
Do you need a skimmer? I think you'll find a 50/50 split here. Most will say on large systems it's a necessity, I agree. Most will say on smaller systems, IE less than 50g you don't. Every fish you buy regardless of where you buy should be QT. Regardless of promises of QT at the store, or it's aquacutured. Why risk it? It'll take you seconds to google stories about "Shoulda woulda" in regards to people who've lost some to all because they risked it.

Listen, I'm not saying there's onlyone way to do things, but there are right and wrong ways to do things. At the end they may have the same result but it's not best practices. That's what this hobby entails, maintaining best practices so you set yourself up for success. You don't want to test your water? Fine. Sooner or later it WILL bite you, I'm betting sooner. You don't want to use a skimmer on a big system? Fine, enjoy your massive amount of increased work or your tank full of nuisance. You don't want to QT fish? Fine, I wish you the best of luck but.. it's a numbers game and they numbers for not doing so aren't in your favor.

It's not about winning, again, it's about setting bar on what should be the median good husbandry for your tank. To each their own. I know what I'm doing.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Testers are kind of essential unless you want a tank full of dead fish.

When I first started I ran a fish only with no tests at all for years (aside from having my lfs test during the cycle).
Actually even now with my reef I cant remember the last time I tested anything other than Cal alk mag (which i would never test on a fish only)

My original set up was identical to a freshwater set up (tank, heater, florescent light, Craigslist live rock, canister filter, powerheads, hydrometer) with salt in it. Probably cost about $300 for a 90g set up (all used equipment except a new cascade canister filter) and worked great. Now 10 years later I've upgraded literally everything for my reef but the OP asked how to do it cheap so there you have it.

 

[sp1187]

They hyperbole is off the charts.
No one here said every test is inaccurate. They say bring it to LFS when something is abnormal. When you feel like a reading might be off, that's when they say bring it to get tested. It's to confirm/acknowledge an issue or the opposite.
Do you need a skimmer? I think you'll find a 50/50 split here. Most will say on large systems it's a necessity, I agree. Most will say on smaller systems, IE less than 50g you don't. Every fish you buy regardless of where you buy should be QT. Regardless of promises of QT at the store, or it's aquacutured. Why risk it? It'll take you seconds to google stories about "Shoulda woulda" in regards to people who've lost some to all because they risked it.

Listen, I'm not saying there's onlyone way to do things, but there are right and wrong ways to do things. At the end they may have the same result but it's not best practices. That's what this hobby entails, maintaining best practices so you set yourself up for success. You don't want to test your water? Fine. Sooner or later it WILL bite you, I'm betting sooner. You don't want to use a skimmer on a big system? Fine, enjoy your massive amount of increased work or your tank full of nuisance. You don't want to QT fish? Fine, I wish you the best of luck but.. it's a numbers game and they numbers for not doing so aren't in your favor.

It's not about winning, again, it's about setting bar on what should be the median good husbandry for your tank. To each their own. I know what I'm doing.

do a search in R2R on test kit accuracy. or don't.

you don't need a skimmer. other options are available. do the research. or don't.

you don't need to QT fish. do a search on that on R2R. or don't.

who said don't test your water? don't think I did. maybe? I'm old and forgetful.

I have never used a skimmer. I do very few water changes. I don't have a massive amount of work. I have fewer nuisance problems than most. and it isn't luck.

I have never QT'd any fish. I've lost two to ich, out of fifty+ fish I've had over the years. those two were in a tank with twenty three other fish, that never had an outbreak. fish die in QT.

the OP asked what was the minimum to get in to a fish only.

my comments were directed at that question. not to what he may or may not do in the future.

oh.... and I'll just post it now to your next reply.... you win.

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Welcome to the forum. The reef hobby will suck you in and never let you go. Just look at the comments above. We are all reef junkies who love to tinker with water and electricity. Really you can save some money on equipment if you check out the used gear for sale section on the forum. Also I would hope that by now you have a close lfs that you trust. That will give you guidance as well. Also remember you can do it and we are here to help.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

When I first started I ran a fish only with no tests at all for years (aside from having my lfs test during the cycle).
Actually even now with my reef I cant remember the last time I tested anything other than Cal alk mag (which i would never test on a fish only)

My original set up was identical to a freshwater set up (tank, heater, florescent light, Craigslist live rock, canister filter, powerheads, hydrometer) with salt in it. Probably cost about $300 for a 90g set up (all used equipment except a new cascade canister filter) and worked great. Now 10 years later I've upgraded literally everything for my reef but the OP asked how to do it cheap so there you have it.

I was suggesting the tests was mainly for the cycle. After that you’re good and can cut down to once monthly to keep things in check. The op could also get an ammonia indicator strip to put in the tank to alert of any issues that need to be addressed. I’m pretty sure they’re only around $5-$10

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I was suggesting the tests was mainly for the cycle. After that you’re good and can cut down to once monthly to keep things in check. The op could also get an ammonia indicator strip to put in the tank to alert of any issues that need to be addressed. I’m pretty sure they’re only around $5-$10

Ya, good call, an ammonia badge wouldn't hurt and is budget friendly