How To Convert A Freshwater Tank Into A Saltwater?

[Jenste]

I wanted to try turning my 10 gallon freshwater into a saltwater tank - can someone break down the steps for me?
It currently has a sand substrate - can that be left in?
Is my current Whisper Filter alright, or do I nee a new one?
Cycling steps?

Want all the details so I do not forget something that would harm the future inhabitants!



also, once the tank is established and cycled
what inhabitants?
Species of clown, goby, sea horse?

 

[omega59]

live rock
skimmer
heater
power heads
salt mixes (you want the salt to be at least 1.020 for the water)
sand (live sand is good too)
master liquid test kit for marine
refractor meter
declorinator solution
and depending if you want corals, proper lighting (however I'm not sure if you can in a 10gal)

for a 10gal you should not place a seahorse they require at least 70gal i believe. gobies are fine, clownfish are fine it can work. also you will be doing water changes more often in a 10gal. a filter isn't really required just make sure your live rock is ready with proper bacteria. if i missed anything or wrong you guys add thanks.

 

[-Nemo-]

Clownfish are breaking the boundaries a little IMO for having in a 10G, if you do get clownfish make sure they are wither True Percula or Ocellaris or another smaller sized species. @seahorses, you could have some dwarf seahorses in there, but make sure you read up on seahorse care very well before you purchase. They need more specialized care than other fish, especially dwarves.

 

[omega59]

Yes i agree, after a post i made about adding clown fish to a 10gal setup, i come to a conclusion that i do not see any problems with it the tank is large enough. However a 20gal is more preferred as they can scoot around more and less aggression will happen. I did not realize that a dwarf sea horse can be placed in a 10gal, here is what i found about this...

This tiny seahorse only reaches up to two inches, and is not an aggressive feeder. Therefore, they are typically kept in aquariums of ten gallons or less, 5 gallons being ideal for a few pairs. They are best housed in an aquarium with a sponge filter and no live rock.

They are usually fed newly-hatched brine shrimp, although they will also eat copepods and other shrimp larvae. Because of their small size, they must be fed at least twice a day, and many people feed them up to five times a day. The effort to keep a constant source of live food makes this a very high maintenance species that should probably be avoided by inexperienced aquarists.

Unlike most marine fish, they will readily breed in the aquarium. Some of the young can usually survive in the tank with adults, but to get a high survival rate, they should be raised in separate tanks. Like the adults, they can live off of newly hatched brine shrimp.

Hi there, I would definitely not recommend Dwarf seahorses to a beginner with seahorses let alone marine tanks. Seahorses require specialized care and I would really recommend some sort of experience keeping marine fish before trying seahorses. The 5 gallon aquarium would be fine. You would need to obtain dwarf safe live rock if you wish to use it (I believe it needs to be treated before placing in a dwarf tank) you can, however, use fake rocks, plants and decorations which will look fine also. I am not personally experienced with Dwarf horses (mainly because they are not available where I am) but have done alot of reading about them. You are right that they need live food meaning you will need a separate place to hatch baby brine shrimp and you would then need to enrich the brine before feeding to the horses. This would have to be running all the time in order to have enough food to feed them. For my horse tanks I have been using the tanks with hood, light and filter built in. You cannot use a skimmer on these but I find they do the job with regular maintenance. It would probably be best to keep a more hardy horse as a beginner but with enough reading and preparation you would be able to try dwarf seahorses. The tank will need to be cycled for 4-6 weeks before adding anything and seahorses are alot more sensitive to water quality than some other marine fish so you will need to have that running perfectly before the additions. Hope this helps

 

[-Nemo-]

Yes, I wouldn't exactly recommend them to a beginner. But, if dead set on having seahorses, it could successfully done if plenty of research and the understanding of the amount of work needed to maintain not only the seahorses, but the maintenance of a small tank as well.

 

[omega59]

yes, i agree too... so start reading and asking questions HEHE.