# 1000 bucks to convert FW to SW???



## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

so i found out about this all reef LFS by my house, so i decided id check it out becuase ive been thinking of converting my 75g piranha tank to a reef setup. The man at the store told me the only thing i would be able to salvage would be the tank, and the heaters. And to convert my freshwater 75g to a saltwater 75g would cost me easily over a grand. Is this about right. He said this was for sand, live rock, and a wet/dry. This seems a little steep to me, i mean ive already spent over a grand on my tank between the tank, the stand, the lights, the filters heaters sand decor etc, another grand just to make it saltwater doesnt seem very economical. Any input, is there a cheaper way????


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

If you go reef, he's not too far off.

If you go with s/w fish and no reef, he's off.


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

acestro said:


> If you go reef, he's not too far off.
> 
> If you go with s/w fish and no reef, he's off.


yea i was talking reef, he said the substrate would be about 200 bucks, then the live rock about 400 bucks, and then the lighting and filter about another 4-500 and then not 2 mention the corals and fish which are madd money... i think im just going to do brackish and get lake malawi cichlids lol, poor mans marine fish 2 me lol


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Malawi cichlids aren't really 'brackish'. His estimates for the substrate are crap. Substrate is over-rated for saltwater, see 'Berlin method'.


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

hmm i awlays thought they were brackish...so what are they then? lol


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

malwai cichlids are freshwater.

substrate wont cost you 200. for live sand, maybe. but you can always seed regular sand. the big dollars would go into the live rock, skimmer, lighting and sump setup (which includes pump and plumbing). a good skimmer could easily run you a few hundred bucks itself. and i know people thatve spent over a grand in lighting.

you could save some money by ordering the liverock online. i noticed that fish stores tend to charge upwards of 4-5 bucks a lb (my lfses charge around 6-7) when you can get it online for around 3. and you could get a used skimmer online for relatively cheap. a diy sump/fuge would also save some cash. but good lighting for a healthy reef never comes cheap, unfortunately









but the initial cost of converting is the killer. after everything is setup and running, maintenance costs aren't too bad. bulb replacements, salt and trace elements are all you'll really need to invest in later on.


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## 00nothing (Mar 26, 2004)

quick break down to make a real nice reef tank out of ure 75 these are cdn figures

2 bags sand $20
100 lbs LR $4 per lb $400 (this is an avg price if u can grab some nice used LR from someone shutting down a system)

filtration should not a be a wet dry so heres my breakdown of it for ya
35 gallon tank for sump $20
css 125 protein skimmer $190
HOB overflow box $60 or drilling and diy internal overflow box $60
return pump $100 
plumbing and fittings $75

and if u go cheap on lights say some ebay t5's
4x54 watters will runn u $200 usd

giving u a grand total of $1065 and keep in mind these are pretty conservative figures if u really want salt there are ways to save money and do it cheaper especially a fowlr (fish only with liverock) such as only purchasing 20 or so lbs of LR and then buying 80 lbs of dead rock in bulk and seeding it yourself, but as u can see 1000 bux is jsut a toss in the hat so to speak


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## redbellyjx © (Jan 26, 2004)

well.... i just set up a 125. heres my break down:

MTC 250 skimmer and pump ...$500
sand.... 75 ish
Rock 80 lbs x $6 /lb
Coral life 3x150 watt halides, moonlights $1200

55 gallon tank for sump $20
return pumps $200

and another pump for circulation $100

im close to 3-4 grand including the price of my tank and i havent even started to add corals yet


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## greenmonkey51 (Aug 16, 2004)

That sounds very similar to what a guy at a lfs told a friend what it would cost for a 75g. With a reef tank you do not want to cheap out on anything, when your spending major cash on corals why cheap out on a skimmer, lighting, or even sand.


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## redbellyjx © (Jan 26, 2004)

yea i know what you mean. while i was ordering my lights the other day, a family came in becasue their son wanted to setup a 55 reef. the owner of the LFS said the a 75 would work better and priced it out for them. the mother almost fell over when he told them 2 grand!


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## maddyfish (Sep 16, 2006)

If you buy used, make half your live rock, and can DIY, then you might get it done for $1000


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

dont forget, test kits, refractometer, salt buckets, powerheads, food, plumbing equipment, fish, corals, snails, crabs (i never realized how fast a bunch of inverts can add up), etc. there is going to be more than you realize after you decide to get started believe me.


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## pottsburg (Aug 30, 2006)

THis is what I'm planning to pay.....

Bought tank (46 bowfront) with stand and canopy
came with one 96w PC light(I'll add another 55watt for cheap to get 3wpg) total was $250
came with protein skimmer
build a wet dry out of buckets and tupperware $25
600gph overflow on eBay for $50 shipped
came with live sand
return pump for about $40
heater$25
so the total is $400 after paying for a 46gal, stand, skimmer, heater, building a wet/dry, overflow box, sand, and 2wpg.

I found a 192W PC light for $110 shipped. I could sell the single 96W PC light of mine for some cash to make up for it. Still, I'd have 4wpg or I could keep the original light also and have 6wpg and throw anything I want in the tank!

So about $450 for the entire setup - minus livestock and rock - I'd say I'm set.....lighting is definately the most important and expensive thing in saltwater.


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

wait until you buy liverock.


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## Drewteam83 (Aug 8, 2006)

I asked my lfs how much would it run to switch my 55 to a sw tank, fowlr, he said only around 3 bills


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Drewteam83 said:


> I asked my lfs how much would it run to switch my 55 to a sw tank, fowlr, he said only around 3 bills


That really depends on the quality of equipment you use, and what type of set up you decide to go with [e.g. Fish Only, FOWRL, Reef (Soft, LPS, SPS)] If you go with a fish only set up, I am sure that you could get away with the change under $300; however, if you go with a good Reef setup you are looking at much more.

For example, I spend nearly 3 bills on my skimmer alone, nearly 3 bills on my MH's alone, and I don't even want to think about what I spent on my LR in total.


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## pottsburg (Aug 30, 2006)

Metal Halides are a ripoff when you can have PC's that will work for everything, except maybe some hardcore corals and clams. 300 on a skimmer? Yikes!

Just shop around on eBay and craigslist, I'm setting up a 46bowfront reef tank for my chick and making as much as I can and not spending much at all. Under 350 for everything but the liverock.

Build yourself a sump out of a 20tall or 20long for $20 and get class cut at lowes for $5 total. Get some silicone and fit some pieces in there and let them sit for 3 days. There's your refugium if you are doing a reef tank.

I saw a guy online somewhere that for his overflow into the sump, he cut 4 pieces of glass, a front, bottom, and 2 sides; and made them into a rectangle on the top part of his tank. He had the tank drilled on the back before he installed it and put a bulkhead inside the 'overflow'. There's a $5 overflow box. They'll drill for a beer or a tip, and then a $3 nylon bulkhead fitting.

Get vacuum hose from Lowes for about $20 (and that's more than you'll need, you can get less, $2/ft) instead of $15 for 3 feet of the same hose from the LFS

For return pump, try to find a quiet-one pump from petsmart and print out the online price, I spent like $30 and saved $15.

Plumb the return with that same hose that goes down to the sump, and I had it go around a PVC pipe and split the return to come down on the back corners of the tank. About $15 in pipes and joints.

There you have a fully plumbed tank for under $100. Just get a heater and skimmer (I put a HOB skimmer on the first compartment of the refugium) and you are ready to go.

Lighting is the worst part about reefs, than and live rock. Shop ebay relentlessly.


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## pottsburg (Aug 30, 2006)

Oh, on reefcentral (I think) they make an overflow out of PVC. It makes a few kinks but it works perfect and there's nothing flawed about it. Would only cost about $15.....I would have made one but I found it after I bought a used overflow for $35 shipped instead of $50 at the LFS

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...mp;pagenumber=1


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## oryschakgp (Nov 5, 2005)

SW can be very expensive if you're new to it and don't know what you need and what you don't need. Do as much research as you can before you start buying stuff. The most important part of a reef setup is water flow and then lighting. Do not go cheap on lighting - you need to have the best lights you can afford and I recommend T5HO or metal halide. Flow wise, Hydor Koralia pumps are inexpensive and work excellent. They're a poor reefers tunze.


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## Alexraptor (Jan 30, 2003)

Halides are pretty much ultimate, but if MH isnt for you then got T5HO, PC's just arent worth it.


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## acb (Nov 9, 2004)

you can look in classifieds for everything...ive seen on some websites where people just sell their whole set up,so if you find someone close to you that will save alot of cash


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