Guidance pls..

[jcd]

Though we have an existing fresh water aquarium (i just don't know what kind of fish is in it).. I still feel I'm very ignorant when it comes to this area. The fish we have right now has been there for maybe two or three years (I'm really sure).

Anyway, a few weeks ago after buying some fish food, I notice some nice fishes (colorful ones). In my inquiries, it was mentioned that it's saltwater fish.. (Think by now, you guys know the idea)..

Yes, I want to shift from freshwater to saltwater. It was mentioned to me that I can use my existing tank (size of tank is 4ft by 2.5 ft) including the filters and other decoratives.

My question is, is it? I like to ask for some advises from our experienced people here.

Also, what are the proper way of putting new bought fishes to your aquarium.. I notice that everytime I bought a fish and put them in the tank, many of them dies the following morning? This happen even though the tank has existing fishes.. I'm worried that when I set-up my saltwater, those fishes will die right away..

Hope you guys could help from setting up.. and putting new fishes..

Thanks and cheers!

[Billythefish]

Hay im sorry but i dont no a thing about salt water fish but i do no that its hard work keeping them and not for a novice. As far as new fish go's its all about the temprature wot i do is leave the new fish in the bag for about 20min to give the bag water time to mach the tank temp then lower the water in the bag right down then let the fish free. Hope this helps. This is for freshwater fish!. Ps can you post a pic of the fish thats in your tank now?

[NickFish]

'm not sure what you are sayinh....you have saltwater fish in a freshwater tank?
Well nevermind about that for now, I think I know what you are trying to ask.....

The correct, or actually the only way you should acclimate saltwater fish, is to drip acclimate them.
This a long process that takes hours to complete properly.
This is how i do it-

Take your fish, and empty the bag out in a clean 5 gallon or more bucket. You can put a heater in the bucket if you want but it isn't always nessesary.
Take your gravel vac and take one end, put it in the tank, and the other end in the bucket with your new fish.
Tie a know in the tubing so that the water coming out of the gravel vac is a little more than a drip.
As time goes on, loosen the know so water flows more freely. (empty extra water out of the bucket if it gets too full)
After an hour or so the water should be flowing near top speed. Then you can carefully net/scoop the fish out and into the tank.

NEVER dump any of the water from the bag the fish came in into the the tank. Always net or scoop the fish out of the bag before releasing them into the tank, this is true for all fish, freshwater, saltwater, inverts and plants.

There are a few better posts here that explain drip acclimating better, with pics and videos. Search this site, and google, and youtube for "Drip acclimating fish". You shouldn't float saltwater fish like you do freshwater. They are 10X more sensitive to changes in water, you must drip acclimate them for at least an hour, but preferably closer to 2 hours if you have a heater and a big tank.

[travie]

If you want to setup a saltwater tank properly, you are going to be looking at good amount of time and money spent on it. I would seek out cocoa_pleco if you want good advice on saltwater.

[NickFish]

If you want to properly switch to saltwater, you are going to need a ton of new stuff.

Refractometer, you want your gravity around 1.023 (don't skimp on a hydrometer, I learned the hard way)
Test kits
Live rock
Substrate
A couple powerheads, 2 for your tank and one for mixing water changes
Proper lighting
proper CUC (emerald + pom pom crabs highly recommended)
Good salt mix (I recommend IO, oceanic or red sea)
Top quality heater (jager or visi-therm) you're going to need a couple for your tank and your water changes
Protein skimmer
Automatic-top off system (highly recommended if you ever plan to leave town for more than 3 days)
Sump
Fish ;)
RO/DI system (tap water is not an option)

That's all i can think of off the top of my head, if you plan on corals the list will get longer. If you have been using tap water this whole time, I would recommend to give the tank a good vinegar scrub to get rid of all the junk in the tap water before switching to RO/DI, but if you already have fish in there this may not be an option. Saltwater is not cheap, and I don't believe you can set-up a good reef tank (unless it's a nano) for under $1000, and it's likely you will go over that.

[LosC]

I'd stick with what you have now since you seem like a beginner. You could add a colorful school of neon tetras or cardinal tetras, a pair of dwarf cichlids.

[gem]

Actually a fish only tank is not as complicated as it seems. Either is a fish only with live rock. Less equiptment needed for fish only. Both types of salt water tanks really only require standard flourescent lighting. Compact flourescents would be better, but not a must. A good strong power filter or cannister filter for mechanical filtration and powerheads for flow are needed. Adding live rock to the tank will aid in biological filtration but with a fish only or fish only with live rock tank, you can go with good pourous base rock (ask your lfs) or even the less expensive man made agragrocrete. You will definately need a hydrometer (not always accurate) or refractometer (spot on accurate when callibrated properly and the best option). A good salt mix. Most of the salt mixes today are formulated to provide the best possible nutrients and closest to Natural sea water. An auto top off isn't a must if you're willing to constantly babysit the tank. Water will eveaporate and raise you specific gravity. Salt does not evaporate. So you will constantly be topping off the tank, likely on a daily basis. So auto top off is a good idea. You can actually make an auto top off out of a bucket. A protein skimmer is also something that is not a must with fish only but is very highly suggested! As stated tap water is truly not an option for marine tanks. You will need to use ro or ro/di water that you can usually purchase at most lfs that carry sw fish and supplies.
As for fish, you will need to know what kind of fish you can and can't keep together.....as well as what they eat and how large they get. You don't want to put a Queen Angel (no matter how pretty) in a 20 gal tank. It just isn't going to work. It's somewhat the same as freshwater but a little more complicated. For a first attempt at a SW tank, it's a good idea to start with simple and hearty inexpensive fish like damsels, clown fish (no they don't have to have an anemone), green chromis.
The most important thing.......read read read. Get lots of info before you set it up. Learn about the water chemistry, different species, specific diets for the species you want to keep.
If it's the beauty of a reef tank and corals that interest you, expect a much higher budget.
Either way, expect to invest a little bit of cash to switch it over, but it's not as complicated, honestly, as alot of people make it seem. Providing that you invest the time to learn.

[Ryuu]

REally saltwater fish is a really experenced thing, as far as keepign them alive, I would put the light off and slowly introduce them, if our fish are territorial then move around some things and then put them in, this moves the territorys

[LosC]

Isn't saltwater more difficult than fresh?

[NickFish]

Isn't saltwater more difficult than fresh?
From what I've done so far, I can easily say that saltwater is much, much, much harder than freshwater. The fish are 10X more sensitive, your eco-system 10X more fragile, twice as many parameters to moniter and triple the expenses.
Saltwater isn't great for starting off fishkeeping. I'd recommend at least 5 years of keeping freshwater fish before attempting a FOWLR, but of course that is just a very rough guideline, if you do your research anything is possible...albeit difficult.
However, if you are willing to spend the $$$$, and you have a lot of patience, it isn't as hard as it initially seems. FOWLR tanks are hard, but not nearly as hard as a reef. Once you get used to a FOWLR, it will just as easy to you as freshwater, once you get past the set-up that is.

Remember, in saltwater aquariums, only bad things happen fast.

[gem]

Saltwater tanks being harder than fresh is a matter of opinion. I don't find them any harder....just less forgiving. IOW...You should test very regularly and never slack off on top offs and water changes. The main reason I say they are "less forgiving" is due to the amount of money invested in the equiptment and livestock. Ignore your FW community tank and you flush maybe $50 to $100 in livestock. Ignore your SW tank...especially a reef and you could be flushing thousands. I think that may be why some people consider them "harder". If you maintain NSW conditions by regular maintenance and testing....it's really not harder than FW.
If you are truly serious about switching to SW.....don't do it right away. Spend several months reading, asking questions, doing the research to make sure you're willing to make the switch with the equiptment needed to do it right (IOW in the best interest of the livestock you want to keep). IF you invest the money and it all goes wrong because you didn't take the time to learn, you'll be one of those that consider it so much harder than FW. I was one for many years.....not because I tried and failed....mostly because I never took the time to learn about it and find out it's really not so hard.