Converting tropical to marine; the very begining

[ChrisNZ]

Hi everyone!

I have kept tropical fish for a long time but have recently decided to start working towards a marine tank.

For my conversion I have decided to work slowly ensuring that I have all the necessary equipment and knowledge to care for the tank and hopefully avoid any disasters (considering marine livestock is extraordinarily expensive in my country due to strict biosecurity laws).

 

Currently my plan is to use my modified aqua one beta trio tank which is approx. 33L (9g), pictured below when it was still in use. I plan on keeping 1 or 2 small fish, a small clean up crew and some easy to care for corals.

So far I have;

-Upgraded filtration pump to a unit that can pump up to 450 litres per hour (in back of t.
-USA orbit marine lighting 18"
-Dymax Iq5 mini protein skimmer
-RODI unit

-Adjustable heater 25w

-Considering a small UV sterilizer


Once I am certain I have all necessary equipment I will move onto acquiring testing equipment then to setting up and cycling the tank and then introducing livestock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, am I on the right track? Am I missing something crucial? Am I being unrealistic based upon tank size?

[seabass]

Hello, and welcome to N-R,com.

 

 

You don't need an UV sterilizer.

 

The tank size seems fine to me. My first marine tank was 7 gallons (26.5L).

[PaulBuxton]

Hi,

Sounds like you have a sensible approach. I have a similar volume setup, a 30L all in one tank, and it seems to be ticking over nicely.

 

I don't know about all saltwater fish, but my Clown fish is unlike any tropical fish I have ever kept. It seems much more interested and less shy than my tropical fish.

 

People seem to be in two minds about hermit crabs. Personally I like mine, I accidentally ended up with 2 of them after thinking one of them had died. So now I have

Sheldon 1.1 and Sheldon 2.3 (fractional numbers indicate how many times they have swapped shells!).

 

Have fun!