Converting a tank from Fresh water to saltwater.

You need to do a complete water change and remove everything. Replace your gravel with nice sand and add alot of rocks. I would change out your bio balls your anything like that, that would be growing fresh water algae on them, bc in the saltwater the freshwater algae will just die and raise your nitrates alot.
 
You will need a protein skimmer, good to have an refrugium, powerheads for more flow, and new lights.
 
As for any left over copper, just add charcoal for a few days and it will remove the last little traces of copper.
 
Let me know if you need more info!

Thanks for the help Maxima.

What i am trying  to understand is, i have read several articles online and most of them talks about copper leaching from the silicone as time passes by, which is not safe for corals(we all Know already).   ? is there a method that works best  for garanteed copper removal from the silicone, i have heard of several. like soaking the tank with hot water, with vinegar, of course charcoal ( thanks Maxima), lime juice.

one method i was thingking of  was gutting all the old silicone out and resealing the entire tank, just to make sure i dont kill all the corals that i want to put in there. is this too extreme?

Has anyone tried anything else? let us know what it is.

tony

First time I hear about copper leaching from the silicone. I assume it is possible but would it be enough to harm inverts?
I would simply make the swich from fresh to saltwater and have some activated carbon in my sump or filter.  You won't add any corals before a while so you'll have plenty of time to monitor the tank. If soaking the tank can do the trick, I would say it will be ok.

I agree with everything Maxima said 100%.  Switching from a fresh to salt is VERY possible, and MANY people do it, BUT, it does call for a COMPLETE overhaul of the whole tank...filtration sweep, new lighting, and LOTS of cleaning.  DEFINITELY don't recommend bioballs in a reef.  They work well for cycling at first, but will leach nitrates back into the tank after a while.  Replace your bioballs with live rock with A LOT of surface area (very porous) and/or a bunch of rubble rock.  And I do especially agree with adding a refugium.  I’ve had probably around 15 tanks over the years, and my current tank is the first I’ve run a fuge on...I will NEVER have another tank without a refugium now.  BEST filtration you will EVER have, and REALLY great for keeping your inhabitants healthy. 
 
As far as the copper from the silicone, it's ALWAYS a good idea to redo the silicone in a tank that you have had up for a while and you're going to drain and then fill again.  Not because of the copper leaking out, but because for the whole time you have had that fresh water tank, the pressure on the silicone has been fairly constant and uniform.  when you drain it, the pressure on the silicone is reduced by A LOT…that can cause it to pull in air bubbles, or start to put away from the glass, or many other very bad things that you don’t want going on before you refill a tank. 

So, I don’t believe copper will be an issue for you while switching if you clean really well, and run some type of carbon or silicate removal media.  I recommend using Rowa phosphate remover.  I use it in a reactor on my tank.  It is good to use on a new tank too.  They recommend using it as soon as you start a new system.  It removes phosphates, silicates and other heavy metals from the water.  VERY good product.  Purigen is also good for removing all that stuff too.  So as long as you do all the things maxima mentioned and the things I mentioned too, you should be more than fine when it comes to water quality (use RO, of course).

When it comes to the silicone, I would DEFINITELY reseal the ENTIRE tank before you begin adding anything to it.  Even if your water quality is great because you do everything else right, there’s no point if the water ends up busting the tank open!  Haha!  Since you were planning on resealing it anyhow because of the copper fear, at least it’s not something that wasn’t already an option for you to do (cause it is a huge pain in the butt.  Lol).  I strongly encourage you to reseal it.  Just use the silicone that is safe for salt water and you will be PERRRRFECTO!  Good luck!  Hope this helped!  Anymore questions, or if you would like me to clarify anything, just hollerrr!  Happy reefing!  -Ash

Thank Fellow Reefers, I think  now i have grown enough courage(Balls) to go ahead with the conversion, will be going with the resealing and then go from there. will keep post and pic of entire conversion as i will also be rebuilding the entire stand and a canopy. dont like the corny pine stand it came with. here is a pic of thank now.

my 55 was fresh for years before i switched to salt. i tore it all down sprayed it out and set it up for salt not using anything but the tank and its all good.

Hope i have the same luck you did with yours.

Good luck!!  Keep us posted!

Thanks

My tank got a terrible disease and i had to remove all the corals, treat the fish and tank, then i removed all the fish and added about 3 times the standard dosing of copper. Plus i added pure quinine sulfate from NFP. Its the only thing that will kill resistant strains of ich and hexamita. I had super ich. Not joking, thats what its called. Just found in 2006.
Well, anyways, after all that, i drained the tank and filled it with fresh water, added charcoal, and after about a week, drained it again and put saltwater back in. Its been going for a yrs now and no worries. Take a look at my pics of it. Its the one that says "My 155 gal reef tank".

Thank, Starting my conversion this weekend, have a 14" Gar tha i need to remove from my 92 and the i will be able to convert. trying to decide which other tank to put him in since, i  had him for a long time idont want to get rid of him. got rid of the Flowerhorn and red devil already..

OK Reefers, need some help with my light decision. tank is 92gl corner.  gonna be reef, Is this light that i have in mind sufficient and should i get 14k or 20k, keep in mind i am also on a verry tight buget,cannot afford the orther brands right now but will upgrade later. looking at the 250w or should i get the 400w system these are from INSIDESUN.COM

Sylvania 250 Watt MH Aquarium System
	This system includes: New Ballast New 250 Watt w/ 14k or 20k MH bulb 18' Chrome Batwing Reflector Electrical cable - Wall to Ballast 3.5 feet (standard 3 prong plug) Electrical cable - Ballast to Light 10 feet 3 year warranty (except on bulb)

The 14k's are Nice if you wanna little bit of white light and throw in some actinics. But if the tanks just for show, i would go with the 20K's. It will really make all the colors PoP! I would still add one VHO, T-5, or PC to the front and back with one MH on either side (250W) Or one 400W in the center. Either way, for that size tank, i would keep the lights up alittle bit, not right on the tank. More so with the 400W, if you have it too close it wont distribute the light very well.

Thank Maxima, think I will go with the 1 400w with the 20k and the PC's,  I not gonna rest it on the Tank, i am gonna build a canopy aabout 12-18" high to house the lights andsom fans  to cool down if needed..... 

Tanking to tank to LFS to git is drilled for the Overflow today.

this will be my show tank and i will use my40gl brreder for aqua culture and frag tank.

Awesome sounds great. You will need some fans though. Just so you know.

yep gonna get a couple of 6" computer fans and intsall then in the canopy..

lol, thats what i did, but in my stand for where my fuge is.

do a tank build photo set for start to finish. i love tank build pics. thanks

yep working on it.

Gonna start building the stand tomorrow,if the weather behave it self..

cant wait to see the photos

just got started on the stand today,  taking lots of pics of the  assebly, assembled the overflow and return lines on the tank today, workig on the overflow box.  will post some pics tomorrow.

Ok reefer, as i promissed, pics are ready. just check out the diy section for the complete build pics, here is just a teaser.

I didn't like the typical round pine stand that came with the tank, so my build is a pentagon shape, also to maximize space under the tank to house a  larger sump/fuge and all the other equipments that i have. hope you  enjoy

sorry, the other pics are giving me a hard time to upload. will try againg tomorrow.

Looking real, real good !

thanks i gonna start the plumbing and electrical tomorrow.

looks like a great start bro