Tropical Fish Hobbyist

You won’t need the CO injector unless
2
you intend to supplement calcium and
alkalinity with a calcium reactor. In that
case, depending on the configuration
of your injector, you might be able to
use the same tank and regulator for the
calcium reactor.

If you plan to keep light-hungry corals and other invertebrates in the new tank,

your lighting system might need an upgrade as well, as it currently provides only about 1. 4 watts per gallon. Though it’s a very rudimentary guideline, you should provide somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 watts per gallon for a reef tank (the actual light demand varies greatly depending on the invertebrate species kept). For a 30-inch-deep tank, metal

halide lamps will probably be your best bet, as they do a good job of punching down into deeper water.

You’ll also want to make sure the spectral characteristics of your lamps are appropriate for photosynthetic marine invertebrates. Most reef hobbyists nowadays choose lamps with a Kelvin temperature rating between 6500K and 10,000K, or even higher. A very common lighting configuration for a tank such as yours consists of two metal halide daylight lamps supplemented with actinic (blue) fluorescent tubes.

Your existing heaters should make the switch from a freshwater system to a saltwater system with no problem— though, at 300 watts each, you’ve really got more wattage than you need. Three watts of heating capacity per gallon is generally sufficient.

In addition to the equipment changes/ upgrades, you’ll also need to invest in some high-quality live rock—somewhere in the vicinity of 1 to 1½ pounds per gallon. Live rock is the foundation of any reef system, as it provides biological filtration, attachment sites for invertebrates, and hiding places and grazing/foraging opportunities for fish—all while boosting the system’s overall biological diversity.

As far as the smell of a reef system is concerned, a well-maintained reef tank should not impart an offensive odor. But then, this is somewhat subjective. A reef system does have a unique, hard-to-qualify oceanic scent to it that I don’t find unappealing. Others might have a different opinion on the subject, however.

Reference books I would recommend for someone making the transition from freshwater to saltwater include the following: Natural Reef Aquariums by John H. Tullock (TFH/Microcosm Professional Series, 1997), The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta (TFH/Microcosm Professional Series, 1999), and The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner (TFH/Microcosm Professional Series, 1997). Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t sneak in a plug for The Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums (T.F.H. Publications, 2002) and The Simple Guide to Mini-Reef Aquariums (T.F.H. Publications, 2005), both by yours truly.