salt water tank setup

[unfleshed]

I've been looking to convert my 55 gallon tank into a saltwater tank. I'm really going to try to keep just my 1 gsp in the tank as for fishes go but what all would I need for a good conversion. also what other fish/rock would be good in the tank. Thanks for any advice in advance.

[Reefing Madness]

#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock
.#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.

[InvertPlanet]

+1 to reefing madness, except # 3. GSP's aren't reef safe.

Don't get lighting that is too strong. Most puffers are not open water killers. They like the edges and shadowy areas and bright lights will cause them to shy away.

[sjohnson2152]

The list above is excellent and should give you a sound start. The only other thing I can think of that you may want (but certainly don't need for a 55gal) is a sump/refugium for under the display tank (which would also require the installation of an overflow inside or outside the display tank).

If you do go the dry rock route, Bulk Reef Supply is also another excellent option. I've also had good experiences with their RO/DI systems if you're in the market for one. I do highly recommend having one. It saves a lot of time and its really great not having to go out and buy RO water every time you need it.

It sounds like you may already have the puffer in the 55gal? If so make sure to look into gradually increasing the salt levels in the tank so he/she is slowly acclimated to the new water.

I do personally use a gravel vacuum since my puffer fish is so messy. I find it helps keep the sand bed nice and clean.

As far as tank mates or adding corals, you can try anything but there are no guarantees that your puffer will tolerate other fish, invertebrates, and/or corals. I currently have a 55gal converted to full marine with 1 gsp, a pair of clowns, a couple kinds of soft corals, and a variety of snails and hermits for my CUC (clean up crew). I have not had any problems with my puffer harming anything in my tank. He showed only a small amount of interest in my snails when I first added them, but after he quickly found that he was unable to eat them he no longer pays any attention to them. He's much more interested in hunting the copepods that run around on my live rock. My puffer seems to have a pretty non-aggressive temperament but that varies by the individual fish, and he is also still a juvenile (about 3in) and they do become more aggressive as they reach maturity. So there may come a day when he decides to eat another fish or tear a coral to shreds and its just a matter of knowing that, that can happen and being prepared to deal with it when it does. For me, my 20 gallon sump/refugium will come in handy as a place I can keep my puffer until I get a new tank up and cycled for it if he ever decides to become a menace.