Converting fresh to salt

[Mike62]

Well, I cant seem to sell my freshwater tank, so Im considering converting it to a salt water tank. I have to wait for the current livestock to pass on, and once that happens, I will be switching it over. Now, I don't have the money to do it all at once, so here is the order I plan to go in. If Im doing something in the wrong order, let me know.
First of all, once the tank is empty of stock, I will salt the water, leaving the Fluval filter running. As soon as I have the money, the next thing to go in will be the coral substrate. Once that is in, I will be adding the liverock, and probably a couple of power heads. At that point, the Fluval can be decommissioned. A good set of lights is a must at some point, another expensive change. If money is not an issue, I can get a phosban reactor at some point. A few crabs and snails would probably be the last addition.
So, in order, its salt, substrate, liverock, powerheads, lights, cleanup crew.

[Stussi613]

I would recommend you completely empty the tank and give it a good cleaning.  Once it's clean you can then add some substrate, sand or aragonite, and then add your water.  You can mix saltwater in the tank the first time you make it, but after that it should be pre-mixed.  Since you are on a budget, you may want to consider using dry rock instead of live rock.  You can pick it up a few pieces at a time and stock pile it until you are ready to start your system.  Also, I would sell the Fluval and use the money towards some powerheads instead of running the Fluval on a saltwater system.  Your lighting needs will depend on what you are planning to keep, and the size of the tank.  You might be able to get away with something cheaper to start off, Ecoxotic and Kessil both make good products that don't break the bank, for example.  The phosban reactor is something you only need to worry about down the road.

I think you're on the right track, you just need to tweak things a little bit.

[robt18]

^^ I agree with pretty much everything, except I'd buy as much dry rock as you can and several pounds of live rock as well and place it all in shortly after you put in the substrate (after the cloudiness goes away). This way your live rock will seed your dry rock and your tank will be healthier and you can be less patient (my favourite!).

But definitely empty the tank first.

[Stussi613]

^^ I agree with pretty much everything, except I'd buy as much dry rock as you can and several pounds of live rock as well and place it all in shortly after you put in the substrate (after the cloudiness goes away). This way your live rock will seed your dry rock and your tank will be healthier and you can be less patient (my favourite!).

But definitely empty the tank first.

I meant to say that Rob, but I forgot to add it.

[beertech]

I agree with everything above, and instead of the phosban reactor look for a used protein skimmer. That will give you the most benefit as far as water quality.
Enjoy the adventure!