furryfrog02

Hi I am new to saltwater aquariums and new to aquariums for that matter! I (through some dumb luck) am going to be getting a 50 or 55 gallon salt water aquarium along with light hood, stand, filters, protein skimmer, and a few fish for FREE.
The guy I am getting it from on Saturday said there is quite a bit of algae in the tank and it needs a good cleaning. I was wondering what that all would entail. He said the filters (he said there are 3)are pretty clogged. Would I be better off getting new filters so that I don't have the algae problem with them?
Also when I go to pick it up how much of the water should I take with me? I want to have enough to be at least able to put the fish in once I get it set up at my house. I currently have 4 5 gallon buckets with lids that I can transport fish and water in.....
Which brings me to my last question for now...I have been reading nonstop since I found out I would be getting this tank yesterday and I have been reading about when you put new water in a tank you have to put the salt in and let it sit for about a day. Would I be better off making my own water to put in the tank along with a bit of the old stuff or should I keep all the old stuff or make all new stuff.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am going a bit crazy right now! I just set up my freshwater tank on Saturday and am still learning the ropes with it.

Oil_Fan

Wow..free huh...very nice!!

I'm guessing you're not planning on moving all of the water. That's fine and it would be more like a water change. As for making the water, all you really need is some RO water, salt and a power head to move the water around to get it mixed. And yes it does take about 24 hours until it's ready. The other option would be run to your nearest LFS and buy some from them. I would think with you being in Hawaii, you should have lots of options there.

Now what I'm thinking what I would do if I was in your situation....you have a great opportunity to clean up the tank. Take some SW and use that to clean the filters. Or just get new ones if it's a type that supposed to be replaced periodically. Throw away the mucked up water if you clean it. Take a scraper to the glass and get rid of all the built up coraline and any other algae sticking to the glass. Scrub off any algae sticking to the rocks, again in SW, not FW.

Cleaning up everything shouldn't take more than a couple of hours and the fish and such will be fine during that period. Now you add the new water, LR and get the water up to a proper temp. Around 75-78F or so would be good. Now you add the fish and their water. Get the tank full and start up the pumps.

Also I would transport the fish in bags if you could. Just be sure to have a good amount of air sealed in the bags. And try to make sure you have at least 50% of the original SW from before the move.

Others may have more suggestions.