Need help with tank set up

Ive had a 46 gallon bowfront fish tank for about 5 years and it has always been freshwater. I just recently decided to convert to salt water. What I currently have is a Penguin Bio-Wheel 350 Filter, A single bulb light fixture that i just bought a T8 bulb for $20, It is a Reef Sun 50/50, It says combination of 6500k trichromatic daylight phosphor and actinic 420 phosphor, 25w. Need help on the folowing:
Substrate
Powerhead
Small Amount of Live Rock
Anything else needed for tank setup
Trying not to spend over $100 if possible

 

Hi stupidface. I hate to say it, but if you're not looking to spend over $100, you may as well leave this as a freshwater setup... I also come from the world of freshwater tanks, and the amount of money that I've spent on only a 27 gallong cube (not including the tank and stand itself) is well over $1500, and I don't get top of the line stuff.

 

i would get 100 pounds of dry marco rocks, 20 pound bag of live sand and a couple maxi jet 1200 power heads. all that should be around 100 bucks maybe a little more. sometime in future you will need more light, i dont think 1 t8 will be enough.

 

Example please of where I can buy 100 pounds of dry macro rock for that cheep?
Also, how should I deal with the water, buy a saltwater mix kit, or is there any other way to do it. I live right on the beach, could I just get buckets of water from the beach?

 

Not spending over $100 to set up a 46g tank or for any tank will be hard. If it will be a fowlr tank that makes things a lot easier for you.
You can go bare bottom tank if you wish, low maintanance and no cost. Fish don't need light but you already have one so just use it, the 50/50 will be ok if you want coraline algea to grow.
If you wish to have a substrate dry sand will save you some money,rinse it well. You can use dry rock at around 1-1/2 lb per gal of tank, buy a small piece of live rock from your lfs and it will seed the tank, throw a piece of shrimp in there for good measure if you want.
One smaller power head just to stir things up will be ok, with not much water movement so get a turkey baster to blow the rocks off in the dead spot areas.
You will need some test kits, use a salifert ammonia kit and api master test kit for the rest to save money. If you have a buddy that has test kits see if they will test your water for you, the ammonia stage is critticle as to the window of your cycle, after that just kick back and be patient. MAKE SURE YOU USE DISTILLED WATER from your local fish store or a place like walmart, .89 per gallon.
Just a small list:
heater
sand?
rock
salt
test kits
Distilled water
small power head and turkey baster

Most of all, enjoy it and understand what makes it and why it works that way

 

Reeferdude, you must have some great coupon codes to get all of that for $100 bucks! Care to share with the rest of us?

 

Thank you, very helpful, you have no idea, but I still have two main questions, Should I buy a salt water mix or find other means, other is where can I buy dry rock? Last thing is, can I put any kind of coral on dry rock?
Thanks

 

I'm not sure what you mean about but a salt water mix or find other means? Your lfs has smaller bags of salt to mix with your distilled water to make salt water, you can also buy saltwater from them instead of buying salt, I would buy the salt and make my own if I were you.
Dry rock:
marcorock.com they sell dry sand also
reefcleaners.org they sell dry sand also
Bulk reef supply.com
There are others, I think premium aquatics also sells dry rock

Yes you can put any coral on dry rock, after your cycle is done it will be LR and over time coverd in coraline algea. You will need a lot more for your tank when it comes to coral so don't worry about that right now, your trying to start up on a small buget. You can always upgrade and add after your up and running. Keep just a few fish for now to make things easier for you, or you will find yourself in trouble and not enjoying the hobby.

 

try this article for some decent startup info: E-Course - Saltwater Aquariums 101- Getting Started - How to Set Up a Saltwater Aquarium - Setting Up a Salt Water Aquarium

 

One more thing, get a copper test kit being your converting a fresh over to salt, my guess is it's had de-chlor tap water in it for 5 yrs.