new saltwater setup

Question
I am thinking about turning my freshwater tank into a saltwater and wanted to do soft corals but need some help.  I have a 100 galon tank and a Fluval 404 and have been doing CO2 injection for my plants, and using 2 floresent bulbs for the light.  I was wondering if the fluval 404 will b ok to stay with or if I need a bigger filter or an aditional filter? If i need more what do you segest?  (I do like the canister filters, and would like to stay with them if possible.)  How much sand do I need on the bottom? and about how much liverock, and what is the best way to put it agenst the glass or in the middle of the tank away from the glass?  What are some good corals to start with? and will floresent lights be ok? If so how many do you sedgest? IF nto what if I mix floresent with another kind?   I need to keep the electricity down as low as I can.  I have never done anything with saltwater before so any info you can help me with will be greatly appreciated for anything from where to put the tank (in sun or no) to fish to get.  (The tank measures about 24" deep 18" thick and 5' long.)  If you could help me out I would greatly apreciate it.


Answer
Hi Chris,

    Wow! There are many questions to be answered and the best way to answer all of them is to send you to a site that will have all the answers you need. Go to www.about.com. Click on"games and hobbies". On the next page all the way down to the bottom left, you will see "saltwater aquariums". This site is run by stan and debbie hauter. Take the "101" course as a start and go from there. There is a lot to learn in order to be successful, but the key with saltwater is PATIENCE. If you are not willing to wait at least a month to start putting live creatures,[ besides a couple of damsels, live sand and live rock ] you will not have a great deal of success. The tank has to cycle before you can populate it or tragedy can occur. Take your time and enjoy, gerry.