first salt

Pretty easy! Just clean it out and fill it with salt water!

Do you have any filters, pumps, lights, etc? It's generally a good idea to avoid canister filters like Fluvals for salt tanks. Are you wanting to build an overflow?

For lights, you would just want to make sure you have the appropriate wattage and spectrum range for whatever you're keeping. Heaters are all the same.

 

If it does not have holes drilled already you will want to use an overflow box with a sump then placed below the tank usually in the stand. Typically you will want to use the largest sump you can fit into the stand. The overflow box will move water from the tank to the sump via a siphon. You do have to be careful with overflow boxes as they can clog or the siphon can break. This can put you at risk of your tank overflowing. Just do your research on them. I ran an overflow box for about 2 years and never had an issue. Let us know if you have further questions.

 

Skip the canister filter, bad chemistry happens in them with salt water.

If you could snap some pics of the setup we could help with some more guidance. I'm thinking if the LEDs are integrated into the tank they might not be reef-compatible. Perhaps good for fish-only tanks.

 

Yep! Those are all universal for the most part. A HOB filter is good to go for what you want.

 

Hang-on-back skimmers exist as well. In my mind this is more important than a HOB filter, but no reason you can't do both.

 

Given that you have room under the 60 in the stand it may at least be worth your time to look into using a sump. This helps keep equipment out of your main tank and gives you more room then. It also would give you more water volume. More water volume is good because it will help with stability. It takes longer for water chemistry to change if you have more water. There are multiple ways you can go. Just do a little bit of research and/or ask a lot of questions. You will figure out what set up you like the best. This is a good place to ask questions.

 

? not sure what you meant here, I have drilled some 10gal tanks to use in a nursery setup I put together.