1st Marine Tank - Need Tons Of Advice Please!

[Bonsai_girl]

Hi all,

Ok, I've got a spare 40 (UK) gal tank (182l / 48 US gal) and I'd like to have a go at my first marine. Years of FW experience and some brackish, but no marine as yet.

I want to go FOWLR at first - don't want to do corals in this tank, but do want live rock.

I'm not sure what fish I'll have in there, but I'd like some advice on what equipment I'll need, preferably broken down into "absolutely necessary" and "just useful" if possible Here's what I have already:

Tank (40/48 gal)
Eheim Classic 2215 filter
Heater
Hydrometer (from having brackish)
Marine salt

I also have a spare Fluval 305 if that needs to be added to the tank in addition to the Eheim.

I've read through equipment lists elsewhere, so I'm aware of RO units, skimmers, UV sterilisers and so on, but even so I'm not sure what's absolutely necessary and what can be added once it's up and running, or even what's just nice to have! I'm aware I'll need about 20kg LR, but also want enough space for swimming (the fish, not me! )

Equipment list for a bare-bones FOWLR tank would be so very useful!

Thanks in advance

Becs

 

[n3ont3tra]

So, for a basic list of equiptment you'll need:
- a basic light, nothing fancy is necessary for a fowlr
- live rock about 1lb/gallon. more or less depending on preferences
- powerheads - for water movement so the live rock can do its job. For reef tanks you'll want about 20x the tanks volume in gph, but you can get away with much less with a fowlr
- heater
- salt - most people use instant ocean but there's tons of other brands too
- sand - usually better than crushed coral/gravel. you could always go barebottom if you wanted

You might want a RO system if you plan on having a reef later on. Or you could buy water from your lfs but its generally cheaper in the long run to buy an RO unit.

A skimmer isn't necessary but it's very useful on keeping down nitrates.

UV sterilizers aren't necessary either but they can be useful to help with certain diseases or algae.


I know I'm forgetting some things but that should give you a pretty good start. If you haven't already, take a look at some of the pinned topics.

 

[Bonsai_girl]

n3ont3tra - thanks so much! I guess I forgot a few other bits I have:

Lights - two bog-standard 30w FW lights from when the tank was used for FW
Spray-bar - not as good as a powerhead, but moves a far bit of water round

From what you've said it suggests I don't need to use RO water straight away? Is that right, or have I misinterpreted?

Also, from what you've said, all I'm missing so far is the live rock, marine sand (I've got tons(!) of fw sand, but that's no use!) and a decent powerhead. I'll probably get a skimmer too.

Would that sound about right? Is my filter powerful enough for a marine?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well an exact equipment list will be difficult at best to come up with since the choice of livestock (both present and future) tends to influence the nitty gritty details of hardware. But I'll list the basic requirements first, then the very nice to haves and lastly just the nice to haves.

Required

LR about 20kg's as you've said
Sand (amount depends on the footprint but somewhere between 10 and 30lbs likely. DO NOT waste $$ on live sand)
DIY Calibration solution for your hydrometer (I don't trust those things as far as I can spit)
Powerheads for water circulation (number, type, and size dependent on livestock chosen)
Decent light (maybe a pair of T8 lamps with 10000K or 12000K bulbs would look nice)
Test kits for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH
Quarantine tank with sponge filter just in case (even a 10g is better than nothing)
Patience of a saint

Very nice to haves
RO unit (not having one and you'll be very prone to algae blooms. If you do want corals ever, you'll need one)
Phosphate remover (rowaphos, phosban, or other GFO type media that can be put in your canister to prevent algae blooms)
Feather Culerpa (nice to look at, keeps phosphates down, easily pruned)
Phosphate test kit (do we see a theme?)
Refractometer (far more reliable than a cheap hydrometer)

Nice to haves
Protein skimmer (if planning on HARD corals, move this up to the required, softies, move up to the very nice to have. Also required for messy predators)
Sump (if you ever plan on having corals, I'd move this up to the must have. Ask BigC or Garybuk who recently discovered what a pain it is to try and install one after the tank is up and running)

You sure can do a FOWLR pretty low-tech. Notice that I listed patience up in the required and a lot of algae fighting methods in the very nice section. If you have patience and stock painfully slowly, properly QTing new additions and allow the biology of the LR to mature, you can get away without a lot of those algae fighting measures. If you go to fast, you'll be fighting the algae, so beware that. Otherwise my only advice is to start researching whatever specemins you like. Did you have any livestock ideas yet?

 

[Bonsai_girl]

SkiFletch,

Thank you for the list - extremely useful!

I'll probably end up going reef at some point in the future, but not now and probably not in this tank. It's something I think I'll work my way up to in time.

Other than algae, are the problems with not having RO? I was led to believe there are also harmful chemicals in even dechlorinated tap water that affects marines more than FW fish.

Livestock-wise, I know two types of FW fish best....catfish and puffers. Catfish are clearly out of the question, so I'd probably start looking at puffers, though that's not a definite at this point. Choice is limited puffer-wise due to the size of the tank, so I'd be restricted to the Canthigaster species. This would also prevent the addition of inverts. I'll probably go for a protein skimmer anyway, but if I do stick with puffers it's even more necessary.

 

[SkiFletch]

No, not really bonsai girl. The one exception would be if your tapwater has abnormally high nitrates, and this varies by locale.

If you're into puffers, look at the "Valentini" puffer as they're good ones with other fish

 

[Bonsai_girl]

No, not really bonsai girl. The one exception would be if your tapwater has abnormally high nitrates, and this varies by locale.

If you're into puffers, look at the "Valentini" puffer as they're good ones with other fish

No abnormally high nitrates here - my tapwater parameters are: NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 0, pH 8.4, KH 6, GH 6. So I'm guessing I should be ok on that front.

I need to do more research, but as far as I know all the Canthigaster species should be ok with other fish. Of course, I might go a whole different route and try something new

Thanks very much for your help - you and n3ont3tra have made this a lot less intimidating a prospect for me

 

[SkiFletch]

Glad we could help . That tapwater sounds ok to use. You'll have but one "issue" if you can even call it that. With a KH that high, when you combine sea salt mix and your tapwater and use a powerhead to stir it up, you'll likely get a white crust on whatever bucket/bin/container you mix the water in from the resulting supersaturation and precipitation reaction that will occur. This is normal and nothing to worry about, just know it will happen and don't freak out when it does

 

[Bonsai_girl]

Ok, is this likely to result in faster than normal evap from the tank too?

I've thought of another series of question if you (or anyone else so inclined) have the time.....

- What lph powerhead should I be looking at in a tank my size (48 US gal)?

- Am I right in thinking a non-coral set-up is ok with T8s rather than needing T5s?

- Should I bother doing 'something' about the KH (not sure what as the only softening measures I know of would lower pH too)?

- Should I rely on live rock as the only filtration, or combine it with the Eheim?

- How expensive a skimmer should I look for? I read somewhere that you should aim for the most expensive/best you can afford....

I think that's it for now.....I'm sure I'll think of more in time. Pain in the bum, huh? Thanks for being so patient with a marine newbie.

 

[FlameHawk]

Ok, is this likely to result in faster than normal evap from the tank too?

I've thought of another series of question if you (or anyone else so inclined) have the time.....

- What lph powerhead should I be looking at in a tank my size (48 US gal)?

- Am I right in thinking a non-coral set-up is ok with T8s rather than needing T5s?

- Should I bother doing 'something' about the KH (not sure what as the only softening measures I know of would lower pH too)?

- Should I rely on live rock as the only filtration, or combine it with the Eheim?

- How expensive a skimmer should I look for? I read somewhere that you should aim for the most expensive/best you can afford....

I think that's it for now.....I'm sure I'll think of more in time. Pain in the bum, huh? Thanks for being so patient with a marine newbie.

Sorry I can't answer all your questions but here's a few.
You do not need strong lighting in a tank without corals.
Reverse Osmosis is really the best way to make sure your water is in good shape as far as kh and ph go. The salt mix will have everything the water [at a ph of 7.0] needs to have the right parameters, and will prevent tons of algae blooms.
In my experience, a good canister filter in very nice to have. I have the Rena xp2 and it really helps keep my tank nice and clear.
A good skimmer is the Coralife Super Skimmer. You do want to over rate your skimmer, meaning get one that works for a bigger tank than what you have. Whatever you do, DON'T GET A Prizm!

 

[SkiFletch]

- Evaporation is your friend, helps keep the tank cool in the summer but don't worry about that provided you keep an open top or a vented hood.

- I'd lean towards two powerheads totalling 1000gph for approximately 20x turnover per hour. Look into Hydor Koralia or Tunze Nanostream pumps for this. Having two is great in case one fails

- T8's is fine. The fish and rock will "look" much better with a 10000K or 12000K marine type tube as opposed to a 5000K or 6700K usually used in freshwater.

- Nothing to worry about with the kH

- LR is your main filtration, the eheim is useful to scrub particulates and as a chemical filter if you ever choose to. Just clean it frequently to keep nitrates down

- On your side of "The Pond" I'd look into the TMC V2 skimmers. They're a tad bit tempermental with microbubbles, but the price is right... If you can afford it though, the Deltec MCE300 is where you'd really want to go. The Tunze 9002 is also a good skimmer, but its internal and takes up significant tank real-estate.

 

[Bonsai_girl]

Ok thanks FlameHawk and SkiFletch

I'll definitely look into the V2s.....what're your thoughts on Aqua Medics?

Is it worth me increasing salinity in the tank over the next few weeks, from FW to BW to SW, to preserve some of the filter bacteria, or just shut it all down and start from scratch?

What about additives? There seems to be absolutely tons of stuff I've got to add to the water....?

 

[SkiFletch]

The FW and SW bacteria are wholly different so you might as well shut it down, clean it out really good and start from scratch.

Don't concern yourself with additives if you're going FOWLR, waste of time. Bout the only thing useful to you would be some vitamin suppliments for your fish

 

[Bonsai_girl]

I do vits anyway, owning puffers, so that's not a problem.

I may as well shut it down today (got nothing better to do, being off work! ) and start again.

Yay! All very exciting.....

Thanks so much for all the help.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Sorry to hijack your thread a little bit, but are the puffers you are currently keeping freshwater puffers, or brackish?