Aquamarine 900 Journal - My First Marine Tank

[ainsy]

Just some thoughts for you...

Yes I would invest in salifert test kits - they are as reliable as you can get in a hobby test kit. (apart from the phosphate test and the kh - which are poor compared to the rest of the range. I would go for the deltec/D-D/Merc one for phos. It is pricey but very, very good. For kh I always liked the Fauna Marin test)

I am glad you are being sensible about waiting for fish - I know it is hard but patience will reward you in the end!

Be careful with the flame - is it in a tank with coral? They can be nippers or completely reef safe and it is just luck of the draw. I have had three over the years and 2 were fine but one needed re-homing as it would nip at just about any coral!

The nutrient export question is a 'how long is a piece of string' type question.

You have a skimmer (I haven't read your other topic yet but it sounds like you are having problems with it?) Which is a good start! Rowa and Purigen in the filter will help but won't remove your nitrates. Just remember to keep your canister filter scrupulously clean as they can be a big source of nitrates.

The refugium/macro algae idea is a good one but I understand not wanting any more stuff in the tank.

If you keep your stocking light (at least to begin with!) many get away with just plenty on live rock (but you need HIGH flow over/around it for it to function at it's best) I see you are planning koralia. I don't have any experience of these as I always used the tunze ones - but if they give a high flow over your live rock they will help.

Ultimately the best way of reducing anything nasty in the water is always water changes.

I always lived by the rule:

The solution to pollution is dilution.

HTH

 

[lljdma06]

J

The solution to pollution is dilution.

HTH

It is the most fabulous rule ever in fishkeeping.

Oooooo, if you're thinking about flow. A good friend of mine actually just tried the new Aqueon line of powerheads. Very cheap and he told me that the Aqueon 500 is no lie, every bit 500gph. First time he ran it, he spilled water everywhere! Koralias are good, but you have to plan that they run at only about 1/2 of the "claimed" output. At least that has been my experience with them. That in mind, they run well and are easy to work with.

L

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

Just some thoughts for you...

Yes I would invest in salifert test kits - they are as reliable as you can get in a hobby test kit. (apart from the phosphate test and the kh - which are poor compared to the rest of the range. I would go for the deltec/D-D/Merc one for phos. It is pricey but very, very good. For kh I always liked the Fauna Marin test)


I am glad you are being sensible about waiting for fish - I know it is hard but patience will reward you in the end!

Be careful with the flame - is it in a tank with coral? They can be nippers or completely reef safe and it is just luck of the draw. I have had three over the years and 2 were fine but one needed re-homing as it would nip at just about any coral!

The nutrient export question is a 'how long is a piece of string' type question.

You have a skimmer (I haven't read your other topic yet but it sounds like you are having problems with it?) Which is a good start! Rowa and Purigen in the filter will help but won't remove your nitrates. Just remember to keep your canister filter scrupulously clean as they can be a big source of nitrates.

The refugium/macro algae idea is a good one but I understand not wanting any more stuff in the tank.

If you keep your stocking light (at least to begin with!) many get away with just plenty on live rock (but you need HIGH flow over/around it for it to function at it's best) I see you are planning koralia. I don't have any experience of these as I always used the tunze ones - but if they give a high flow over your live rock they will help.

Ultimately the best way of reducing anything nasty in the water is always water changes.

I always lived by the rule:

The solution to pollution is dilution.

HTH

lots of brilliant ideas in this post! I shall invest in the test kits that are mentioned here for a start thats the easy thing
As for the flame angel yes it will be in a tank with corals but the one i want is already in a coral tank in the LFS so im hoping his peaceful nature will carry on with me!
I think ive sorted my skimmer out now after a hell of a lot of fiddling around and its picking up quite alot of #106### so far lol....
And the last rule is genius

i think id rather clean my filter every week than have a refugium tbh

J

The solution to pollution is dilution.

HTH

It is the most fabulous rule ever in fishkeeping.

Oooooo, if you're thinking about flow. A good friend of mine actually just tried the new Aqueon line of powerheads. Very cheap and he told me that the Aqueon 500 is no lie, every bit 500gph. First time he ran it, he spilled water everywhere! Koralias are good, but you have to plan that they run at only about 1/2 of the "claimed" output. At least that has been my experience with them. That in mind, they run well and are easy to work with.

L

just check the aqueon range ... £19.00

are they really that good? usually when things are too good to be true they are with me lol

 

[lljdma06]

just check the aqueon range ... £19.00

are they really that good? usually when things are too good to be true they are with me lol

If you want I can ask my friend if he's still satisfied with his Aqueon? I know, it does sound too good to be true. Koralia isn't a bad option, and they are really reliable, I just think their actual gph is about half of what they advertise.

L

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

just check the aqueon range ... £19.00

are they really that good? usually when things are too good to be true they are with me lol

If you want I can ask my friend if he's still satisfied with his Aqueon? I know, it does sound too good to be true. Koralia isn't a bad option, and they are really reliable, I just think their actual gph is about half of what they advertise.

L

Im very intrested if hes still as satisfied as he was on original opening .... aslong as they are quiet, reliable and pack some punch im happy, this is going to be my next purchase as i need alot of flow over my LR.

 

[ainsy]

Glad you got the skimmer sorted.

They sometimes take a little while to 'bed in'. It should be pulling out some really yucky brown/green liquid and the riser tube of the cup should have stuff about the consistency of mud stuck to it.

Selling my twin tunze and wavemaker if you are interested (wouldn't be for £19 though!!!!)

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

yeh i heard they take there time to bed in too how much are u selling that for?

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

UPDATE: Went down my LFS today and spent some hard earned cash

got anuther 12kgs of live rock to go with the 10kgs that i already had in there, still think i need more mind you lol. Dont think i'll ever find my crabs and starfish again now though

pictures

overall view

left

middle

right

 

[ainsy]

Looking good

Yes the small stuff tends to disappear!

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

Looking good

Yes the small stuff tends to disappear!

its sad i loved those crabs! ... guna watch for a spike now adding all that rock will surely provoke one

 

[ainsy]

Depends - were they in a running tank when you bought them? or dry?

If they were from an existing setup and you got them back into your tank in time then you may not notice too much of a spike. Either way just keep testing and be prepared for a water change if you need one.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

in a water bath or well it was more of a big tub with a huge skimmer on it and constant water being pumped around so there would of been some sort of biological bacteria in there... how much though i couldnt tell you

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

moved my live rock around atleast 4 times today need to be happy with it!

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

thought id do a proper update today instead my usual ramblings to catalog my progress upto this point...
SO:

.....
176 Litres of water
2x 36 watt T5 compact White
2x 24 watt T5 compact blue
1x all pond solutions external filter 2000 lph (has 9watt UV no clue if this will even sterilize a fart tbh lol)
1x deltec MCE 300 skimmer (which is the dogs do dahs on my tank!)
1x nano powerhead 960 lph (on loan from a friend will be going back soon)
2x Newave powerheads 3100 lph (arriving tommorow)
1x 200watt aquaone heater
around 27kgs of live rock fully cured

also considering anuther powehead? but if ive worked it out correctly i should have a good turnover (assuming all things work to the lph given).
2000 lph filter
2x 3100 lph powerheads
divided by 180 litres = 45x hourly turnover?
note: i haven't calculated my friends powerhead as it isnt a permanent fixture.

quick photo as i dont want to bore every one with just text!!

test kit results:
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
5ppm nitrate (colour blind slightly so i'll get a friend to confirm this

)
8.2 High range PH

that was from my own test kit, havent got any others as yet but i took 2 samples down to two of my LFS yesterday and they assured me all the other parameters were indeed fine.
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[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]current stock:[/color][/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]9x turbo snails[/color][/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]2x red leg crabs[/color][/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]1x brittle starfish[/color][/font]
[font="Verdana] [/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]now assuming what i have done so far is okay, and that i have the right equipment, id like to start planning ahead now (a month atleast!) and with your suggestions/opinions id like some input on; [/color][/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]a) how to finish my CUC [/color][/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]b) ideal fish to put in my tank 1st [/color][/font][font="Verdana] (ideally id like to start with some percula clownfish)[/font][/color]
[color="#222222"][font="Verdana]
[/font][/color]
[color="#222222"][font="Verdana]thanks to anyone who has put the time to read this wall of text!! [/font]

and who has helped so far in my journey ive learnt so much

 

[lljdma06]

This is coming along really well.

45x turnover is not unreasonable, considering that a lot of power heads only produce at about 1/2 capacity. My tanks tend to have a lot of flow.

So you want clowns. Sorry, not a huge fan of clowns. I know everybody is, I just don't personally think they are so special. But you enjoy your clowns. Good fish to go with clowns...

Something with a different habit. If you get clowns, which are swimmers find fish that have the following habits

1. Rock perchers
2. Cave dwellers
3. Sand sifters

They'll offer something different than clowns behaviorally speaking and more than likely the clown fish will ignore them as they are not going to usually be fish from the same genus. Clownfish, remember, are damsels. Generally speaking, and this is very general, you want to avoid putting fish together than are the same genus or major group. More than likely this will cause aggression, whether they look alike or not. If they are in a similar group, more than likely they'll compete because their behavior will be similar, same environmental niche and all.

L