Beginners Setup Help

[fowler]

Right, I went to my LFS today, and I just could not resist staring at the whole host of marines and just thinking.. Ive gotta have some of them..

Firstly, I spoke to someone and they suggested if I was restricted to a budget that I just keep fish and not corals, etc.. which is fine by me as tbh fish are enough to deal with on their own..

Now I like the idea of just having a few, most beautiful fish to look after and im very keen to just sit and watch them and also look after them.. but as usual I have a few questions..

Ive got room for a 48" tank, now considering marine's prefer shallow tanks, what should I be looking to buy, if I was after FW id of bought a 90 GAL which would be 24" tall.. but is this too tall for marines?

Secondly. Im aware of the heating requirements, I intend to use 2 x 150w heaters at either end of the tank..

but whats really puzzling me is the options with filtration... now im sure this is the BIG ONE to get right.. ive seen under gravel filters and thought ok, one of them under my white gravel would be ok.. but surely id need some internal/external filters aswell, any advice on this one?

Thirdly, heaters and filters aside, what sort of lighting requirements do the marines have, are they fussy or is it just down to whether I have any living plants or not..

if you could answer a few of these id be greatfull.. many thanks

 

[scarface1979]

1stly u want a tank that is wide 2 foot if u can depth 2foot aswell i would say tho i am thinking of getting a new 6 foot tank with thw idth 3 foot wide and the depth 3 foot.

2ndly don't use undergravel filter, be looking to get a sump to have a deep sand bed with the use of a skimmer, could use the berlin method of live sand and live rock and a really gud hang on skimmer like the delta mec600, but u deffo want live rock in yer tank and live sand imo and a very gud skimmer and use ro water not tap water.

3rdly make a plan of things and post it and see what people think and can advise cos i just dived str in and it took me 5 months to sort my tank out and nowt worse than looking at an empty tank for 5 months.

4thly as for heaters i don't use them what so ever but this depends on the room heat and what other equipment u have running ie pumps, tho i mite need to use a heater later on in the year cos of the winter season

people use different methods to look after marines gotta find the rite one for u.


deano

 

[fowler]

Yeah, well max I can have is 48 " wide tank and 18 " Deep.. tall isnt really an issue so id need some advice on that really..

If im honest I cant afford loads of live rock so I would be going for a Fish Only setup to start with.. but I definately want a sump with all the relevant pumps in place..

What can you use for a sump? B)

 

[scarface1979]

a 3 foot tank for the sump and make the divdies your self, even if u are only having fish only tank still should use live rock as a form of filtertion even if its in your sump


deano

 

[fowler]

a 3 foot tank for the sump and make the divdies your self, even if u are only having fish only tank still should use live rock as a form of filtertion even if its in your sump


deano

Is their any descriptions or guides about how to setup a sump, I mean I dont have a clue how they work...

newb

I can see that they aid the tank in that water capacity is increaced etc.. but can u put everything in the sump, and do u need to divide it and in what order etc..

 

[Chac]

Hi Fowler

HAve a look at this Link it may help you out

Have you looked at Skimmers & Lighting yet

Also I would get some decent marine books as well

 

[bunjiweb]

I think that you may find using an actual sump a lot of hard work. You dont need a sump at all.

Get a few KGs of live rock in your tank, then fill the rest of it with ocean rock. Get a nice big external filter and fill that with crushed live rock or "alfagrog" (a porous man-made filter media).

Ben

 

[Chac]

Must admint I am with Ben on this

If you are on a budget I persoanlly would do away with the Sump (Yes I know how great they are) but I would go sumpless - saving yourself hassle & money

Just my Opinion

 

[AaronD]

1stly u want a tank that is wide 2 foot if u can depth 2foot aswell i would say tho i am thinking of getting a new 6 foot tank with thw idth 3 foot wide and the depth 3 foot.

are you having a laugh? 2' wide by 2' deep and say its 4' long, that equals 120 (US) gallons! (fowler) a beginner is not going to be able to afford to set up a tank this size, and im pretty sure a 3ft sump will be out of the question as well!

Be realistic mate. Not everyones got hundreds to spend or the skills to do plumbing etc.

2nd what Ben said..

also, dont forget about the weight if your going to get tanks 4ft or bigger. They weigh a LOT. Ive just had to give up a 5ft in my room because of the weight

 

[bunjiweb]

The minimum marine tank size we usually reccomend at work is a Juwel Rio 125, although having said that my first and currently only marine tank is a 15gallon tank. If you do the research you can start at either end of the spectrum, be it 15 or 150 gallons. Just whatever you do, DONT rely on the LFS knowledge. DONT start up without researching properly, and DONT rush into it!

As i said sumps, calcium reactors, DSB filters, and UV steralizers are all pointless additions on your first tank. Unless you have a spare few thousand pounds to throw at the project.

All you need to remember is not to skimp on live rock and filtration, and remember that lighting can also be helpful to help grow all those important algaes and to help grow your corals well (meaning optimum secretion).

Ben

 

[Navarre]

I would neever try and tell a person NOT to go for a large system.. telling them to get a smaller system only costs more in the ong term as they will inevitably want to upgrade and purchase things all over again.
Agreed, the liverock expense alone can be a huge issue for large tanks but you have to make a comprimise on getting the largest tank possible in partnership with what you can afford on liverock and powerheads etc.

Always try and aim for the largest system you can realistically afford. The larger the system the easier they are to keep.


My 4x2x2 tank cost £250. the extra liverock cost £220, 2 extra powerheads 2x £30. The sump was an old 3ft tank (free) and the partitions (acrylic) cost £4.
The tank stand cost £50
The pipework for the plumbing £25


a total of Approx £580 for a 100 gallon setup. Considering my 40 gallons reef setup cost me £1,500 when ifirst entered marines i now feel confident that larger tanks can be run on a decent budget. As long as you are not duped by less reputable shops you can create effective systems on a fraction of what they quote you.

 

[AaronD]

I would neever try and tell a person NOT to go for a large system.. telling them to get a smaller system only costs more in the ong term as they will inevitably want to upgrade and purchase things all over again.

100% agreed. The bigger the tank is always better, FW or SW. Size does ultimately determine cost i think though. And there is other conderations i think, such as praticality, and risks involved. Just imagine 100g over the floor! lol, which is very easy to do i think if your new to fishkeeping with ext filters etc. Just think beginners to aquariums should be aware of all downsides (as well as advantages) to large tanks.

just my 2 pence

navarre, were did you get a 4x2x2 stand for £50!?

ps, ive had to pospone my reef tank for now. The 5ft i bought is going to be another mbuna tank downstairs
had some issues with floor level and weight, better safe than sorry i thought (house is 120 years old)

bigger and better plan is to follow though

 

[Navarre]

navarre, were did you get a 4x2x2 stand for £50!? smile.gif

B&Q Mate, I made my own

Im a firm beleiver in trying to to do things as cost effective as possible as long as it doesnt comprimise the well being of the stock

Not a great piccy sorry but this was the finished stand.

 

[AaronD]

navarre, were did you get a 4x2x2 stand for £50!? smile.gif

B&Q Mate, I made my own

Im a firm beleiver in trying to to do things as cost effective as possible as long as it doesnt comprimise the well being of the stock

Not a great piccy sorry but this was the finished stand.

Great work

i love cost effective DIY,