Confusion!

[tr0p1cal]

SO ive made a couple of posts about me switching my tropical tank to marine, its a 4x2x2. Ive saved about £300 in the last few weeks so aiming to get sumwhere with it next month, but im just looking to find out an exact cost of what to buy.

so as far as i know i need the following.

Tank
Skimmer ( have read some pple do it without one, whats the difference? i have no idea whats a good one or how the work)
sand
Live rock ( am i ok starting with just 25kilos as i will be buying it from the LFS )
Powerheads ( so i know i need 20x turnover atleast, am i better with 2 or 3? )
lights ( going to upgrade my lights from 2xt5 and 2xt8 to 6xt5 with reflectors )
Refractometer
Salt
Test kits

i have 2 external filters on my tropical tank, an FX5 and a tetratec 1200, some people say keep them for carbon and phosphates, but ive read there just a nitrate trap, so really dont wanna use one if possible, also because im not running a sump its an extra tube in the tank i can do without.

also i have a problem with temperature, its hard for me to get it down to 25degrees, its mainly about 27-28, is this gonna be a problem if its constant. i have a warm terraced house and stryggly with cooling it down. im not sure if there is any fans which can go under your hood?

is the tank find with a clean of just water? do i need to do something else to it.

Hopefully i can get underway next month and start a journal so you guys can help me out, just have to decorate my lounge first, paint the walls and new flooring, was part of my bargaining tool with the girlfriend for letting me spend all this money!!

thanks for the help.

 

[weezawoo]

Hi

You would be ok getting your LR a bit at a time as its very expensive from your lfs. Are there no reefers breaking down a tank near you? Just be aware that adding extra LR at another date can cause a mini cycle in the tank depending on how cycled it is.

I have 2 powerheads in my 6 foot tank and so far flow has been good. But the more random the flow the better I believe.

Are you buying your water from your lfs? If so you will probably spend the same amount on the initial fill as it would cost to buy yourself a RO unit to make your own water.

I think as long as the temp is kept stable and not fluctuating too much it should be ok. It is mainly stability in most things that matter!

I cleaned my tank with white vinegar then a good rinse with hot water then cold water! Just to get rid of any nasties!

 

[tr0p1cal]

yeah i will be buying the water from the LFS, from what i understand about an RO Unit i wont have the space to store the water

ive been looking for tank breakdowns but not seen much in my area atm, everything is either far north of down dorset way. i always end up payin more for stuff and getting it from the shop, i kinda trust the LFS in what hes selling me but a guy from an advert could give me anything, i wouldnt know as im new to it.

 

[woody88]

I would go for 3 powerheads. Use one powerhead and your FX5 to agitate the water surface as this will create good gas exchange and help keep your ph up. The other 2 powerheads aim downwards into the tank for flow amongst the rock.

You can install a couple of cooling fans above the tank and it would also be good to have the light suspended above the tank so air can get in between. If you live in a hot climate then expect to get daily water evaporation and salt creep. You will need plain RO water for top ups so make sure you always have some (have you got an RO unit?). I would also check the salt level (SG) daily.

Regarding the FX5 then just use that on it's own with some chemical media in (rowaphos, carbon etc and some LR rubble) the rubble will need rinsing weekly to reduce the risk of nitrates building up and your chemical media replacing monthly.

6 T5's will support most softies and some lps coral.

I would go for 3 10,000K daylight tubes, 1 pink and 2 actinic (blue).

As for sand don't fall for the live sand gimmick as it won't become live until your LR has seeded it.

You can get LR in small amounts but don't add any live stock until you have all the rock you need as depending on die off you may throw your tank into a series of mini cycles whilst adding rock over a long period.

To work out how much rock you need simply work out how many gallons your tank holds then half that and how much LR you need in kg for it to biologically filter the water adequately depending on flow.

Hope this helps.