Coverting My Old Tank

[sven_sol]

Hi all,

let me start off by saying that moving from a fresh water tank to a nano-marine is rather confusing as I'm having conflicting information, so I'm looking for some quality advice before I end up trashing a tank and end up killing fish I've read the pinned pages and living by the "READ MORE!" method for the last couple of weeks. I'll probably learn more in the next few days too..

My plan

I'm looking to convert my old Tropiquarium 68 (70ltr) which has 2 small strip lights (2x and an internal filter. The filter is an older version of this bio-life filter

First of all I'm reading that 70ltrs is too small for a marine, then I see that some on here have tanks that are 12" cubed.

Then I'm reading about skimmers.. important in marine systems, but in some cases not needed. Will my bio-life do all the require filtering so that a skimmer is not necessary?

I've also read that live rock shouldn't be put in for some time (about a few months after cycling is complete) yet I've see a few tanks with rocks in from the outset.

I'll end up having a couple of shrimp, snails and some of the smaller types of fish, think clown fish size - maybe some invertabrates too. (Japaneese Kio Company near Hitchin, UK, has a great little one in the front of the shop !)

Thanks everyone,

 

[bunjiweb]

70L tank would be fine for some corals and a pair of clowns and maybe 1 other fish, that is if you have a protein skimmer. As for inverts, shrimp and snails would be fine, as well as hermit crabs if you want them.

Just bare in mind that whatever you do you will have to keep a close eye on the parameters and do regular freshwater top-ups and fairly regularly water changes.

What you appear to have read about Live-Rock is rubbish. If the live-rock is "cured", i.e. Live, then it should go into your tank as soon as the salt is fully disolved and the temperature is correct and stable. (about 72Hrs). You will want to turn your skimmer on at this point. Check your levels and if it is good quality live-rock you should find that they are perfect within a week, so you can add your cleanup crew as soon as ammonia and nitrite is zero and nitrate is low.

If you buy uncured live-rock, or rock that doesnt appear to have much visible life on it then you should do the same as above, however you will find alot more much collected by your skimmer and it will take longer for the levels to reach zero.

Have you thought about what kind of sand bed you want? Are you going for a bare bottom or a deep sand bed? If you go somewhere in between it will cause you problems. I personally like a sand bed of about 6cm or more, but if you dont want lots of sand then go for literally 1cm or less. A Deep sand bed builds up di-nitrafying bacteria which can be beneficial and seems to have worked to good effect in my 15 Gallon tank. I just stir the top couple of centimeters of sand once a week.

Ben

 

[sven_sol]

Cheers, Ben!

Been thinking about substrate, and would probably go for the deeper option. Is it possible to slope the level, i.e. smaller at the front?

So whats with the skimmer? Are there certain setups where they are not required? If all nanos needs one, would my filter do the job, or am I completly missing the point as to what a skimmer does?

Cheers,

Sven

 

[bunjiweb]

A skimmer removes excess proteins from the water before it gets to the filter - very useful in my opinion. It will however also draw out other things which are in excess in the water, even plankton, additives etc.

If you are planning to have fish in the tank you deffinately need a skimmer along with weekly water changes. If you are going just for corals/inverts you could get away without a skimmer but would still need to do weekly water changes.

I'm not totally sure on the specifics of the tropiquarium, however i seem to remember it has a tight-fitting hood, so a hang-on skimmer is inviable. You will probably have to go for a little internal skimmer such as the Tunzeo Nano skimmer or an air-driven skimmer from TMC Sander or Interpet Red-Sea.

Ben

 

[sven_sol]

Hi Ben,

yea, my search for knowledge has continuted and I now know what a skimmer actually does. Its a must for the plans that I have.

I've been having a look around and the Prizm seems to be the best bet for the tank. Need to find a cheap one now!

I'm also thinking about puting some blue lights for moonlight effect for night viewing, but thats for a few months time when I finally have it up and running.

Thanks for the tips Ben, very much appreciated... if you can tell me ANYTHING else on me next time I'm over in Cheltenham (should'nt be too long, have some friends moving that way in a month or so!)

Thanks again!!

Sven

 

[bunjiweb]

Feel free to drop in I will do the best I can

If you can fit a prizm skimmer go for the skimmer deluxe which retails at around £129.99, but has the proper surface skimmer included so is much more efficient, just make sure you adjust it so it isn't at full speed.

As for night viewing you could think about drilling a hole in your hood for a blue or red LED or 2 for night viewing. Inverts can't see red so it would make for best night viewing.

Ben

 

[sven_sol]

I'm scouting around on ebay, seeing if I can find anything. Seems to be a few out there, gonna try my luck.

Thanks again Ben!

Sven