Dai+Gems Journey To The Salty Side

[daiandgems]

Hiya after weeks of nagging i have finally been given the go ahead to start my marine tank quest.We have two freshwater tanks but this is our first marine so we have decided on the orca 550 which upon reading seems to be a good place to start i have made a shopping list of possible things i will need to get so here goes
Tank and stand Refractometer
Maxi jet 1200 powerhead
Hydor koralia 2
Magnet
10-15kg uncured/cured live rock not really sure which advice would be great
2.5kg live rock rubble to replace ceramic rings in back chamber
10kg live sand again not sure on live sand

Thats the list so far so if anyone can add or give me links to purchase items i would be grateful also which salt is best to use thanks

Dai+Gems.

 

[Harry1996]

ok first of all to the salty side. the list look ok.
i would go with cured live rock because your tank will cycle quicker
also i would go for 15 kilos but you may get more if you thing you do. the least amount of live rock you can have in that tank is about 13kilos.
i would go for 2 koralia ones because you can direct the flow better.
ok live sand some people dont like it some do like it. i got live sand because i couldnt be botherd to wash the dry stuff.
but its cheaper to normal dry sand.
this was the live sand i used in my juwel 125 tank http/www.coralculture.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=70_99_283_285&products_id=3299 but i think it was the 20lb one
i think most people buy aragamax sand.
i got refractometer from here http/www.reefstore.co.uk/cart/Deltec-Refractometer-pr-16527.html
im not sure on salt because i buy salted ro water.
the best way to do marine tanks is to take it nice and slow. so what type of tank are you having reef or fish only?

 

[Morri]

Hi and welcome to the Salty side the TL550 is a good tank to start its big enough to hold a few fish and the lights are good enough to keep most Softies, LPS I even managed to keep some easy to keep SPS in there.

I would definatly go for cured rock if you can there are always people breaking tanks down and selling there matured LR off at half price arounf £5 a kilo flea bay or UR

I personaly am not a fan of adding LR into the rear chambers as the flow in them is not great and you could end up with a nitrate farm in the back but I do know some people do like this

The Maxi-Jet upgrade is a good one in my eyes but is not an essetial if you are getting a second hand tank then its worth considering

The Hydors Koralias are good circulation pumps if i started up a TL550 again i think I would buy 2 x Koralia 1s as you can manage the flow direction alot more but a 2 will do the job I ended up adding a Koralia nano to the tank to increase flow arounf the back of the rocks with 2 x 1`s i would not have needed

Live sand or not to live sand first thing I would say if buying second hand do not keep the sand in the tank it will be full of nitrates etc and it will take months to get them down (personal experience ) I have used both Live and non Live sand little diffrence in my eyes but the Caribsea live sand has a nice mix of fine and course bits which looks a little more natural.

A few other things to consider are you going to buy your RO water or produce your own I started by buying my Saltwater from my LFS but have moved onto a RO unit now I have a bigger tank

Test kits most people I know use the Salferi test kits there are others available but these in general seem the better ones you will need Ammonia, Nitrate, PH and Nitrite to start these tests will show you when your tank is ready for the first critters

There are a few more but you wont need to worry about them for a few weeks.

Another thing to consider is adding chaeto to one of the rear chambers this will extract a lot of the phosphates and nitrates from the tank but will need to be lit.

Also the Blue LEDs in the TL550 where a little lacking in my eyes so I added a strip of waterproof LEDs from flea bay for better moonlighting

once you get the tank make sure all the sponges are out of the back chambers these are quiet deep and once the tank is in place a pain to get out

Lets to take on board with these marines but a very rewarding hobby much better than tropical in my opionion

 

[daiandgems]

cheers for your advice will defo get 2 koralia 1s now and with the chaeto if i put a strip of white leds in with them will this be sufficiant light and i will also purchase some blue leds from fleabay

 

[seffieuk]

Diaandgems, apologies for my late welcome to the salty side of life

Seffie x

 

[Morri]

1 strip would be enough yes but I paid a few pound more and picked up 2 strips off 1 plug so the light went all the way to the bottom

 

[daiandgems]

cool i will order some soon along with the blue leds also how much chaeto will i need. Also which chamber shall i put it in when i get the tank and how long should it be lit for sorry for all the questions jus wanna get my head round everything before i buy anything.

 

[Morri]

No worries was the same myself when I started its best to ask questions

I lit mine for 24 hours Chaeto believe it or not should be acclimtised the same as a invert or coral you will not need masses about the size of a fist idealy you want a nice tight bunch any chamber will do except for the skimmer or heater chamber

Best to ask your LFS for chaeto depends on the LFS never paid more than a fiver for a huge bag

 

[daiandgems]

Forgot to say thanks for the welcome guys and morri what size strip of blue and white leds did you use thanks.

 

[Morri]

Will see if I can find the link was a flea bay speacial

 

[daiandgems]

cheers

 

[Harry1996]

i was going to buy the same tank but i didnt. here are the leds i was going to buy http/www.ultraleds.co.uk/water-proof-strip-blue-p-1360.html you can get them in 24 48 96 and 120 white or blue

 

[karigupi]

Welcome to the salty side, planning a new tank is so exciting

 

[daiandgems]

Thanks morri for the link will be purchaseing them soon

 

[daiandgems]

Hiya guys went to a local reef shop the other day and seen the orca 550 up and running got me all excited now lol . will hopefully be buying within next couple of weeks . jus wondering should i buy a v2 nano skimmer to upgrade the one it comes with and wot about rowaphos? cheers guys