equipment setup for first tank

[pipatic]

hi all new here and just setting up,
here a list of what i have so far,

juwel rio 240 beech built in filter 600 l pump

The lighting unit is an arcadia overtank 3x t8 luminare

skimmer is an aqua medic multi proffesional skimmer

fluval 303 external cannister filter to back it up

heater,
2 power heads,

ocean rock,
hydrometer,
had 4 5gal of water from the tank from the prevouis owner

salted r.o water i am buying from lfs to fill the rest of the tank,

so what do you guy's an girls think,
next for some live rock

 

[pipatic]

live rock next or clean up crew and 2 small fish ???
been told so far if i go the live rock way, two power head wont be enough in that the tank needs to turn over 10-15 times per hour ??

 

[chkltcow]

What's the flow rate on the powerheads?

If you're gonna have to buy new powerheads, look at the Seio powerheads, or if you've got some money to burn, the Tunze Stream powerheads. Both are great because they have a wide area of water movement, not a linear stream. It's hard to explain without you putting your hand in front of one to feel it, but it's really amazing how much water those things can move.

 

[pipatic]

there 1x 700 1x 600, plus the one in the rio 240 filter=600 l pump,

 

[chkltcow]

The return from your Fluval would also count, but not for much. The thing you're looking for is turbulence and general water movement. If I were you, I'd pick up a pair of Seio 820's and hang them in the back corners pointing toward the front center.

What exactly are the dimensions of that tank?

 

[pipatic]

Volume: approx. 240 litres

Juwel Filter System: Standard H

Aquarium Size: 121L x 55H x 41W cm

found out that the built in filter is run with a 600l pump too

 

[pipatic]

been doing a bit of working out here whats in the tank now ,
Fluval 303 extern 1000 litres per h
2 power heads 600 @ 700 l.p.h
big pump 600l poss more
built in rio fliter pump 600l
prism skimmer pump 600l
= 4100 l.p.h

do you think thats is enough ?
do i need more ?

 

[Navarre]

Hi pipatic

The tank you have holds a volume of 260ltrs. This means you need a minimum of 2600 ltrs per hour turnover. You fall well within this bracket so you can feel relatively safe that the flow through the tank is high enough for most corals/fish.

As far as the nxt step is concerned. Definately go for liverock. Your ocean rock is dead and will offer o filtration capacity when compared to the liverock. I have 2 pieces of Oceanrock in my system and although they look nice they do not offern any extra filtration capacity at all.With a tank of this size im afraid your liverock wont be cheap. Most placess charge around £12-£13 per kilo and you are going to need 1 lb of liverock for every 2 gallons of water minimum. Your tank is 57 gallons so 29kg of liverock will be sufficient.

If you live near Warrington I do know of a place that sells liverock for £8 kilo and its top grade quality liverock which is fully cured and ready to rock and roll. (PM me for details if you are interested)


Once the liverock is added then i would look at cleanup crew. This consists of hermits and snails mostly. The usual rule of thumb is 1 cleanup per gallon of water. Again this can be costly but well worth the expense IMO.

Once this has been achieved then you can start stocking with fish etc.

Good luck wiht the setup

 

[pipatic]

pm sent
my l.f.s does charge 12.50 per kilo ,


forgot to say when i got this setup there was a few hermit crabs(5 or 6) and couple of snails, which are moving around nicely,
think the filter may be carrying some good bactia aswell but treating it as non ?

 

[Navarre]

Im not sure what type of hermit this is but i would advise a tank full of redlegs. If you are travelling to warrington then i know bluelegs are readily available so perhaps a tank full of bluelegs wll be better. try not to mix blue and reds though as the blues do tend to be aggressive.

 

[pipatic]

yeah pic not very good,

traveling to warrington, yup i ve pm him,awaiting a response now