FW to Marine tank conversion

[4DDM]

Hi all, newbie on this section of the forum. I have always wanted to setup a marine system but deemed it too complicated and expensive. I did a massive amount of research before I brought my 210l Rena aquarium about a year ago. I read up about marine and tropical setups and have always tried to continue expanding my knowledge. I only live in a 1 bed flat at the moment but when I move to a house, in the New Year, with a bit more space, I plan to upgrade to a marine environment. I think that with the additional space I will be in a better position to maintain a marine setup.

I read the really helpful sticky about the basics and plan to start purchasing and making various bits and pieces that I need to convert. I just have a few questions:

1.What is the minimum size a sump should be as a % of the tank size?

2.Is the practice with a sump to hang various filter media in the water or place sealed power filters in the sump itself?

3.When it comes to return pumps should I buy a pump designed for aquarium use or are conventional submersible pumps okay?

4.Do you ever need to siphon off water through a substrate clean or will the clean up crew do that? Water changes are just water changes?

5.I have read that some plumbing is not suitable for Aquariums due to coatings they use on the pipes, is this true and how do I know what to avoid?

Thanks all for your time and I look forward to talking to you in the coming year.

Adam.

 

[impur]

1. There really is no minimum size, but go with largest you can fit in the stand. Any added volume helps.

2. The sump provides additional water volume to the system. Things go bad fast in small environments, adding a sump lessens that effect. It is also a great place to put equipment you might not want in the display like skimmers, heaters, etc.

3. The type of return pump is dependant on your system. You can use a submersible pump and just set it in the sump, or you can cut a hole in the sump and use an external pump to supply the water back to the display. This is really up to your preferences.

4. I think what you are asking is about vacuuming the substrate. If you use crushed coral i would advise you to at least stir it. If using sand, your cleanup crew and other various worms and critters will stir it for you. Nassarius snails, bristle worms, and sand sifting brittle stars are perfect for this.

5. Just use PVC and you will be fine. PVC is cheap and readily available.