Getting Ready For The Switch

[tr0p1cal]

Hey guys been keeping an eye out on the salty side for abit, looking to make the switch when i raise the cash.

so currently i have a 4x2x2 tank with a pair of breeding green terrors and a few other fish, had this now for about a year, i got into fish keeping a few years back an wanted marine first but wasnt brave enough to go for it, as my friend had tropical i went with that and he set me up.

so now i wanna go marine and im trying to save money to convert, this is gonna be slow

what i wanted to know really is where can i go with the lighting that i have, ive searched alot and finding it tough to get the answers

tank 4x2x2
lighting 2 x 4foot t5
2 x 4foot t8

at first ill take it easy and go for a fowlr so i believe the lighting is of little importance, i do though however want to get soft corals and anemones, im not really interested in the hard corals but have no doubt i probably will be in the future.

after a rough chat with the lfs i believe about £500 will get me started with sum live rock/power heads/skimmer/refractometer and a tank full of salt water.

how many powerheads would u guys think i need? 3?4?

thanks for any help and sorry for the wall of text

 

[MrLiam]

Only read the power heads you need to aim for at least 20x turnover not sure on how many litres but you could have 2 6000lph powerheads

 

[weezawoo]

For softs I think the lighting will be ok! No clue on nems though!

+1 to liam, aim for around 20x turnover!

Consider sourcing your LR from another reefer breaking down their tank, cheaper than the lfs by far! Also some good bargains on Aquarist Classified but just be wary of some people!

If you are going slowly are you planning a sump? You have plenty of time to sort it out and it adds volume and hides equipment!

Also buying your own RO unit is worth it for that initial fill, I found on my tank is cost the same to fill it as it is to buy an RO unit!

Good luck with it all

and to the salty side!

 

[tr0p1cal]

If you are going slowly are you planning a sump?

i wasnt going for a sump i no it hides equiptment but i dont really have the space and im useless at diy, the thought of drilling a tank gives me nightmares. i bought the tank brand new from ND aquatics and it doesnt really have the space i dont think for a sump, what size would be needed? i have a spare 90liter tank but i dont think it fits in the cabinet and im not even sure the chip board could hold all the weight

 

[MrLiam]

A sump is not nessesacry it just hides the equipment as Weeza said but if you don't want to drill and the tank would fit in the cabinet then you could use a overflow box. I personally like the look of being able to see the skimmer working which is why im going sumpless on my new tank and you could always run a external filter running a phosphate remover.

 

[weezawoo]

Yup no absolute need for a sump! But as said you don’t have to drill you can use overflow boxes (I know nothing about these as never used one!)
There is also no size for a sump, it's as big or small as you can fit. Happygeorge has just written a good guide on sumps just if you wanted a little more info on them http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/363520-sump-info/
You can just as easily run sumpless so don’t worry about that I would never drill any tank I bought haha!

 

[dayzofspeed]

DIY DIY DIY just take your time, plan what you want and then go for it, and believe me this needn't cost you the earth either, apart from the LR you already own the most expensive item, the rest is easily sourced from that well known internet auction site. so far everything i have apart from my tank and cabinet is secondhand, that includes my skimmer bought for £38, damaged 4ft tank (to be cut down and restructured as a 2.5 or 3 ft sump £16, return pump to be used to return the water from my sump to the main display tank was £10, biggest expense to date is approx 40kg of LR which has cost me £95 over 2 different transactions this alone should have retailed at anything from £500 to £700. I have already started the work on converting my cabinet to take the sump which was very easy to do, and i will be doing a diy overflow system so no drilling is needed which i reckon wont cost much more than £20. i think that if i wanted to i could actually go straight ahead and begin stocking the tank right now, having paid out about £150 but then subtract £40 i got from my lfs for my tropicals but i have promised myself to be patient. if you take your time and you will find your bargains

edit* i forgot the cost of the ready salted ro water which has cost me £25
and also i must welcome you to the salty side, how rude of me to forget that
you can check out my journal if you wanted although it does need updating at the moment

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of the forum

Seffie x

 

[fishy55599]

this is gonna be slow
at first ill take it easy and go for a fowlr

i said both of these when i started

 

[tr0p1cal]

this is gonna be slow
at first ill take it easy and go for a fowlr

i said both of these when i started

haha yeah i need to go slow, ive spent about £3000 in the last 18months on fish stuff and stuck it on a credit card which i havent paid yet so this is gonna be the first time i ever save for something, the problem is just wen u get money theres a birthday,xmas blah blah blah

so does anyone no abit more about the lighting and what corals could work? or a link anywhere

thanks

 

[dayzofspeed]

this is gonna be slow
at first ill take it easy and go for a fowlr

i said both of these when i started

haha yeah i need to go slow, ive spent about £3000 in the last 18months on fish stuff and stuck it on a credit card which i havent paid yet so this is gonna be the first time i ever save for something, the problem is just wen u get money theres a birthday,xmas blah blah blah

so does anyone no abit more about the lighting and what corals could work? or a link anywhere

i imagine there are quite a few members here who know about what lights and corals i'm just not one of them (yet)

thanks

 

[fishy55599]

if you have normal t8's (tanks come with them)
you can keep all softies, like i am

 

[dayzofspeed]

if you have normal t8's (tanks come with them)
you can keep all softies, like i am

some tanks come with t5's fishy

 

[tr0p1cal]

so what sort of stocking can i go for , anyone got any ideas, obviously it has to include 2x clownfish and the girlfriend would also like a false gramma

 

[HappyGeorge]

Lots of options mate if you're going FOWLR then the worlds your oyster with the exception that 4 foot is a bit small for tangs and large angels. If you're going to go with a reef set up eventually then a few fish that could cause problems especially if you add stuff later. Fish that have a risk of nipping corals I have been told are more likely to nip when the hand that normally feeds them introduces a nice fat coral.
I have my 3ft reef fully stocked now either trawl the journal or watch the VIDEO if you fancy. I also have a 5ft FOWLR which has some fish that wouldn't suit the reef. Take a look in the resource centre 4th thing down on the marine and chat page, that has info and a fish picture gallery for you to browse.