Help Wanted With Marine.

[mark7616]

Myself and my Wife have decided that we would like to have a go at a marine tank first i want to see if my tank is suitable.
The tank i have that we would like to use is 32"long 16"deep and 12"wide.
Would this be ok for a small setup if it is great i will delve deeper into it if not ill try something else.

 

[richard t]

I can,t really tell you if your tank is big enough or not, it all depends on what you want to keep in it!!

I take it that you have used this tank for fresh water tropicals. Have you ever used a COPPER based medication in this tank. The copper can be absorbed by the silicone in the tank. If this leaches back into a salt water system it could be fatal to any inverts.

 

[mark7616]

Nope i have been lucky and not needed to use any meds so all good on that front. We would only like to keep a few small fish we like the clown fish i dont know if thats possible what would be recomended for the size??? Also what extra kit would i need as all i have is an internal filter 600lph and a heater??? Thanks for the help.

 

[Chac]

Hi Mark

You 36" Tank would be fine as a starter tank, it will limited the amount & type of fish you keep but you will still have a wide variety to choose from

If you are going along the LIVE ROCK, which I would recommend, you will need about 20 - 30 kg

I would recommend getting a skimmer for that size of tank, a Biostart Flotor or a Deltec MCE600 would defo work on that size of tank

As for turnover/flow of water I would suggestSeio Pumps, Very Powerful, excellant quality & a good price (There is a UK supplier of Seio's, I will let you know the Web Addy)

Have a read of this thread (Converting from freshwater), this includes some links to the products I mentioned above

Del

 

[richard t]

Your tank is give or take 100ltr 24gal
First decide if you want fish only or fish and coral? This will help you to chose the correct lighting.
In a marine tank forget internal filters. The entire Biological filtration of your tank will be done with Live Rock
You will need 25-30lbs of it. You will also need flow 10-20 times tank volume. So two powerheads totalling 2000lph. I would say get a skimmer this will remove organic particals before they have time to breakdown.
And you will need a refractometer to get an accurate reading of salinity. And the water we use is RO.

Your tank will support 2x Clowns (NOT MAROONS) and maybe 2 or 3 other small fish.
And when the time comes you will need a clean up crew Hermit crabs, shrimps and snails these do not count in stocking levels as the bio load they put on the tank is very very small. And the job they do is invaluable.

 

[Chac]

Sorry Mark I misread the size of your tank

The qty of LR I gave can thereby be reduced as TK stated

Del


Also have a lookie here for RO Units (Try ebay as well as they do often come up for sale)

 

[richard t]

Sorry Mark I misread the size of your tank

The qty of LR I gave can thereby be reduced as TK stated

Del

I was writing when you posted, and when i read your post it said the all that i had to say (great mind think alike) B)

The more LR the better i say with 30kg he will be able to keep LAND CRABS

 

[Chac]

Sorry Mark I misread the size of your tank

The qty of LR I gave can thereby be reduced as TK stated

Del

I was writing when you posted, and when i read your post it said the all that i had to say (great mind think alike) B)

The more LR the better i say with 30kg he will be able to keep LAND CRABS

I couldnt find the smiley that stuck it fingers up, so this one will have to do

 

[mark7616]

Ok thanks alot for your help ill be doing some research.

 

[mark7616]

Right been reading the posts and boy there is alot of kit ive seen a protein skimmer on ebay for £40 seems ok to get me started. I h ave a heater. Just looking at these power heads do i really need 3 and how do i set these up also. How much is live rock gonna set me back is this the same as the plants??? or is it coral?

 

[Chac]

Right been reading the posts and boy there is alot of kit ive seen a protein skimmer on ebay for £40 seems ok to get me started. I h ave a heater. Just looking at these power heads do i really need 3 and how do i set these up also. How much is live rock gonna set me back is this the same as the plants??? or is it coral?

Either Post your skimmer Ebay link here or PM me with it

IMO a turn over of between 15x & 20x is best as a Start (so 15 x 100ltrs = 15000)
You would be best with 2 or more powerheads instead of 1 big one as 2 will give you a more even flow over the tank

Live Rock costs around 10.00 per kilo, have a look at UDA'S website

Live Rock is simply rock that is colonised with ammonia etc. eating bacteria (Which will take care of your Biological Filtration)

 

[richard t]

Right been reading the posts and boy there is alot of kit ive seen a protein skimmer on ebay for £40 seems ok to get me started. I h ave a heater. Just looking at these power heads do i really need 3 and how do i set these up also. How much is live rock gonna set me back is this the same as the plants??? or is it coral?

Yes, two or three powerheads would be good, but Seio pumps would be too powerful for your tank. Three x aquaclear 50s or two x aquaclear 70s would give you all the flow you need, and cost around £60 (not each).

I run Seio pumps on my tank and they are great, but I have a 350l tank with 40x turnover.

The main reason for multiple powerheads is to eliminate dead spots in your tank.

Live rock will cost you £150 for 15kg, you could get away with 10kg (£100), but 15kg would be better.

As Chac said, the LR would be your biological filtration. Just like filter pads, which you are probably familiar with LR has a large surface area for colonising bacteria; but all traditional filter media is flawed it cannot process nitrate, it just produces it. LR has the ability to complete the nitrogen cycle, turning nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas.

If your tank is set up correctly, you will only have to perform water changes to replace lost trace elements.

 

[steelhealr]

By my calculations, this makes the tank a nano tank: 30 US G's, UK gallons. Will transfer this thread to the nano section. SH