Help

[mrjames]

hi just wondered i any of u geniuses can help me. B) B) i am thinking of eventually setting up a marine tank and wondered if somebody can give me the an idea of what is involved and how the saltwater systems work. eg: what does a skimmer do? please help as im keen to to turn my tank salty!

james

 

[Aquascaper]

The best help is research

This forum has multiple topics all about the questions you're asking. Take a peek at the pinned topics at the top of the pages to start with.

 

[Lynden]

If I were to attempt and explain everything about saltwater aquariums in one post, it would probably reach 2 meters down the forum page. You have to research the general by yourself, and refer to TFF for the fine details.

For one thing, you cant just walk in to a pet store one day and say "I think I'll start a saltwater tank, I love the little nemos!" and leave the store with the equipment and fish. You need to slowly research and think about it, and then make a decision. For many people, most of the people on this site apparently, it was found that the cons to a SW tank outweighed the pros.

You should have some experience with FW first. I say "should" because with another hobbyists help, you may be able to run a SW tank succesfully without any FW experience. But many saltwater fish are far harder to keep than many FW fish. And you will find that the easiest animals may be a little too easy; ie; aiptasia, majano, isopods, damsels in some opinions, cyanobacteria, ect., and that eventually, the harder to keep fish wil be the ones you opt for, ie; angels, tangs, butterflys, ect. Fish that may be too hard to keep without previous experience.

The key to success is often not making rash decisions.
-Lynden

 

[crazyelece]

First go buy a good book to get the basics. I recommend "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S. Paletta. Its a good basic guide geared towards starting up your first saltwater aquarium. After you get a handle on the basics come back and fire away with questions on the specifics.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Plus, there are many great pinned articles for you to read here. Just to get the basics. Its hard to say everything, as MorayEel, and the others touched on.

 

[Navarre]

I will try and answer some basics.

A skimmer is mans way of simulating the way the ocean cleans its water. If you ever go to the beach you might have seen around the rocky areas a sort of foam collecting. This is natures way of collecting all the unwanted waste materials from the water and into a foam that is then blown away by the wind inland keeping the water clean. A skimmer works in a similar fashion; it creates micro bubbles that remain in the canister for as long as possible. Protiens and waste material suspended in the water are attracted to the surface of the micro bubbles (a bit like an oily film on the surface of the water you see sometimes). As the bubbles move higher through the skimmer it attracts more and more waste material until it finally reaches the surface where it then forms a foam. The foam is collected automatically in a cup and disposed of by the hobbiest. This helps keep the water cleaner and even reduces waste before it reaches the baterical cycle.
This is of course a good thing but also be aware that a skimmer is indiscriminate in its cleaning and this means it can also take out trace eliments from the water as well as waste materials. This usually isnt a problem if regular water changes are made of course.

Liverock... Probably the best filtration you can have on this planet! Liverock is a porous rock that harbours many different types of life including the all important bacteria. Most filters can do a good job.. ammonia is reduced to nitrite, nitrite is reduced to nitrate but this is where it usually stops. Nitrate is is formed by bacteria that exsist in a high oxyginated environment, the higher the oxygen the more baterica can thrive; this is why many filters such as wet/dry filters and trickle filters are very good filters but also know for creating alot of nitrates.
This is of course fine for a freshwater hobby but marines tend to be a bit more sensitive to nitrates. Liverock is our secret weapon however as it can go 1 step further than other filters. Because its porous it allows water to pass slowly through it. Deep inside the rock the water becomes very oxygen poor and this is where the bacteria live that love low oxygen environments. And these magical little gems thrive on eating nitrates and converting them to nitrogen which is of course harmless and simply escapes into the atmosphere!

Lighting...
In the marine world we have many options for lighting. T8 (Standard flourescent size tube) T5 ( A thin and more compact tube) and Metal Halides ( Powerful bulb)

In a fish only tank you can simply choose a less powerful and less expensive light as the fish will not need special lighting requirements.
Inverts and corals however need more powerful lights as they use the lights to gain energy. T5s are the next step and most soft corals will be happy under these lights but if you want clams, anenomes and hard corals then metal halides are the ones withthe power enough to punch light deep within the coreals and give them the energy they need.

I do disagree with the statement that freshwater experience should be sought first however. Learning freshwater means you pick up habits that have to be unlearned all over again for marines. If you are totally new to the hobby then i suggest you go right for marines rather than unlearning the habits of freshwater. If you have freshwater experience then be prepared to make some changes in your water management etc.

Lots for you to read here i know but i hope this helps answer a few questions about the hobby in general

 

[huntnikk]

I do disagree with the statement that freshwater experience should be sought first however. Learning freshwater means you pick up habits that have to be unlearned all over again for marines. If you are totally new to the hobby then i suggest you go right for marines rather than unlearning the habits of freshwater. If you have freshwater experience then be prepared to make some changes in your water management etc.

Lots for you to read here i know but i hope this helps answer a few questions about the hobby in general

So can you throw some of this knowledge my way as for the different water management I should be doing for my SW tank?

 

[Navarre]

Well for one it depends on the type of filtration you are using. If its a natural methid then water changes dont need to be done as often and to be honest it doesnt help if its done as pften as a freshwater tank. The whole reason for freshwater to be changed so reguarly is because of hte nitrate biuld up. In a marine tank this isnt the case to it doesnt need to be done so often.
Nitrates are not acceptable in most marine tanks whereas they are tollerated in freshwater.
RO water is of great importance in salt water whereas many freshwater tank never used it.

 

[huntnikk]

Well for one it depends on the type of filtration you are using. If its a natural methid then water changes dont need to be done as often and to be honest it doesnt help if its done as pften as a freshwater tank. The whole reason for freshwater to be changed so reguarly is because of hte nitrate biuld up. In a marine tank this isnt the case to it doesnt need to be done so often.
Nitrates are not acceptable in most marine tanks whereas they are tollerated in freshwater.
RO water is of great importance in salt water whereas many freshwater tank never used it.

well here is what I have for equipment....
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...7&#entry1069217


and here are pictures of my equipment if you haven't already seen it

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=&sho...dpost&p=1069245

I do not have RO... I wonder if I could add it on later..?

 

[Lynden]

Like I said, you probably should have some experience wth freshwater, because like I said, the easiest animals to keep are often undesirable. It is wise to remember what you have said in the past before saying something that, in effect, contradicts it.

I actually run my marine tank very similiar to the way I run my freshwater tanks, and the only living creature I have had a problem with is L.T. anemones(grr... ). I do not use RO water, I do not do water changes, and as of now and a few months past, I do not have a protein skimmer. The only things I do differently from FW to SW is use refugiums instead of filter material, use LR only, feed frozen food only, and heighten algae and water top-up maintainence.

Sure the maintainence for most people in SW differs considerably from that of FW, but the experience gained from keeping FW fish is highly beneficial. That is, unless, you want to have a tank full of damsels only and a snail or two. It is a highly valid point; it would be extremely costly and difficult for someone new to fish to attempt and keep something highly desirable such as an angel, tang, or butterfly, whereas someone with experience with freshwater who has kept an elephant nose, discus, fire eel, ect., would have a far better chance of keeping the picky fish alive.

There once was a very heated discussion on the importance of RO water, and, frankly, I do not want that started again, so although I probably could, I wont. Everyone knows my opinion.
-Lynden