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Lighting Unit And Bulbs

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neilrufc27

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Hi,

Just been to my local fish shop. I am seriously considering setting my smallish tank into a marine tank. My fish shop told me I will need to buy a T5 lighting unit and 2 T5 marine bulbs if I was to keep live rock. How much would you say a lighting unit is and best place to buy these from?

Thanks

Neil

P.S do you guys use the RO water then add salts etc or go straight for the sea water sold in LFS?
 
Hi Neil,

The lighting unit advised to you is fine however you don't 'need' it. Depending on what you want to keep T8 would be fine.

I use RO from the LFS mixed by me, however I have bought LFS mixed SW just a differance in price realy.
 
Yeah, thats actually whats refferred to as a Power Compact (PC) bulb. It all depends on what you want to keep. As matt said, LR and a fish only tank can be accomplished with just a twin T8 setup. Depending on what corals you want to keep you will need stronger lighting.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your replies, The bloke said I could put a good £100 of live rock in the tank. As of yet I am not sure what rocks to go for. I am only setting up a smallish tank and looking at a couple of clowns and smaller fish (not many) and some algie eaters. This will be my 1st marine tank setup and really gonna research it before setting up. I plan to set up at the end of Feb 07 so gives me time to buy all the equitment required. What filter system would you recommend? Are the fluvel filters good for these tanks or suggest buying a new one?
 
neilrufc27 said:
Hi,

Thanks for your replies, The bloke said I could put a good £100 of live rock in the tank. As of yet I am not sure what rocks to go for. I am only setting up a smallish tank and looking at a couple of clowns and smaller fish (not many) and some algie eaters. This will be my 1st marine tank setup and really gonna research it before setting up. I plan to set up at the end of Feb 07 so gives me time to buy all the equitment required. What filter system would you recommend? Are the fluvel filters good for these tanks or suggest buying a new one?
Click to expand...


If you get sufficient live rock you won't need a filter - the live rock will take care of the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate process for you. Still need to make partial water changes periodically though.

You may need a skimmer, depending upon the size of tank you have - this will remove some of the dissolved organic waste which will build up as your tank matures. Have a read of the 'stickies' at the top of this section and read through some of the threads from people setting up a new tank and you'll get the idea.

Worked for me :good:
 
When using powerheads to get the water moving for the liverock, do I point the powerhead level with the live rock or place it towards the top of the tank?

I have a fluval number 2 and also a fluval number 3 filter, I was thinking using this for the water circulation without the filter pads - good idea? If I was to use a filter, would you recommend any to me please or just use the fluval?

Thanks again
 
I'm not really a fan of internal filters, take up too much space. If you want a small HOB refugium to hold some phosphate binder that'd be fine, but dont bother with full-scale internals, let the live rock do that for you. As for flowrate, it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Most reefkeepers do a combination of powerheads at the surface and those pointed directly at rocks to get a good turbulent flow going and keep the surface agitated
 
Hi again,

Thanks for the reply!!

How many powerheads would you use in a tank?

Is it possible to list all the equitment I will need please for the setup. I have a rough idea and have read many FAQS from this website but still a little confused on the ideal setup.

I plan to have all the equitment and hopefull plenty of research at the end of Feb 2007 - that is when I plan to start my tank.

My local fish shop gave me a list of the basics I need

Salt
8.3 Buffer
T5 Light Unit and bulbs
Sand
RO water or Salt water from shop
Thermastat
Hydromitor
Water Testing kit
 
You shouldnt need a ph buffer as the salt will buffer the water for you.....
I personally would invest in a RO unit. theyre only 50 quid and on a 30 gallon tank pay for them selves in 6 months easily....

The most common method of filtration found in marine tanks at the moment, is whats called the berlin method.
This uses Live rock and live sand to house all the bacteria and organisms that break down ammonia and detritus in your tank...
These organisms are then fed oxygen through the water movement caused by powerheads, i do beleve that you want to aim for power heads moving your total tank volume around 20 or more times per hour...

for instance if you have a 100 litre tank you want 2000 litres an hour being pushed around you tank by various powerheads.
we have 4 in our tank one aiming right at the surface the other 3 are hidden behind the LR

depending on the size of tank you may also want a protien skimmer... these come in various sizes and shapes and prices ranging for 20 pounds through to 100`s. they are used to get rid of disolved organics from the tank water. to do this they utalise the surface tension of the water, they create bubbles the bubbles then trap crud in the surface and slowly theese bubbles build up and over flow into a collection cup. thusly removing crud from the tank....
i personally recommend the TMC vectron v2 range they are cheap but work well.

Hope that helps
 
Hi thanks for the replies,

The tank I have just got my hands on is a 30 gallon, I also have a 70 litre tank what the fish bloke at the local shop said would be ok for some clowns and hermits.

Would you just say a skimmer is required instead of the actual filter? its all getting confusing lol
 
Ok 30g tank, now we have something to work with 8). You'll need the following for sure

Salt
Live Rock (30-60lbs)
Sand (prolly 20lbs unless its the 4' variety of 30g tank)
RO water or Salt water from shop
Simple Thermometer (glass bulb type)
Hydrometer (refractometer if you're going with corals)
Water Testing kit
Powerheads (enough for 600gph total worth of flowrate, ie 2x300GPH, 3x200GPH, 1x600GPH, etc)
Small HOB or other powered filter for chemical media only (even one suited for a 5-10g is fine)
Phosphate removers (rowaphos if you can get it) and active carbon for that HOB
Heater (prolly a 150 or 200watt model would be more than enough)

If you're going fish only you can just add to that a basic strip light, some food, and you're ready to go

If you want to do a basic reef setup I'd look into either a dual power compact (PC) lighting setup, or a quad T5 lighting setup spanning the length of the tank (probably 36"). You also might want to consider an HOB refugium or sump with refugium to help keep phosphates down and your pH stable. You also might want to consider a protein skimmer if you want to get into some advanced coral keeping or high fish loads, and perhaps an RO unit if you get sick of going to the LFS for water (not to mention the unit will pay for itself in ~6 months)

And if you want to really get into harder light-loving corals that also require stable conditions, a sump is almoast a must as is beefed up lighting and a skimmer. At least a 6xT5 or halide lighting for the really light-loving corals
 
Hi, Thanks for the reply!!

How about this light unit from eBay -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/INTERPET-T5-COMPACT-...VQQcmdZViewItem

I would like to put some live rock in but am not sure weather I should waita month or 2 to allow for mistakes I may make (end up killing the rock)
Is it possible to an recommend a filter model please?


Powerheads -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rio-Aqua-2500-PH-Pum...1QQcmdZViewItem

and

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-small-pump-powerhe...1QQcmdZViewItem


Where would I actually position the power head in the tank, is it at the top of the tank pointing down towards the live rock and would I just need the one powerhead?

I think I have found a skimmer - let me know what you think

http://www.aquatics-warehouse.co.uk/acatal...s_LEES_150.html

Its the LEE PRO SKIM at £17.99

Thanks for all this - you are the master!!

Neil
 
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