Looking For Something New

[mattyp84]

Hey, guys ive been keeping tropical fish for a while now and spent a good year lurking on the forums before joining and learning alot regarding the freshwater tropical side of fish keeping.

I have a Roma 90l tank (19.79 UK gallons/23.78 US gallons), so my first question is would this be suitable for a marine tank ?

once i know the answer to this i can start looking into it a bit more, but i do not want to start if this tank will be too small

Thanks, Matt

 

[sorgan]

90lt isn't a bad start as long as you are good about matainence I've seen reefs that where 2 litres and less so small is no longer a limit.
Jump in the waters great

 

[mirrorpad]

This is quite small for a first marine tank. As a general rule, the bigger the better. This is due to stability of your tank. With small tanks changes occur quite frequently and with corals this is a no no. That being said, it can be done as long as you are strict with your water changes and monitor your water parameters on a regular basis.

Unfortunatly alot of Marine fish grow large and with this tank size you are restricted. Go slow, let the tank cycle and add livestock slowly. Don't overstock as marine is not as forgiving as fresh water. Quarentine is also important as you can't treat disease in a reef tank due to coral/live rock so 2 tanks are recommended

 

[mattyp84]

hmmm not really got the cash to splash or room for a bigger tank for that matter, id only be looking to keep a few active fish (any suggestions welcome, ive not got that far into my planning yet) and some basic corals if thats possible, with love rock i guess.

So far im assuming the following is the equipment id need

Tank
Heater (Marine)
2x power heads ?? these im a bit lost on
skimmer ? as above
filter, ive read that the live rock will do the job of filter ?

im assuming id need to change my lighting too, would this be just the bulbs or the whole thing?

as i said ive been reading posts, had about 30 tabs open earlier from this forum, just reading through.

Im tempted to try and sell the tank and get a bigger one, but as i mention room and cash are in short supply.

Thanks again

 

[sorgan]

Many beginner tanks are smaller then this (both the orcas, RR and a few D&D's) if you have kept fish before and will keep up with W/C, top ups etc I see no problem.
Look at simonas and jameshughs tank threads to see what I mean, small is only a problem IMO if you get lazy.
Power heads push water around to produce currents, more small is better then 1 big.
Skimmers pull organic material out of the water, not necessary but well recommended.
Lights it depends what you have, 2 t5s? Change the bulbs out for marine tubes and your good to go but be aware that corals (that you can keep in 90lt quite happily) may require you adding more lighting later.
You will end up getting a bigger tank later though.

 

[ozzie2011]

I have to agree with Sorgan that a small tank shouldn't be too much of a problem if you already are a fish keeper.

Its the completely new people to the hobby that get bored of it in a few weeks that I think should not be encouraged to buy.

Good luck anyway

 

[spadge]

If money is also an issue i would look at running costs too, regular water chages would be needed to keep a stable enviroment, more so in a 90l tank (although as the volume is smaller so is the water change) as well as this you will need to regularly check the parameters of your tank an area which has cost me a foryune (my lfs will often do this for free too though).

I would say with a bit of organisation and regular maintainance you would do fine with a 90l, my advice would be ask as many questions here as you can as these guys are really helpfull and will steer you in the right direction