Marine Newbie

[AllenLeicester]

Hi all!

Ive recently been thinking alot about setting up a marine tank, Ive had 3 years as a successfull tropical fish keeper and now want to move onto that next step.... So today i went to my LFS and started talking to the a staff member there. He showed me a tank which already had a filter system and lights all included, he later briefly explained how to setup the marine tank, the jist of what i got was... - Buy the tank, Set it up, later on add some already matured salt water from his shop , add some live rocks and let the cycling begin!? Surely it couldnt be this easy?...then after water changes and checks on the water, within a month or so i could be ready to add fish?

Sorry for you lot who probs get this kinda question everyday, but thankyou for any advice

 

[HappyGeorge]

Welcome to the salty side I'm a relatively recent convert too.

Depends on what size tank you were looking at if you were after a nano tank then a plug and play job may be ideal, if you then jump up to spending £1000 or so on a 200 litre or so tank then it may well be better to put together your own package . People on here will always help with kit selection and suggestions.
I have just put together a custom built 3x2x2 tank with sump and good quality equipment - ATI T5 lights, Deltec skimmer, Eheim pump, heaters, fully mature rock and a Vortech pump for about £1800. Took a bit of hunting to get the bits at the right price. You of course need to think about water for your tank. So either buying or making your own RO and salting it, or buying salted and then a refractometer and suitable containers for mixing etc.
If you are lucky enough to get Live Rock that is from a mature tank you may well be able to add fish quite quickly, but there is so much to do with a marine tank, rock watching and Clean up crew that you should enjoy it all. As with Tropical your water will tell you when its ready to move onto the next stage.
Lots of good journals on here that start from scratch, mine starts from tank being ordered, sorting RO and taking photos of rock on a table

Where abouts in the country are you?

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of the forum, setting up a salt water tank is all about the prep and research, dont let a lfs fool you into buying the tank they suggest with all the kit etc without first sticking your toes in the salty stuff, ie research, ask questions, lots of questions

It can be really easy to set-up a tank, but its keeping thing alive and the tank stable that takes the work, oh but what fun, enjoy every minute and dont rush into anything.

Seffie x

ps we are very happy to help you

 

[AllenLeicester]

Cheers guys, Can someone do me some kind of step by step guide, I find things easier when there like that lol..... I'm from Leicester by the way

 

[woody88]

Cheers guys, Can someone do me some kind of step by step guide, I find things easier when there like that lol..... I'm from Leicester by the way

Add plain RO water to tank
Turn on filtration/powerheads/heater
Add pro reef salt to tank once water up to temp [25-26 degrees]
add 2/3 cups at a time and then test salinity after 30 min between after adding. Keep adding until salinity at 1.024/5.
Leave 24hrs and then check salinity and temp.
If salinity and temp are good then add your Live rock [Cured preferably to reduce cycling time]
Add live/araginite sand
Add filter media [phos remover/lr rubble/nitrate remover/act carbon etc]
Test daily for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph/kh
Personal pref. but i'd say leave for a week or so and keep testing daily to dtermine if you get a spike or not.
If no spike after a week or so then your tank is cycled.
Do large water change to freshen up the water and test 24 hrs later
If ammonia,nitrite,phos,nitrate read zero then your good to go adding stock
[dont stock all at once and dont over feed as the tank wont be established and might not be able to cope with the sudden bioload]

6 -12 months without any probs and your tank is established [in theory]

Like i said this is personal pref. Other people might have different ways of doing it and might not entirely agree with the above but it works for me.

Might be worth you getting other opinions tho to confirm.

If your buying uncured lr then the above changes as you will get a spike/cycle [daily testing again and large water changes] and loads of diatoms and a possible algae bloom as well as some possible nasty critters.
Cycle time varies depending on die off of lr [average 4-6 weeks]

Diatoms [brown algae on substrate and rock] usually indicate end of cycle.