Marine Setup

[bic]

hi all i have a tropical freshwater set up at the moment but have always liked the marine setups what i am wondering is how much more difficult is it to keep in regards to cleaning and the up keep of the tank i guess the coral reefs must take some looking after.

 

[WayneVT08]

It is easier in fact, if you have a good skimmer, the filtration is the LR, you have a clean up crew that eats fish poo, literally. So really all you have to do is add water, if you don't have a skimmer, then you would need to do water changes. But if you do have a skimmer, it is easy cause all you do is add freshwater, not salt water as salt doesn't evaporate.

 

[idlefingers]

It is easier in fact, if you have a good skimmer, the filtration is the LR, you have a clean up crew that eats fish poo, literally. So really all you have to do is add water, if you don't have a skimmer, then you would need to do water changes. But if you do have a skimmer, it is easy cause all you do is add freshwater, not salt water as salt doesn't evaporate.

You have to do water changes whether there's a skimmer or not. The best frequency for water changes seems to be under debate depending on what you read and is based a lot on the self-suffieciency of the system itself. Also water changes do need to be done with saltwater which is the same SG as the tank. I think what you're thinking of is freshwater topups which are to topup water which is lost to evaporation.

I think it depends what type of freshwater tank you've had and what type of marine tank you plan on whether it's easier or harder to maintain. A high-tech planted freshwater tank will probably be a lot more work than a simple fish only marine setup.

 

[AK77]

hi all i have a tropical freshwater set up at the moment but have always liked the marine setups what i am wondering is how much more difficult is it to keep in regards to cleaning and the up keep of the tank i guess the coral reefs must take some looking after.

Marine fishkeeping can seem daunting, mainly because of myths and misconceptions surrounding it. Essentially its the same as freshwater keeping, although it can become much more involved depending on what type of setup you want.

A few options are open to you. These are FO (Fish Only), FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) or a reef setup. Personally I think FOWLR is the best setup for newbies.

You can keep your existing tank and purchase additional items such as a protein skimmer and powerheads. The most expensive outlay will be for live rock. This is essentially just pourous rock that comes from the ocean and have a lot of organic life on it. It also provides a breeding ground for de-nitrifying bacteria which are vital to a healthy aquarium, much as is the same for a freshwater setup.

The live rock system of filtration is called the "Berlin method". Provided there is ample water flow around the live rock, the bacteria are provided with enough oxygen to multiply and feed on ammonia and nitrites. You don't actually need a filter such as an external canister filter. This is a concept which was alien to me too until I understood the principle behind it.

Below is a checklist of things you will need or might need depending on the type of setup you go for.

Protein Skimmer (Not always essential but do help to keep water parameters more stable and reduce the need for as frequent water changes)
Powerheads (10-20 times the tank volume eg 180L aquarium will need about 2000+ LPH water circulating. With corals, this can be a minimum of 40 times +)
Heater
Sump (not essential but advisable and beneficial) Check out Melevs Reefs, for information regarding sumps and how they work
Overflow box (Only if you have a sump and do not want to drill the back of the tank)
Refractometer
Calcium Carbonate substrate (Aragonite sand is a good choice. Don't use silica sands as you will have algae galore)
Live Rock (If going for a FOWLR or Reef setup)
T5 or Metal Halide lighting (Needed for corals)
Reverse Osmosis machine (not essential but it means you can make your own pure water to mix with the salt. You can use tap water with a de-chlorinator but you will not be able to keep invertebrates due to the high nitrate levels)
Marine Salt
Water testing kits (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Calcuim, PH, Alkalinity... yes it can go on and on, but mainly for reef setups where water parameters are more stringent)
Electronic PH tester (Handy and usually more accurate than the paper strips)

I'm sure I've missed out loads of stuff but the above is a good start.

Have a read up on the many tank progression threads to see how people have converted their existing tanks or started from scratch.

Hope that helps,

AK

 

[Musho3210]

clean up crews dont eat poop, they eat algae and leftover food/undigested matter.

Berlin method (im pretty sure its like this, correct me if im wrong)
Bare bottom
Lots of live rock
LOTS of flow
HUGE skimmer

Jaubert method:
Plenum sandbed

Hybrid method: (most common)
deep sand bed or plenum
live rock
moderate flow
moderate skimming


You can keep anything in tap water, but it depends on whats in the tap water. Try to find someone to test for everything that is testable in tap water and let us know. My tap water has 0 nitrate (but 4 ppm of phosphate), so not all tap water has such a high nitrate that you cant keep inverts. Its copper you need to worry about most with inverts.

I want to find out if silica sand really is the cause of algae blooms, i havent seen any scientific proof of it nor have i heard anyone with a silica substrate say this. people dont normally use silica because it doesnt buffer, it doesnt help with trace elements, and it doesnt look as natural.

Depending on corals you may need 10x turnover or maybe even 50x turnover. Different corals apreciate different flow. Also you dont nessicarily need T5 or MH for corals. Again its different corals like different amounts of light.

Brb while i find a summary of the use of silica sand, i really doubt it causes algae blooms.

 

[AK77]

I forgot to include in that list the following:

Bank loan
Remortgage
Loss of social life

 

[Musho3210]

i couldnt find any scientific study from a scientist, but from other reefers:

It is not a likely thing for scientists to study, and as such I know of no official studies done on the subject. One can take existing scientific knowledge and apply it in a common sense manner to the problem and arrive at the conclusion that in order for the silica to cause a bloom it would need to dissolve and release the silica into the water, which it does not.

Therefore, it is a bunch of bull crap that silica sand causes algae problems.

It will scratch the heck out of your glass though if you drag a piece of it along when you clean.

Hobby Experience: Saltwater since '86....I don't actually know anything but I can at least sound plausible

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, silica sand does not cause algae blooms, but it definitely does NOT buffer the system like aragonite sand does

 

[Musho3210]

silica looks cool in freshwater, and it hasnt shifted my ph in freshwater at all. And ive never had a brown algae bloom, only a green hair algae and a cyano algae bloom in my freshwater.