Marine Tank Advice - Beginner

[AndreaP1986]

I have recently seen a marine tank that I wouldn't mind purchasing however I have never had a marine tank before.
I don't want to buy a perfectly good tank with live rock, a lion fish and a sea urchin to end up killing them.
It is a 180 litre Fluval tank and comes with a hydrometer, thermometer, live rock, heater, decorations, protein skimmer, 3 airlines and a Fluval external filter.

How difficult is it to keep a marine tank running, cost to run a tank of this size and how would you transport live rock and marine fish without killing them or causing too much stress any advice would be truly appreciated. I have a 80 litre hatchery tank and a 240 Juwel tropical tank at the moment and up to now have not lost many fish, in fact my fish won't stop breeding I have more fry than adult fish.

Oh and is it essential to use RO water in a marine tank?

 

[vanny]

Don't buy something on impulse I would recommended you do some more research before you buy. best place if you are not a fan of reading is on you-tube look at how other people set up their tank and how they maintain it
marine tanks do not need external filters if they have an abundance of live rock and a good protein skimmer (also a sump where you can grow chaetomorpha algae is recommended)
my only advice to you is to do a lot of research before you buy (personally I researched for more than a month before I set up my system)
the more knowledgeable you are the more stable your system and so it will require less maintenance. (to this day I am still learning)

as for RO unit it is not required but recomended if you plan on adding corals or have poor quality tap water
-I use tap water and have a thriving tank with coral but I have a 24h lit sump with algae to consume phosphates and other impurities in my tap water) so you can get away with tap water but remember to treat it with additives from your LFS to get rid of the chlorine and ammonia (ie. prime)

research research and be patient

-CHEERS

 

[Donya]

This is really not the best way to go, particularly if you have to rush into it or lose the deal. It's far better to start slowly rather than have to deal with already-stressed livestock in an unstable tank because of the move. Trying to rush into things in marine usually results in tank crashes or other casualties.

How difficult is it to keep a marine tank running

There isn't an answer for this. There are more params to deal with than freshwater and livestock is usually more fragile, but there is no concrete measure here. Have a look at the journals section and see what other people have done.

cost to run a tank of this size

You will need to come up with the exact numbers yourself based on what you're getting. You'll have recurring salt and possibly water costs. Look into the costs of these in your area and you should be able to estimate if you allow for something like a 10-15% WC weekly (although predator tanks can require larger WCs or more frequent WCs if the fish are messy eaters). Then use your electric rate and the wattage of what you'll be plugging into the wall. For heaters you just have to guess how much they'll be on (which is a not much in a warm room). Allow some overhead for chemical filtration media and food based on the livestock.

Oh and is it essential to use RO water in a marine tank?

The short answer is that tap is a bad choice for a first marine tank. For a longer answer on why, I just posted up more detail on the topic in this thread:
http/www.fishforum...s-of-questions/