Morew Questions :(

[always4lora]

Had a brief read through the beginner resources and still have a couple of questions,
I'm getting a new tank which will leave my 4x2x2 empty and i'm either going to convert to marine or leave it as a grow out tank for a wile, anyhows it's currently running two filters that will be going onto the new one so for the filteration do i just need 50kg of live rock and thats it?

I can't put a sump in due to the way the cabinet is made and there is no holes in my tank (i wouldnt like to try that myself!). Alot of setups seem to have both live rock and a sump which has confused me a little.

Also when ive been taking a look at differernt fish some get classed as reef safe and some not, is a reef classed as live rock or just live rock when it has corals etc on them?
Tanks in the living room and will be too keep the mrs from moaning at me for the new tank i'll be wanting some colourfull fish so maybe trigger/puffer/tang fish but a lot are not reef safe.

As i dont intend to get into the fancy corals and whatnot can i just leave my two t5 bulbs in there? or do the fish require certain light?

If i decide to go marine can i just buy live rock and leave it in the tank with no fish for a wile ? By tme ive got the rock i'll be a bit skint for a wile before i can really get on with stocking it...

And last but least whats the differernce between the types of rocks from differernt locations? Some seems more expensive from others?

sorry for so many questions takes a bit to get my head around

 

[seffieuk]

Had a brief read through the beginner resources and still have a couple of questions,

Questions are good

I'm getting a new tank which will leave my 4x2x2 empty and i'm either going to convert to marine or leave it as a grow out tank for a wile, anyhows it's currently running two filters that will be going onto the new one so for the filteration do i just need 50kg of live rock and thats it?



Yes, approx 50 k of live rock. The live rock is are the heart and lungs of the tank and is all you need for filtration

I can't put a sump in due to the way the cabinet is made and there is no holes in my tank (i wouldnt like to try that myself!). Alot of setups seem to have both live rock and a sump which has confused me a little.

Sumps add water volume and can aid with filtration if chaeto (a marine algae) is used. Most people however use a sump to add water volume and hide their equipment. I dont have a sump.

Also when ive been taking a look at differernt fish some get classed as reef safe and some not, is a reef classed as live rock or just live rock when it has corals etc on them?

Reef safe would be a fish that does not damage corals

Tanks in the living room and will be too keep the mrs from moaning at me for the new tank i'll be wanting some colourfull fish so maybe trigger/puffer/tang fish but a lot are not reef safe.

well you have enough water for those - around 450 litres, only the tang is reef safe although Niger triggers have been know to be ok, but its a big chance you take. Also triggers bite through cables and as you are not having a sump you would have to somehow cover the cables, this is do-able however. I think you will find that most marine fish are colourful so I wouldn worry. 'her indoors' is bound to fall in love with a pair of clowns, how couldn't she they are adorable

As i dont intend to get into the fancy corals and whatnot can i just leave my two t5 bulbs in there? or do the fish require certain light?

I run t5 tubes - I assume you have freshwater tubes in at the moment? They will be fine for most mushrooms and low light corals, however if you want your corals to really look 'bling' then you will need to change the bulbs for marine white and marine blue (actinic) - how many tubes do you have?

If i decide to go marine can i just buy live rock and leave it in the tank with no fish for a wile ?

That is exactly what you need to do whilst the tank cycles

By tme ive got the rock i'll be a bit skint for a wile before i can really get on with stocking it...

if we are talking weeks, then you can just feed the tank with fish food this is such an expensive hobby we all have to wait and have patience

And last but least whats the differernce between the types of rocks from differernt locations? Some seems more expensive from others?

Some is better looking, but I would certainly wait till I could find a reefer breaking down a tank and buy from them

sorry for so many questions takes a bit to get my head around

dont be sorry

Couple of questions for you:

You will need a skimmer on a tank that size, look for a second hand deltec 600 - have you thought about the skimmer?

Test kits?: try to buy salifert

Powerheads?: look around for some secondhand Koralias - you will need at least 20 x 450 = 9000, you will need at least three Koralias for adequate flow around the tank

Seffie x

 

[always4lora]

Thanks for the information

Is there anywhere decent to buy fish in the UK?

 

[ben1987]

you will probably find that most stores use TMC...so if you google that you'll see.

The fish from there are usually decent quality, its how they are treated at the local fish shop.