Need Help Converting To Marine

[jameshiggins]

rite, bin down to my lfs to see wot they said about changing my rio400 to marine from tropical. i basicaly asked them wot i had to change and wot its going to cost this is wot they said:

another fluval 405 (even though i already have 2 fluval 305'5 £100
x2 big bags of sand £60
some ocean rock as not having live rock £50ish
protein skimmer £130
and big tub of salt £40

does this seen reasonable and is they anything else i should consider apart from fish?

many thanks
james

was also told my original lighting would be ok for fish

 

[ben1987]

id look at not getting the externals and buying live rock. That stuff works as your filter and i think once you get going you will want corals and things. Live rock looks 10x nicer than ocean stuff. You get a lot more to look at aswel. Loads of life comes off the stuff. My LFS wants £5 a kilo of ocean rock, i paid that for my live rock. I just shoped around on ebay and other sites looking at all the classifieds.

 

[jameshiggins]

i would like live rock its just the lighting is gunna cost £300ish and oceon rock at my lfs is 1.20 a kilo and live is 12.50 and would take loads to full my tank with it.

james

 

[orange shark]

i personally see it as a marine tank isnt a marine tank without LR, it looks great and the hitchhikers you get with it are also really interesting. Search for ebay auctions around you for cheap LR, i got mine for £7 a kilo from ebay but i know some others who've got it between £3-£5 a kilo

 

[kj23502]

you don't need to upgrade your lights to have live rock. and you don't need it all right away (thank god ). However many gallons of water your tank is, I'd start out w/ 25% of that in lr. I know it's not 400 gallons but I'll equate it to that, get 100 lbs live rock. You call always get more later. Just make sure any rock you add later is cured and it's a good idea to sit it in a QT tank just to make sure there's no die off from the transport as an ammonia spike in your main tank isn't good for the fish.

You need:
1)most important, decide where you're getting your water
2)salt
3)refractometer or hydrometer to measure salt
4)powerheads to keep water moving...i think like 10x w/out LR and 20x tank turnover w/live rock
5)lighting doesn't matter as much if you're not keeping corals
6)test kits ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, high range PH, and AK
7)Skimmer-debatable...some swear by it and others don't use one at all. If you're only haveing fish it's possible you won't need one.

I'd say more but I gotta run...

 

[chrissaysyes]

Yup, you're going to want to have Liverock, not only that, but you want to put that higher on your list of priorities than lighting. You can do without LR...but I certainly dont suggest it for a beginner.

 

[Musho3210]

Just do a 50/50, 50% live, 50% dry (ocean rock). The dry rock will become live within a few months.

 

[jameshiggins]

i personally see it as a marine tank isnt a marine tank without LR, it looks great and the hitchhikers you get with it are also really interesting. Search for ebay auctions around you for cheap LR, i got mine for £7 a kilo from ebay but i know some others who've got it between £3-£5 a kilo

will do thanks mate

you don't need to upgrade your lights to have live rock. and you don't need it all right away (thank god ). However many gallons of water your tank is, I'd start out w/ 25% of that in lr. I know it's not 400 gallons but I'll equate it to that, get 100 lbs live rock. You call always get more later. Just make sure any rock you add later is cured and it's a good idea to sit it in a QT tank just to make sure there's no die off from the transport as an ammonia spike in your main tank isn't good for the fish.

You need:
1)most important, decide where you're getting your water
2)salt
3)refractometer or hydrometer to measure salt
4)powerheads to keep water moving...i think like 10x w/out LR and 20x tank turnover w/live rock
5)lighting doesn't matter as much if you're not keeping corals
6)test kits ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, high range PH, and AK
7)Skimmer-debatable...some swear by it and others don't use one at all. If you're only haveing fish it's possible you won't need one.

I'd say more but I gotta run...

Yup, you're going to want to have Liverock, not only that, but you want to put that higher on your list of priorities than lighting. You can do without LR...but I certainly dont suggest it for a beginner.

oh rite, i was under the impression that if i had live rock i would have to change my lighting, so my standard lites are ok then? we are buying bits and peices for the marine tank in drips and draps to keep costs down a bit rather than buy all at once.also we will probably be adding live rock in bits aswell, i do have a tall hexagon tank but has no light is this any good for keeping it befor adding to main tank. i have a fluval 3 internal filter for this too.

thanks for you help

Just do a 50/50, 50% live, 50% dry (ocean rock). The dry rock will become live within a few months.

oh realy sound a good option to think about

thanks top all of you for your replies

james

 

[chrissaysyes]

As long as you keep the water stable and moving then you can keep live rock alive, and thriving. Like Musho said, you can add dry ocean rock in with the live rock and it will become "live" rock. Ive seen a lot of people keep rock in large rubber pins with a heater and power head for temporary storage. Lighting is only necessary for corals. Some fish favor different lighting but it's generally not a large issue.

 

[Musho3210]

I dont think large rubber pins can keep live rock..... I never though pins could even hold water?

Jokes aside, i would get a strong lighting, not because anything NEEDS it, but because it does make the tank look very nice if you have some nice strong T5HO or metal halides, rather than T8NO (the regular ones) it can really bring your tank to life, plus you then have the option of adding corals. But it is your choice in the end.