Need Help Setting Up Marine.. Found New Crabs Now?

[kniesh]

Hi all, I have a 40 gal tank, 4ft long currently a a tropical small cichlid tank. I want to change it over to a marine tank in the next couple of weeks, however I dont really know much about the set ups and would be very grateful for advice.

I am looking to empty the tank in the next week or so and would like to know what i need first. At the min I have quite a powerful filter with a strong current. This may sound daft but will i need to change this, and is an external filter necessary?

Any help anyone can give me would be much appreciated, as u can tell I'm far from being an expert here. I have a local fish shop that I can get all my equipment etc from. Thx in advance.

 

[Chac]

Read this Freshwater to Saltwater Conversion Post

it will give you some ideas on the question you need to ask & the equipment you need for a 40g

 

[kniesh]

Hi, thx for the link it was a great help. I have now been researching the equipment I am going to need and have came across power heads for sale. These are;

SP1200, power 12 watts
voltage-220v
Frequency-50Hz
Total head-1.2m
Max deliverey volume- 700 litres p/hr

I was just wondering how many of these i would need as it says in the advert it is suitable for 3-5ft tanks an mine is 4ft. Sorry if i'm being a pest but I am tryin to sort this so I can empty the tank of my tropicals in about 3 weeks and I want some things b4 then.

Also I am probably going to do this at a gradual rate, not just set it all up at once, i.e get the equipment, powerheads lights etc. and cycle the tank on a little bit of live rock. Is this possible or do I have to get lots of live rock and other things for the cycle. thx vinny

 

[demonmagus]

I think you aim for about 15-20 turnover per hour in your tank.

You have a 160 litre-ish tank, and 700lph, so 160 times by 20 = 3200 lph

so you need around 4 or 5

 

[Chac]

Have a look at Seio Powerheads

Very Powerful, reliable & not a bad price

 

[kniesh]

Thx guys, they do look better and i would much rather just have one more pwerful one. Is this correct, would it be better?

 

[Chac]

Thx guys, they do look better and i would much rather just have one more pwerful one. Is this correct, would it be better?

You'd be better getting 2 IMO, as with 1 you may end up with dead spots in your tank

 

[kniesh]

Thx alot, this is all still about a month away i think but i'm getting very excited reading through and looking at pics. I am emptying my tank of the fish this week and cleaning it thoroughly. It's tough not to just go and buy all the stuff an start str8 away, unfortunately the other half is more disciplined than me

 

[kniesh]

Ok guys, decided to move purchasing the stuff forward a bit now and I'm on my way to drop off all my tropical fish to the LFS. It's a shop I trust totally but some quick advice is needed now. I want to buy some of the equipment now, while i'm there. Any suggestions on what I should get first very much appreciated.

I was thinking also, will I need to buy a new lid or is my one with the tropical light ok ( I know I need new lights) but there doesnt seem space in it for 2 long bulbs without one bulb coming into contact with wires.

Ok, so any advice on the first things I should be purchasing here very much appreciated, I am armed with £200 and whatever I get for the fish I have (about £40). Thx in advance

 

[demonmagus]

are you doing a reef or a fish only with live rock?

 

[kniesh]

probably reef but not goin to be buyin corals for a good while yet, gonna let the water mature a bit first. I am looking to get the equipment now so I can start cycling.

 

[demonmagus]

well... I think someone else should guide you on lights (I'm crap )

You want to get live sand, enough to cover the bottom, 2.5 inches thick layer... I'm not too sure how many bags you will need, work out the volume of the sand (surface area of tank times by 6.25 (in cm, 6.25 is the thickness in cm of the sand).

Live rock for that tank... well... do you want to get all of it now? (I don't think you've got enough cash atm)

 

[kniesh]

No, not gonna be gettin it all now, just enough to run a cycle.

The things I want to get now are;

Live rock ( not too much tho)
live sand
powerheads ( although i have a big powerful filter in my tank for the tropicals, is this ok after being washed etc.. incase he doesnt have the powerheads i want) It is massively powerful, would do for the cycling i think if usable.
Skimmer -- the most expensive thing but obviously needed
marine salt Nearly forgot
Possibly a refractometer

Is this list ok to cycle or have i forgot something important?

 

[demonmagus]

that list looks fine.

 

[kniesh]

Thx.... So is this filter re-usable or is it simply no good to be put near a marine set up now?