New Tank Setup

[ClaireR]

Hello, You’ll have to forgive my very basic questions, but i want to get this right! We already have a tropical tank and now we want to set up a marine one as well.

We have got a 240Ltr tank, which has come with an external fluval 306 filter, heater and lighting (2 x 40W)l.

After reading some posts on getting started with a marine tank, i have a few questions...

Can we use gravel, or do we need sand?
Is the filter ok or do we need a sump / filters?
Can we use tap water with a de clorinator and marine salt? (What is RO water)? – We plan on having fish (not necessarily coral)
We have a spare “air bubble” from a previous tropical tank, can we use this in the marine tank for aid water flow and oxygen.
Is this lighting level too low?

Any help is appreciated!
Thanks.

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

your best using sand!,

you can use your filter depending on what sort of filter it is. im guessing its a canister filter, should be fine if it is. but then again it might be better to invest in a sump as you can put a protein skimmer and heater in there and keep the out of the main tank to make it look better+you dont end up cooking your fish which has happened to be twice this week in my cichlid tank, once an accident second time was time for a heater guard!.

i use tap water, my lfs has told me that our water is fine, ive read in some places like NY and UK they need RO water because their water contains some stuff in it due to developement waste etc so the extra filtration is needed to get some junk out of the water but yeah i was told not to worry bout it here in aum, ill tell u how i go in a couple of days when i buy some chocolate clowns but yeah being australia, i guess our water is safe enough apparently my lfs tells me, but it depends on where u live and how pedantic your going to be i guess. its basically an extra filtration system which hooks onto the pipe of the water tap your going to be using and i guess anouther upside is its healthier drinking water for you and your family!

if you plan on just having fish this saves you about 300$AUD in filtration media and probably leans you maybe more towards a cannister filter then a sump, but then again as stated above a sump allows you to keep heater and protein skimmer underneith and out of the way. i think its called the refugium which adds an extra filtration to make 100% sure theres no extra bad stuff in the water which kill coral very easily especially the soft ones like your anenomes.

you dont need an air stone or air in your tank from what ive seen and read. from what ive read and am only deducing this idea from the info ive been given but the protein skimmer creates micro bubbles, apart from the obvious filtration of foaming protein out of the water and these air bubbles create the oxygen need for fish anaerobic production but someone may need to confirm this. i dont think there is a need for air production in your tank via airstone and pump!

the lighting is ok for fish i think but if your planning to have any type of coral and some types of fish which requires food like algae which may grow from photosynthetic means youll need something like a T5 quad globe, 2Xblue 2Xwhite light which generates the correct spectrum of light!,

hope this helps, just a lil knowledge i have. hopefully GETTING SOME FISH TODAY!!! so excited.

just remember you need to get yourself a protein skimmer!!!

 

[CroNiC]

It's always better to have a sump, so if you can go do it.
Are you going reef? - You'll need lighting then

You should read this website:
http/www.melevsreef.com/

 

[CageUK]

Hi

Yes sand is what you should use for marine tanks. Either aragonite or coral sand. This has the added benefit of helping to buffer and stabilise your tanks PH.

Wether you use your filter will depend on the sort of tank you want to end up with.

If you are just keeping fish then the filter will be fine.

However, the accepted standard for filtration nowadays in marine tanks is live rock. This is pretty much essential if you are keeping anything more than just fish. The live rock becomes your filter so you can remove the filter entirely. If you go this route though you need to have powerheads (water pumps) to move the water across the live rock to filter it.

A sump is preferential if you have the space/funds/ability to build one. It gives you somewhere out of sight to put your tank equipment and increases your water volume. A sump is not essential though, just preferable given all the above.

Water type depends on where you live but most places including the UK are not recommended for use in marine tanks. I would say go for RO water everytime. RO water means Reverse Osmosis. The supply water is past through a system of filters/membrane to remove impurities and dissolved solids giving you a very pure water. The salt you add to it then gives you all the suitable trace elements found in sea water giving you the closest representation of natural sea water for your livestock. you don't need to de-chlorinate RO water.

Your air pump could actually be useful. You can use it for decoration if you want but most marine aquarists don't. I do however use one in my filter chambers. Because it aids gaseous exchange and helps to keep Co2 at bay, it can help with stabilising and raising PH. If you find you are having problems keeping your PH at the correct levels then your air pump could come in handy.

The lighting again depends on what you are keeping in the tank. The lights will be fine if you are just keeping fish and live rock, but if you are looking to keep corals then you will need at least T5 lighting but if your tank is quite deep then you could possibly need metal hallides. Do a search on the forums for lots of advise on lighting.

Cheers

 

[ClaireR]

That’s really helpful, thank you

The tank is ready with the sand in place, we have a huge bucket of marine salt ready for the water, and I’m in the process of ordering a RO converter for home (The shop sells RO water, but the number of trips required for the initial fill makes it a bit prohibitive really). We’ve planning on cycling it with the live rock (after initially going for just fish, we’ve progressed to liking the look of live rock as well!).

As we already have the filter, can we use it in addition to the live rock? Is there any benefit in that? If we did that, would we still need powerheads as well?

We’re planning on spending the cycle time choosing the fish wish list so we don’t get conflicts. I’ve read the clowns are a good one to go for for the first fish in there, is that the general consensus? Also does anyone know if you can keep a black clown and an orange clown together?.(maybe this should be a separate thread on stocking, I’m not sure)

Thanks again, your advice is really helpful.

 

[CageUK]

There's no benefit from using an external filter per se. It can be useful to use as a powerhead to give greater water flow but I would suggest taking all of the filter medium and noodles out of it as this will eventually become a nitrate factory. They can also be useful for using special mediums such as rowaphos or nitrate removing bags, that sort of thing. I also use mine for driving my UV.
The live rock replaces the filter and is a much more natural solution. Even if you use your filter to improve flow you will still need powerheads. As has been said on the forum many times, the minimum turnover of water you want to aim for is 20x tank volume per hour and the 306 will come nowhere near that!

Can't help with the clowns question sorry. I seem to remember hearing that black clowns can be a little aggressive, but I might be thinking of maroons! I don't think that generally it's a good idea to mix clowns but I would wait for a second opinion!

Cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

I'll chime in on the clowns question. You CAN do this but here's the catch. The clowns have to be immature juveniles for this to succeed. If your LFS gets groups of tank-bred clownfish in you stand a great chance of success so long as you pick smaller clowns (NOT the largest). If not, and your LFS only gets wild-caught pairs in, you probably won't succeed in mixing colors.

It has nothing to do with color and everything to do with the sex of the clownfish. In groups of tank-bred clowns, only the largest two are sexually mature (largest = female, 2nd largest = male), the rest have yet to "pick" their sex and remain that way until the male or female is removed. Once a clown becomes a female, it cannot change sex, and if you are unlucky enough to try and pair two sexually mature wild-caught female clownfish, they will kill each other...