New To Marine Need Any Helpful Advice.

[niblic3rd]

Hi all,

I have kept tropical fish for the past 7 years and have just bought my new tank - Fluval Roma 240 with the stand. It is a 4ft 240l tank I am going to be turning into a Marine tank.

I am currently saving up about £500 for the bit and pieces I will need to begin the marine tank my lps which does lots of marine and all the guys have thair own marine tanks at home have told me what i would need and i always like to know every angle. So I want to take advantage of you guys extensive knowledge on the subject too.

I will be buying:
24 kilos of living rock as im told 1 kilo to every 10 litres.
Good sized Protein skimmer which will handle up to a 400-500l tank.
Ocean salt.
Good sand substrate.
New media for my Fluval 305 filter and removing the current stuff.
Marine bulb for my T8 built in lighting system. I will in time upgrade to T5 but will cost me too much more. (I will hold off on alot of coral until i upgrade)
Plus some other stuff that I have not had a chance to look at as i have not saved all the cash.

I will once start up the tank with 2/3 full of water and add the salt and set off the heater and filter then afterwards will buy the live rock so i can begin to cycle the rock too. The rock will be cured so that will save me time.

I am heading for a mainly fish aquarium to begin with as i don't want to get too far ahead of myself. It will be stocked with (im hoping) Clowns, 1 Regal Tang, snails and a couple of hermit crabs. Some cardinals which i saw today and told would do fine with clowns and tangs and maybes some gobys.

How many fish would be the max for a tank of my size? What other things do i need and what to do i need to look for? If people have anything that goes into a marine setup that they want to sell and are near york then let me know as i am always willing to find a bargain. But generally advice i am looking for.

Thanks in advance, Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

You can have as much rock in the tank as you like. The more rock you have the less water you have.
You can use your old filter media if you wash it out and dry it before use. Washing it will remove the gunk and drying it will kill most things on it. If you have carbon in the filter throw it away and replace with new carbon.
The tank should be big enough for a pr of clowns, a small blue tang and some cardinalfish. Cardinals are schooling fish and like to be in groups. But it also depends on what sort of cardinalfish. Bangaii cardinals are a schooling fish that occur in groups of hundreds in the wild. If you have 4 or 5 in a tank they usually fight so it is best to only keep a pr or a group of 20 or more. Your tank isn't big enough for 20 so only get a pr of them. Other cardinals are more peaceful and do fine in groups of 4-6.
After you put the rock in the tank and then fill the tank up with water, remove the rock and measure the height of the water level (without the rock in the tank). Then work out how much water is in your tank. Write this info down somewhere and keep it safe for future reference. If you ever have to treat the tank it helps to know how much water is actually in it. Once you have measured the height of the water level then put the rock back in and finish setting it up.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level.

 

[niblic3rd]

You can have as much rock in the tank as you like. The more rock you have the less water you have.
You can use your old filter media if you wash it out and dry it before use. Washing it will remove the gunk and drying it will kill most things on it. If you have carbon in the filter throw it away and replace with new carbon.
The tank should be big enough for a pr of clowns, a small blue tang and some cardinalfish. Cardinals are schooling fish and like to be in groups. But it also depends on what sort of cardinalfish. Bangaii cardinals are a schooling fish that occur in groups of hundreds in the wild. If you have 4 or 5 in a tank they usually fight so it is best to only keep a pr or a group of 20 or more. Your tank isn't big enough for 20 so only get a pr of them. Other cardinals are more peaceful and do fine in groups of 4-6.
After you put the rock in the tank and then fill the tank up with water, remove the rock and measure the height of the water level (without the rock in the tank). Then work out how much water is in your tank. Write this info down somewhere and keep it safe for future reference. If you ever have to treat the tank it helps to know how much water is actually in it. Once you have measured the height of the water level then put the rock back in and finish setting it up.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level.

Great info thanks. My filter is brand new and still in its wrapping. The guy at the pet store said to use some other type of media in place of the standard media u get in a external fluval.

Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

You can use the same media in fresh or salt water with the exception of Ammogon (Zeolite). This is a white granulated substance that absorbs ammonia from fresh water. It does not work in salt water.

You can have a sponge and carbon and filter wool in the filter for a marine tank. Some people fill them up with coral rubble or nitrate & phosphate removing substances. You can use these if you are concerned about nitrates and phosphates in the water. If you do regular water changes on the tank they should stay low anyway.
The main argument about sponges in filters on marine tanks is they encourage nitrates. They can if they are not kept clean but it also depends on if you are using the canister filter to filter the water, or you are going to use the live rock to filter the water.
If you use the canister filter to filter the water (ie: ammonia to nitrite to nitrate) then just set it up normally.
If you use the live rock to filter the water then either wash the filter out under tap water each week to prevent beneficial filter bacteria from living in it. Or only use the canister filter for nitrate & phosphate removing media.

 

[niblic3rd]

Great info thanks.

I will use the filter to remove the nitrate & phosphate and the water movement will help the tank i am going to buy a second water motor thing that will prevent any dead zones in the tank to help overall.

Can you tell me what a sump is used for? I know its a second tank but after that i don't know a thing. Do i need one to make a marine tank successful?

Thanks, Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

A sump is used to hold extra water on reef tanks. Once the main display tank is full of rock and coral the tank will hold significantly less water than it originally did. A sump adds water volume to the entire system thus making the set-up more stabile.

Sumps are also used to holds things like heaters, skimmers, calcium reactors, etc. This means they can be hidden out of side and not take up space in the main tank.

Sumps also get used to hold and grow macro algae (usually caulerpa). Many marine fishes eat algae and growing it in a sump prevents it from being eaten. It also stops the algae from spreading all over the corals in the display. The macro algae are used to absorb nutrients from the water and help keep it clean. They do a good job at keeping nitrate and phosphate levels low. The algae provide a place for tiny organisms to live (copepods and other crustaceans). These sometimes get picked up by the pump and returned to the main tank where they become food for the corals and fish.

 

[niblic3rd]

A sump is used to hold extra water on reef tanks. Once the main display tank is full of rock and coral the tank will hold significantly less water than it originally did. A sump adds water volume to the entire system thus making the set-up more stabile.

Sumps are also used to holds things like heaters, skimmers, calcium reactors, etc. This means they can be hidden out of side and not take up space in the main tank.

Sumps also get used to hold and grow macro algae (usually caulerpa). Many marine fishes eat algae and growing it in a sump prevents it from being eaten. It also stops the algae from spreading all over the corals in the display. The macro algae are used to absorb nutrients from the water and help keep it clean. They do a good job at keeping nitrate and phosphate levels low. The algae provide a place for tiny organisms to live (copepods and other crustaceans). These sometimes get picked up by the pump and returned to the main tank where they become food for the corals and fish.

What would be the ideal size for a sump? Does it need to be attached to the tank? Can you use a second filter to migrate water from the main display to the sump then back again? Also can the sump be located in the cabinet below the main tank and kept in the dark or does it need light to run? Sorry quite a few questions. I have a 40l tank that i would use but no space around the tank to put it. I was going to use the 40l to prepare fresh saline water for when i did water changes. As it has a heater, small internal filter and air pump to help with moving the salt around the water and get it up to temp.

What would I use if i did not use a sump? The guy in my lfs never said anything about a sump told me my filter with a change of media would be more than enough and going along with the live rock would help the tank be pretty stable. So many right ways to do things and I want to make sure i choose the one best for me. If i can achieve the same results without a sump due to lack of space then that would be better.

Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

a sump is not essential for the marine tank. It simply gives you more water and the bigger water volume will be more stabile.

You can use any size tank or container for a sump and it can go anywhere. Most people have them under the main tank, others have them in a separate room and run PVC pipe to and from the tank.
The only real limitation to the size, is the sump must be able to hold the surplus water from the main tank when the power goes off. When the power goes off some water will drain from the tank into the sump. If the sump isn't big enough then you get wet floors

If you want to grow macro algae in the sump then you will need a light on it. However, if it is not going to have plants in then it doesn't need light.

An external canister filter will be fine and if you want to add a sump you can add one later on.

 

[niblic3rd]

Sounds great thanks.

I want to get the basic setup going with live rock maybes some hardier corals. I will buy some of the rock glue that LPS's sell and make some high ridges in the tank so the corals are closer to the T8 marine light. I know i can't go for the really nice corals as they require stronger lighting so im told but im hoping for some nice little one in my tank later on. I will draw up a plan of attack on what i need to buy and put where and how to design my tank so my fish have the best environment that i can give them. I will put my ideas forward and welcome constructive criticism on them.

Thanks Colin for all the great advice so far. You have helped to dispel some of the problems i foresaw when beginning this project of mine now onto the important part of saving up the cash.

Kev.

 

[niblic3rd]

A question which must be asked is what water do i use before adding the salt?

I hear about RO water and my LPS sells the equipment to do it. I am pretty sure u cannot use tap water and condition it myself with tap water conditioner. So would i need to buy mineral water then add the salt or is a RO water machine worth the price tag and create my own? How do those machines work and whats required to run them?

Thanks, Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

There are plenty of colourful corals that are hardy and tolerate low light. The coral morphs in particular come in numerous colours ranging from blue, red, green, brown & striped forms. They are also available in fluffy forms that have little lumps and bumps on them. On occasions you get a black & white striped form. Blastomussa corals are pretty tough and come in bright colours.

It depends on the tap water in your area. If you have nice tap water without any nitrates or phosphates in then you can use that to make up the saltwater. If you have nitrates in the tap water then either buy distilled/ reverse osmosis (R/O) water, or make your own R/O water.

In the long run it usually works out cheaper to make your own R/O water.
You buy a reverse osmosis unit that gets attached to a tap. The tap is turned on and the tap water is forced through various membranes in the unit. These membranes screen out minerals and nutrients from the water leaving it cleaner and nearly as pure as rain or distilled water.
You can usually backflush R/O units and this will keep them working for longer. They last for a while but depending on how bad the tap water is, will determine on how long the membranes actually last.
R/O units do waste a lot of water. The better units have a 1:1 ratio. That is they give 1 litre of clean water and 1 litre of waste water. The waste water usually goes down the drain or onto the garden. Some units will waste a lot more water than they produce.

You can get R/O units from hardware stores and water filter companies. Look around at a few before you decide on one.

When you first set up the tank you can just fill it with clean water and add the salt mix. Once the live rock, fish, etc is in you should make the salt water up in a separate container and leave it to mix for at least 24 hours. This allows all the salts to dissolve properly and you can adjust the salinity as required before it gets used.

 

[niblic3rd]

There are plenty of colourful corals that are hardy and tolerate low light. The coral morphs in particular come in numerous colours ranging from blue, red, green, brown & striped forms. They are also available in fluffy forms that have little lumps and bumps on them. On occasions you get a black & white striped form. Blastomussa corals are pretty tough and come in bright colours.

It depends on the tap water in your area. If you have nice tap water without any nitrates or phosphates in then you can use that to make up the saltwater. If you have nitrates in the tap water then either buy distilled/ reverse osmosis (R/O) water, or make your own R/O water.

In the long run it usually works out cheaper to make your own R/O water.
You buy a reverse osmosis unit that gets attached to a tap. The tap is turned on and the tap water is forced through various membranes in the unit. These membranes screen out minerals and nutrients from the water leaving it cleaner and nearly as pure as rain or distilled water.
You can usually backflush R/O units and this will keep them working for longer. They last for a while but depending on how bad the tap water is, will determine on how long the membranes actually last.
R/O units do waste a lot of water. The better units have a 1:1 ratio. That is they give 1 litre of clean water and 1 litre of waste water. The waste water usually goes down the drain or onto the garden. Some units will waste a lot more water than they produce.

You can get R/O units from hardware stores and water filter companies. Look around at a few before you decide on one.

When you first set up the tank you can just fill it with clean water and add the salt mix. Once the live rock, fish, etc is in you should make the salt water up in a separate container and leave it to mix for at least 24 hours. This allows all the salts to dissolve properly and you can adjust the salinity as required before it gets used.

I have kept hold of a 40l tank specifically for mixing salt water the day before. I will have to look into RO machines and might begin with buying R/O water from my LPS (they sell it 20l per £2-3 i think) in stages as I have to buy a couple of 25l water containers and they will come in useful when i need to buy more from my LPS as well. Great to hear i can home nice colorful corals which will make it all look alot nicer.

Will a air pump be necessary in a Marine aquarium? I plan to have a Fluval 305 filter and a Powerhead to help with water movement but i can invest in a air pump and bubble curtain if needed?

Thanks Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

a lot of people don't like using air pumps on marine tanks because the air bubbles encourage salt creep. This is where the salt starts to grow over the edge of the tank.
Airpumps also produce fine airbubbles in the water and these can stick to corals and irritate them.
If you have lots of surface turbulence from the water pump outlets then there is no need for an airpump.

 

[niblic3rd]

Great that solves a problem and saves money for me as well. I usually have my light on my old tropical fish tank for anywhere up to 10 hrs a day usually on from when i wake up until it gets dark outside. Is this relatively the same for a Reef Aquarium? I keep taxing you on questions but there is lots i want to know and also need to wait for a couple of books to come to help me out also. You've been a great help so far Colin tanks.

Kev.

 

[Colin_T]

if you have corals or marine algae in the tank then you will need the lights on for a while. I have mine on for about 14 hours per day. You can have them on for up to 16 hours per day.
If you don't have any corals or algae growing then have them on for as long as you like. Perhaps a couple of hours in the evening so you can see them or all day if you want. It doesn't really matter to the fish. It is more for plants and corals (which have algae in them).