Newb To Sw Looking For Some General Pointers

[xxBarneyxx]

I have kept FW tropicals for a few years now and after looking over this part of the forum and being amazed by the reef set up at one of my LFS I would really like to set up a Marine tank.

I will probably start our with a FOWLR but to be honest I'm actually more interested in the LR then the fish the thought of having random critters appearing in the tank and watching as things develop really fasinates me, the fish will just be a bonus! I would like to go for corals a little later on down the line but it depends what lighting i can get my hands on.

I have been reading through this forum quite a bit and looking at a few other websites but if anyone has any really good "newb-friendly" websites to get me started I would appreciate it.

It regards to equipment am I right in think the below would be enough to get me started?

Tank (probably a 3ft "deep" maybe a 4ft if I can sort the space out for it)
Sump (i have a 2ftX1ftX1ft tank i can convert)
Overflow box (unless I can get a pre-drilled tank)
Pump from sump to tank
Additional power heads to make up to the required flow.
Heater (In sump)
Test kits
Salt water mix and RO water
Light for tank
Light for Fuge in the sump
Enough LS to cover 1-2" of the tank bottom
Enough LR to take up around 20% of the tank space
Protein skimmer
UV filter (is this actually needed?)

Is that more or less it? I have tons of FW canister filters (fluvals of various sizes), can these be put to good use (Maybe fill with LR rubble, do the SW bacteria need light?)
Also any idea on the rough set up cost and for a tank of that size would it be worth buying an RO unit?

 

[norite]

I think you have things pretty much covered, you have done your research...good!
I would drop the Live Sand (LS), as in my opinion this is snake oil and a waste of money...your LR will 'seed' the aragonite sand in time anyways. Better to put your money elsewhere.
As for the cannister filters, yeah, they are great for things like adding activated charcoal and phosphate remover (rowaphos) just take everything else out, it's not needed. You could add LR ionto the cannister if you want - extra filtering capacity, and no LR doesn't need light to survive (except if it has algae already growing on it...)

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would drop the Live Sand (LS), as in my opinion this is snake oil and a waste of money...your LR will 'seed' the aragonite sand in time anyways. Better to put your money elsewhere.

Good point! I'm in no rush to get livestock in there so a longer cycle time is not an issue (especially if it is going to save me some cash ).

Would the same apply for LR (Ie Could I substute some for base rock)? If so what would be a good % of LR to Base rock?

One other thing I'm not sure about (there is probably a post somewhere that I missed). For cycling with LR do I need to add ammonia? Or is this only if you have un-cured LR (where the die off will be providing the ammonia source)? If so is it a similar process to FW (Add 5ppm ammonia, until it is cycled within 12 hours)? Edit: NM found the big thread with lots of links and stickys that explains this Looks like the best bet is to go with Uncured Rock as it will be cheaper and supply the ammonia.

Oh yeah, I have also seen conflicting information on how much LR to add at the start. Some sites say to add it all from the begining (which it seems most people here do?) but I have read elsewhere that it is better to add it gradually over time.

I know these are really stupid questions with obvious answers (if you know what your doing) so I really do appreciate the time anyone take to reply

 

[Musho3210]

uhh unless you are doing a CL (closed loop) look into stream type powerheads like:

Tunze nano and regular streams
hydor koralia
Seio super flow pumps
and Modded Maxi-jets (you buy the mods separate and you have to do some DIY stuff with this)

Seeing that you like life on the live rock a lot, consider getting uncured live rock, may stink a lot in the early stages and cause huge ammonia spikes, but will have more life than cured rock.

buy an RO/DI unit, if you want to save some money get an RO unit first, then when you have saved up a bit buy a DI canister and hook it up. It will pay itself off in no time in a tank of that size compared to buying it by the gallon at your lfs.

 

[drag]

Would the same apply for LR (Ie Could I substute some for base rock)? If so what would be a good % of LR to Base rock?

yes you could actually have all base rock and one piece of LR to see all of the base rock.... just would take a little time . how much exactly i dont know. but it would work

Seeing that you like life on the live rock a lot, consider getting uncured live rock, may stink a lot in the early stages and cause huge ammonia spikes, but will have more life than cured rock.

agreed

 

[xxBarneyxx]

uhh unless you are doing a CL (closed loop) look into stream type powerheads like:

Tunze nano and regular streams
hydor koralia
Seio super flow pumps
and Modded Maxi-jets (you buy the mods separate and you have to do some DIY stuff with this)

Thanks for that. I have only just started looking at the different brands for equipment so it is good to know what ones are best. From what I understand the modded Maxi-jets will be too much for a smaller tank? I need to find out what the flow rate is on the canister filters I have. I'm guessing that I'm going to have to get at least 1 PH so will have a look at the above

I think I will definetly go with uncured rock and (money permitting) not use any base rock to increase the amount of critters I get

Sorry for yet more questions but is there anything special I should look for in an RO unit?

 

[Musho3210]

if only you lived in the US, then i would be able to give you a website that sells uncured rock as well as not needing to follow regulations against live rock in the US.... but your in the UK

It may also be a good idea to get all sorts of live rock, fiji, carribean, tonga, etc from all over the world so you can get a variety of life and more bio-diversity.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

It may also be a good idea to get all sorts of live rock, fiji, carribean, tonga, etc from all over the world so you can get a variety of life and more bio-diversity.

Thanks, thats a good tip and something I wouldnt have thought of!

Whats the average price for Uncured LR? From a quick look It seems maybe £7 per KG is about average?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

It may also be a good idea to get all sorts of live rock, fiji, carribean, tonga, etc from all over the world so you can get a variety of life and more bio-diversity.

Thanks, thats a good tip and something I wouldnt have thought of!

Whats the average price for Uncured LR? From a quick look It seems maybe ?7 per KG is about average?

Ouch! just worked out the cost for this

Item Price
Tank 300 (maybe less, will check the the local freead's to see what is about).
LR 350
Salt 90 (Makes 750lt, assuming a 20% WC every week+set up should be about half a years supply)
Skimmer 250
UV 90
Hydrometer 15
Master Test kit 50
Refractometer 30
Sand 50
X2 PH 60
Overflow 40
R/O 80
Misc 100

Total £1505

I have a pretty good shop near me though which has alot of Marine equipment so I think I could problably shave a couple hundred off that if I buy things as a package deal. Possible the skimmer I picked as well was overkill but from what I understand bigger is better (and this was just to get an idea of cost).

sorry another question. How good are the Aqua Medic systems with everything built in? Are they decent quality or would I just be better off spending that little extra for the seperate compents.

 

[Musho3210]

you could skip the UV to save some cash, and why are you getting a refractometer AND a hydrometer

What about the return pump from the sump?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

you could skip the UV to save some cash, and why are you getting a refractometer AND a hydrometer

lol, thats because I was looking at Refractometers that cost over £150 and thought "nah hydrometer will do" then found some cheaper knock offs on ebay Forgot to take the hydrometer off

What about the return pump from the sump?

I knew it was missing something. Thanks.

This is by no means a final shopping list but just wanted to have an idea in my head of what kit I needed to investigate and roughly how much I need to budget for it

 

[Musho3210]

yeah you'll find a lot of things you plan to get, and wont get it. You will keep changing your mind until the last minute.

 

[norite]

Good point! I'm in no rush to get livestock in there so a longer cycle time is not an issue (especially if it is going to save me some cash ).

That's really good to hear. There are too many fools who just want to rush into things and can't wait...and then wonder why all their fish are dead....!

One other thing I'm not sure about (there is probably a post somewhere that I missed). For cycling with LR do I need to add ammonia? Or is this only if you have un-cured LR (where the die off will be providing the ammonia source)? If so is it a similar process to FW (Add 5ppm ammonia, until it is cycled within 12 hours)? Edit: NM found the big thread with lots of links and stickys that explains this Looks like the best bet is to go with Uncured Rock as it will be cheaper and supply the ammonia.

Oh yeah, I have also seen conflicting information on how much LR to add at the start. Some sites say to add it all from the begining (which it seems most people here do?) but I have read elsewhere that it is better to add it gradually over time.

After adding your LR, you don't need to do anything...the LR will cycle itself. Just get an ammonia and nitrite test kit, and follow the tank's progress. You can add it in all in one go, or add it in stages, (as I did) but please be aware that if you add it in stages, you will cause mini cycles, so don't add any livestock until you've finished adding all your LR.

All the best!

 

[xxBarneyxx]

next question is where is a good place in the UK to buy LR from and hiow an you make sure that it has been properly farmed/collected?

 

[Musho3210]

i dont think there is anyway to be sure the rock was environmentally friendly collected, just have to trust the buyer. Its hard to tell if a fish had been caught normally or with cyanide.....