So Its Begins! The Tank Is Empty And Ready To Go

[ben1987]

id lose it if i were you!

youll need to clean the external regular to stop it becoming a nitrate facotry

 

[mark1979]

id lose it if i were you!

youll need to clean the external regular to stop it becoming a nitrate facotry

i shouldnt do if i have it full of live rock should i?

and no sponges?

 

[ben1987]

you wont have to do it anywhere near as much no

id put your phos remover in there too, last a couple of weeks atleast and its an area of quite high flow

 

[SkiFletch]

No sponges unless you're willing to clean them thoroughly every week (and sounds like you want more hands-off )

Koralia powerheads are far from rubbish. They're probably the best "affordable" constant-flow powerhead out there. Sure Tunzes and Vortechs are better, but so is the cost. If you're not looking into getting really sensitive corals that need randomized flow right away, Koralias are a great way to start.

As for Tangs, I'd consider Yellow Tangs, Purple Tangs, Convict Tangs, Kole Tangs, Birstletooth Tangs, or Chevron Tangs. You could TRY a few others, but utlimately they will out-grow a 5' tank. If you had a 6 footer I might suggest a couple others, but even then, it's a big jump up to the space required for most of the others.

For Rock, it HAS to be stacked on a flat surface, DO NOT stack it on sand. Only a matter of time before the sand shifts for one reason or another and your rock comes tumbling down. If you're concerned about setting it down on the glass itself (and that's not an unreasonable concern), consider propping it up just a little on thin sliver sections of wide-diameter PVC pipe, or consider laying down a sacrificial piece of thin plexiglass (perspex) down on the bottom of the tank. No need to glue them, but they'll distribute the weight nicely.

Skimmer, I agree with Seffie completely, don't buy a cheapo skimmer, you'll regret it. A deltec MCE600 is probably the most reliable hang-on skimmer you can get for a tank your size. You MIGHT be able to get away with an MCE300 if you keep your fish stock levels low, but there's nothing wrong with skimming large. Also, DEFINITELY buy used. Skimmers last a really long time and you can save some serious cash buying used. Consider aquarists classifides or ebay for buying used

 

[mark1979]

No sponges unless you're willing to clean them thoroughly every week (and sounds like you want more hands-off )

Koralia powerheads are far from rubbish. They're probably the best "affordable" constant-flow powerhead out there. Sure Tunzes and Vortechs are better, but so is the cost. If you're not looking into getting really sensitive corals that need randomized flow right away, Koralias are a great way to start.

As for Tangs, I'd consider Yellow Tangs, Purple Tangs, Convict Tangs, Kole Tangs, Birstletooth Tangs, or Chevron Tangs. You could TRY a few others, but utlimately they will out-grow a 5' tank. If you had a 6 footer I might suggest a couple others, but even then, it's a big jump up to the space required for most of the others.

For Rock, it HAS to be stacked on a flat surface, DO NOT stack it on sand. Only a matter of time before the sand shifts for one reason or another and your rock comes tumbling down. If you're concerned about setting it down on the glass itself (and that's not an unreasonable concern), consider propping it up just a little on thin sliver sections of wide-diameter PVC pipe, or consider laying down a sacrificial piece of thin plexiglass (perspex) down on the bottom of the tank. No need to glue them, but they'll distribute the weight nicely.

Skimmer, I agree with Seffie completely, don't buy a cheapo skimmer, you'll regret it. A deltec MCE600 is probably the most reliable hang-on skimmer you can get for a tank your size. You MIGHT be able to get away with an MCE300 if you keep your fish stock levels low, but there's nothing wrong with skimming large. Also, DEFINITELY buy used. Skimmers last a really long time and you can save some serious cash buying used. Consider aquarists classifides or ebay for buying used

hey ski,i dont want you to think im lazy and dont look after my tanks,as my as of now tropical setup is probaly looked after to much,lol

i just dont want more work than is needed if you no what i mean.

so a full fx5 with live rock rubble, i gathe ri would have to put it in a media bag as if any small bits break off they will wreck the impellor!!

is there any good sites i can see pictures of rock formations in tanks,i would love to take a look before i decide what to do!!

 

[seffieuk]

Same tank as I have, have your read my journel?

Seffie x

 

[mark1979]

Same tank as I have, have your read my journel?

Seffie x

i just checked it out,i think it will be a great help for me.

in what way did you have to mod the skimmer to fit? as that the skimmer i would like also

 

[seffieuk]

Same tank as I have, have your read my journel?

Seffie x

i just checked it out,i think it will be a great help for me.

in what way did you have to mod the skimmer to fit? as that the skimmer i would like also

Nothing fancy just cut the inlet and outlet tubes down so they hang less far into the tank

Seffie x

 

[Ian H]

I dont want this to sound harsh or nasty and in no way am i an expert but i would say you need to research more.

I almost bought a new tank for marines a while back and was pretty much the same as you, didn't know anything about marines. Luckily (not at the time!) i had money problems and had to put it off. Since then i've just been picking up bits of information ready for when i go marine. Now im planning a nano tank as i dont have the room for another big tank and i love my tropicals too much

Anyways like i said, i really dont want it to sound harsh as thats not how i mean it, but if you dont know the difference between FO, FOWLR and a REEF tank then i would would read some more on here!!

also read this:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=79056&st=0

just so you know what your getting into. I would imagine you will want a reef tank at some point so dont forget about the lights ect.

Wish you the best of luck though and hope everything goes well for you!!

have you read up on the goodies and badies you get with liverock too? as with 40kg i would imagine you would have LOADS of each. Last thing you want is all your lovely new shrimp/fish getting eaten!!

 

[mark1979]

way to put me off,lol

but being serious,you realy just have put me off completely.

i no you wasnt being harsh,but i did have doubts from the start,that has just comfirmed it for me

im not the brightest person and i no i have sort of jumped in the deep end,but from my experiance's thats the way to learn.

im not sure what to do now to be honest. i re-homed 80% of my tropicals over the last 3 days so im stuffed now.

 

[Ian H]

your not stuffed at all as you can still set it up, but just look into it more. Like i said im no expert just stating an opinion.

There was an amazing index some where on here that i learnt alot from, but cant find it now to look at!!

Jumping in at the deep end is ok, but chances are it will cost you alot of money and probably end up putting you off completly. Im not the brightest person in the world but i've just made a bigger effort to look into it all before i've done it. Although like i said in my post above if i had the money i would have done it, im REALLY glad i didnt though as i didnt know hardly anything!!

Why not buy some RO water, some salt, couple of power heads and a refractomer and keep an eye out for some cheap LR? that way when some does come up you have everthing you need to start off and will of had enough time to research everything.

 

[mark1979]

your not stuffed at all as you can still set it up, but just look into it more. Like i said im no expert just stating an opinion.

There was an amazing index some where on here that i learnt alot from, but cant find it now to look at!!

Jumping in at the deep end is ok, but chances are it will cost you alot of money and probably end up putting you off completly. Im not the brightest person in the world but i've just made a bigger effort to look into it all before i've done it. Although like i said in my post above if i had the money i would have done it, im REALLY glad i didnt though as i didnt know hardly anything!!

Why not buy some RO water, some salt, couple of power heads and a refractomer and keep an eye out for some cheap LR? that way when some does come up you have everthing you need to start off and will of had enough time to research everything.

you no what,i do no you are right.

but 1 thing i did learn from my tropical's,every person has a different way of doing things. reading all of them can be confusing and it gets me in the pickle im in now.

for example ive been told 4 different percentages to do when water changing,lol

people on this thread have told me exactly what i want to no by me asking. imo thats the best way to find what you want to no,even though it makes me look stupid.

i already have a mce600,collect it on sunday,2 koralia 3's,a juwel t5 upgrade on order and a tub of d+d salt

the 1 thing i realy cant get my head around is the water chemistry, ive tried reading up on it but i just cant understand it!!

i no you need to mix the salt and let dissolve,but getting it to the correct salinaty is a big worry for me.

im breaking the below up to do this,so i gotta be sure,as i lov my tropical setup!!

 

[Ian H]

That is a BEAUTIFUL tank!! i would find it VERY hard to break that up and would have to find ways to get a new tank

The problem with things like water changes is that its not a fact but someones opinion. Im sure you've been told millions of different ways to do water changes in that tank but im guessing your dosing via EI and so do a 50% water change every week? There is no right or wrong way as such, so long as the chemistry is fine its all good.

From what i've been reading the temp makes a difference. so get a bucket (or in your case a big plastic bin!) put a heater and power head into it. now get the water to the temp your tank will be at and turn the power head on. Add a load of salt and test with your refractometer. Keep adding salt until you get to the desired level or just add RO water to bring the salt level down.

But like i keep saying im not an expert, dont have a marine set up yet but i've looked into it quite a bit!

 

[ben1987]

its not muhc harder than tropical at all. If you can do trops you can keep marine fish,


btw theres an mce600 over on UR for £140

 

[mark1979]

its not muhc harder than tropical at all. If you can do trops you can keep marine fish,


btw theres an mce600 over on UR for £140

i managed to get 1 for £110

and ian,i normaly do a 50% change on my tropical tank on a friday,as my fx5 can drain half the tank in under 2mins,lol

and on a monday i do a full gravel vac,which takes ages with all the mopani in the way etc etc

is there any decent books i can buy that are not totaly confusing?