Some Questions For The Newcomer To Saltwater

[rocknurworld2006]

HI there after about a year of research and contimplitaing wether to go into saltwater and saying no then yes then no and have now decided to do it lol.
so have a couple of questions
im using the fluval duo 800 deep for the aquarium.

1)when you lose water due to evaporation do you top up with saltwater or just ro water and how much is the fluctuation in test results when adding.

2)are these skimmers any good as have a new one lying about
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nano-Wood-Air-Stone-Protein-Skimmer-Marine-Aquarium-/260676104030?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item3cb181af5e

3)lighting i have the following what would be best to use im not going to be keeping high demanding corals etc.
i have a over head t5 lighting unit with 2 bulbs
1 is 18w 12000k blue and the other is 18w 71000k white
it is a 30cm unit so would go width ways
If this was put on how much area would it cover??

the other option is i have 2 new 24" 24w 1000k light bulbs

would a arcadia t5 starter unit do for this?

let me know what you think want to do this the cheapest possible way.

also how much coral sand would i need what is better coral sand or coral gravel???

 

[-Nemo-]

Hello there, Welcome to the salty side!

1) You ALWAYS want to top off with RO Water. Salt does not evaporate. The only reason you want to be putting saltwater into the tank, is if you have taken saltwater out (i.e. water change).

The amount of evaporation from a tank depends on many factors including the specific set-up as well as where you live. It's generally good to get into the habit of just toping off your water everyday. If you follow this, you won't have to worry about density swings as your tank is a decent size.

2) That skimmer is "old-school". They work OK and if you have one, why not use it, but I wouldn't expect miracles from it. If you're looking for improvement, I would go with a needle-wheel skimmer. Your tank is in the middleground for skimmer or no skimmer. If you do regular water changes you could do without, otherwise I would suggest a skimmer just to make life a little easier...

3)It sounds like neither lighting system will cover the length of the tank completely? Or did I miss something there? If it does not cover the entire tank, you will have dim spots on the sides it does not cover, which may prevent you from being able to put corals there due to lack of light.


For a substrate, I would recommend aragonite sand. "Coral Gravel", which i'm assuming is crushed coral, is very chunky and can inhibit potential livestock that need sand to burrow in. If you do not plan on having these critters, then the choice is yours.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

thanks for your advice very help full.
your right about the lighting if at the moment say i was going to use one of them which is best out of the 2 options ?? ignoring dead spots just now as i will just not put corals there until i get an appropriate light very soon.

also the skimmer mentioned im unsure of how much in the water does it go, as in were should the water level be on the skimmer, if that makes sense

is it worth using existing hood that comes with juwel as they are good hoods and replacing the t8 lighting with t5? i would have to use 24" tubes as aquarium is 80cm long
thanks

 

[rocknurworld2006]

also so is it better the larger coral gravel rather than the fine sand?? can they still burrow etc like gobies in the larger stuff ok. how much do you think i will need in kg of it for my tank?

 

[-Nemo-]

Could you explain the two lighting systems a little more? Are they both T5?

Did the skimmer come with instructions? Those guys can be very tricky to get set correctly sometimes and they all work a little bit differently. That site you linked doesn't really show/explain much about it. You also need to change the wooden airstone about every 1.5-2 months

Are you meaning coral gravel as crushed coral? If so, it will not be ok for sand sifters... You do not have to use a sugar sized sand (and sometimes its best as it can be a pain), there are larger grain aragonite sands available that would still be OK for sandsifters. About 15kg will be enough.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

1) 2x24" t5 bulbs
if i was using these i would need to buy arcadia t5 unit.

2) its an arcadia overtank t5 luminaire 30cmlong
with the bulbs as stated in other post

dont have instructions with skimmer and all you get on the link i give is the only info there is.
so any ideas on where to place them?

it is crushed coral but my store sells large bags of coral sand quite expensive and is a large bag though and small bags 4kg for about £5 which is not sand though as is not fine at all. like size of normal aquarium gravel.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

also what turn over would i need for the tank? 1 power head wud be ok??

 

[woody88]

also what turn over would i need for the tank? 1 power head wud be ok??

Need to aim for 20x t/o. At least 2 powerheads to create random flow in tank.

E.G - 100L tank would need 2000lph powerhead to create 20x t/o [better to have 2 x 1000lph for random flow]

 

[-Nemo-]

Neither light system is ideal because of size, but the longer one would be better.

Skimmer hmm... personally I would just place it to my best knowledge and go from there... If you submerge it completely except for the collection cup, I don't think you can go wrong.

As stated, you CAN do crushed coral but it will limit some livestock choices, otherwise you will want to use aragonite sand. It does not have to be sugar sized. They make some 1-2mm grain sized ones that I personally prefer.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

also what turn over would i need for the tank? 1 power head wud be ok??

Need to aim for 20x t/o. At least 2 powerheads to create random flow in tank.

E.G - 100L tank would need 2000lph powerhead to create 20x t/o [better to have 2 x 1000lph for random flow]

wud u just have one at either end of the tank and how far down do you place these and what pointing towards?

 

[-Nemo-]

As states you want at least 2 powerheads, how to position them will partially depend on your live rock structure. It want it so there is the least amount of dead spots (no areas of flow) as possible. I personally like to have one pointing up at the water surface to get some flow up there. So, you might consider buying three,
one pointing up
one on the left and
one on the right

You'll likely have to mess with them for a while to get them how you like best.

 

[woody88]

As states you want at least 2 powerheads, how to position them will partially depend on your live rock structure. It want it so there is the least amount of dead spots (no areas of flow) as possible. I personally like to have one pointing up at the water surface to get some flow up there. So, you might consider buying three,
one pointing up
one on the left and
one on the right

You'll likely have to mess with them for a while to get them how you like best.

I agree. But like nemo said it depends on your rock scape. Keep the rock away from the glass as you will get little flow behind.

I can talk tho as all mine is up against the glass but I'm on almost double the recommended amount of flow so I ain't worried!

 

[seffieuk]

Ah, so you came back, couldnt resist the allure of the salt eh anyways, nice to see you back

Seffie x

 

[rocknurworld2006]

Ah, so you came back, couldnt resist the allure of the salt eh anyways, nice to see you back

Seffie x

yes i came backlol
nice to see you too!! hope all is well

 

[woody88]

1) 2x24" t5 bulbs
if i was using these i would need to buy arcadia t5 unit.

2) its an arcadia overtank t5 luminaire 30cmlong
with the bulbs as stated in other post

I have 2 x 24watt 2ft T5's in my trop tank. I looked everywhere for an arcadia control gear to run them and it turned out they were a rip off.

So I bought a pre wired twin output ballast for £10 trade and wired a 3 core flex onto a plug top via an in line time clock.
Much cheaper and high frequency so no starter required.