Starting A Marine Talk

[Ronananator]

Hello i am new to the marine part of these forms i currently got a 240 litre aquirium and a 54 litre aquiurm


in my 54 litre aquirium i have a interpet pf 1 our else pf 2 power filter ( internal ) coral sand .. and a heater i want to make this tank into saltwater..
i also have a hydrometer and a bucket of salt

i was woundering what else do i need??
and also what is the fastest way to do the cycling process
and one for question stocking ....
( was thinking 1 fire fish/clown fish )

thanks

 

[fishy55599]

ro water
powerheads
test kits
liverock
a refractometer is more accurate than a hydrometer, might be worth getting one.

fastest way to cycle is to get cured live rock, you could be looking at anywhere from 1-4 weeks depending on how long it was out the water.

clownfish is definate no, not sure on fire fish


hope that helps you

and by the way

 

[woody88]

With a 54l your limited with live stock I'm afraid. Majority if fish require a min of 20g ie clown fish etc.

You could get away with a shrimp/ goby possibly but nothing else I'm afraid.

I'd also strongly suggest you go bigger for a marine tank as the smaller the tank in marine the more unstable it will be and will require constant maintenance. Ie weekly water changes etc as well as constant testing of the water.

In terms of live rock, go for cured and if it stays in water during transportation you won't get any die off or very little resulting in a possible mini cycle or maybe not even a cycle at all.

Read the journals and the resource thread as they hold all the vital info needed in setting up and maintaining a marine tank.

This info you WILL need as marine is a lot different to tropical.

Welcome to the salty side also mate!

 

[Ronananator]

thanks a million at the momment i have test kit, hydrometer, ro water (can get from store)


btw can i not just use the output of the filter as powerhead ?

two more things is a filter a must have?
and does crushed coral as substrate count as liverock? i wil be getting some liverock anyway just woundering

sorry one more thing the shop currently has the live rock in a big kind of tank im assuming its being cured there right ? does this mean its lyke seeding the tank is it done straight away our does it still need 2 cycle ?

 

[woody88]

You won't need a filter and the output won't be good enoughto get right amount of flow.

You need flow to be at 20x turnover the size of the tank.
Eg 100l tank would need a 2000lph powerhead to get 20 x t/o.

The live rock is your biological filter (the heart and lungs of a marine tank). A protein skimmer takes care of your mechanical filtration. Rowaphos, carbon etc would be your chemical filtration.

Cured LR contains all the organisms ready to remove ammonia, nitrite etc so ask your lfs for cured live rock.
But tbh lfs are expensive for LR so try to locate a local reefer breaking down there tank and buy the LR from them. Expect to pay £5-£6 per kilo.

You would need around 5kg for your size tank although like I said before, I strongly advise against you setting up such a small marine tank with no experience in marines. Unless your prepared to research your @ss off before you start.

We can help you along the way also but be prepared for non stop maintenance on that size tank and loads if commitment also.

Good luck mate.

 

[fishy55599]

thanks a million at the momment i have test kit, hydrometer, ro water (can get from store)


btw can i not just use the output of the filter as powerhead ?
no, as you need a powerhead each side of the tank to make sure you have no deadspots.
two more things is a filter a must have? nope, i am not using it. some people do some people dont, up to you
and does crushed coral as substrate count as liverock? i wil be getting some liverock anyway just woundering
no it doesnt

sorry one more thing the shop currently has the live rock in a big kind of tank im assuming its being cured there right ? does this mean its lyke seeding the tank is it done straight away our does it still need 2 cycle ?
if it is from the shop it should already be cured, you will still get a mini cycle even if it is only get about 30 out of water

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of the forum - I take it you did mean a 54L and not that massive tank in your sig?

Seffie x

 

[woody88]

to the salty side of the forum - I tak eit you did mean a 54L and that that massive tank in your sig?

Seffie x

That big tank would make a cracking marine tank. You could even get tanga in there. Would need a sumo tho, or an FX5 at least.

 

[seffieuk]

That big tank would make a cracking marine tank. You could even get tanga in there. Would need a sumo tho, or an FX5 at least.

Same tank as mine, the rio 400/450 I believe?

Seffie x

 

[HappyGeorge]

As already stated you would be better off ditching the filter but a cannister filter with LR rubble will offer a decent amount of filtration and give you some flow. You would need a powerhead but one koralia nano or a newave 1 will be fine in that size tank. As Woody says buy rock from another marine keeper if you can LR from shops can vary greatly in quality. (I went into a shop the other day and the tank was so full a lot of rock was out of the water.....that would be dead rock then?) I have been lucky and got 2nd hand rock and paid no more than £3.70 a kilo and managed to transport it in water and get no cycle, but generally you will get a cycle of varying length. As Woody says it's small so lots of maintenance and a limit on what you will be able to keep in there. If I were looking for interesting fish I would go with a Goby or Blenny of some sort, a lot of Goby are sand sifters and are always active and Algae Blenny will be busy kissing your tank clean all day, shrimps would be good in there, along with some hermits.

 

[Ronananator]

thanks a million for all the feed back yes the tank in my signature is a rio 240 only =/ but its my heart and sole my two fav fish in the world are in there my oscar and jack dempsey i couldnt bare getting rid of them babayz also i would be talking 700euro on live rock =/ and im only 13

as for the mantanance what type would u be talking ? just gravel vacing and pluss i can actually do it in any other tank as i have this tank already set up =/

once more thing? so there will be no need for my filter right ? shud i just take it out and put it into my 240 ? our will it do something worth keeping it in that tank ?


p.s if anyone here got msn would u be able to add me : [email protected]

as i find it hard 2 keep cheaking the forms and would find live help much easyer thanks a million <3

 

[seffieuk]

Hi Ronan

If you would like a mentor, who can talk with you via personal message then we have a few people who are willing to help. We dont use MSN here, we love to see people's tanks evolve but we understand that sometimes there are little questions you may wish to ask off forum, I currently do this for one of our members

Just ask and I'm sure someone will be happy to oblige

Seffie x

 

[Ronananator]

ok then thanks a million. i will do that



I have been doing research and i was thinking a list of these fish i was woundering could u suggest which ones i could keep together and how many ect ?

Clown Goby
Court Jester Goby
Firefish
Firefish, Purple
Neon Blue Goby - Tank-Bred
Ocellaris Clownfish, Tank Bred
Orange Lined Cardinalfish
Orange Spotted Goby
Orchid Dottyback
Six Line Wrasse
Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse
Yellow Prawn Goby
Zebra Barred Dartfish

 

[seffieuk]

The only two, imo which are suitable for your tank are the two gobies - the clown in particular, I wouldnt keep both of them!

Seffie x

 

[Ronananator]

ok i might get one of them so and i read online that all those fish exept like 2 were for 10 gallon (liveaqua.com) and i hear they are begginer fish aswell still gotta get the money for powerheads ect we will see how it goes