Starting My Marine Tank

itobin

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Hi all,

I came on here a little while ago with the intentions of converting my rio 125 to a marine tank in this thread http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/368830-new-to-marine-and-have-questions/page__p__3080355__fromsearch__1#entry3080355

Time has gone by and i didn't get anywhere with it due to various reasons but after taking my girl friend to the fish shop for another reason my girl friend loved the Juwel rio 400 when we walked past it, after measuring the space at home we have compromised on a Juwel rio 300, im not arguing :)

Anyway im movin my turtles into the rio 125 and making my brand new 300 a marine tank which works out better for us all.

So few questions,

1) i want to sump the rio 300 however the cabinet has 2 outer doors and mid section, has anyone converted the cabinet? if so what is the best way.

2) what would you suggest is the best way to drill the rio 300 and what pipes do i get?

3) if i dont sump the rio could i get away with not having a skimmer and use an external filter such as the ehiem and put live rock in it?

4) how much live rock should I get?

5) how much salt do you put in a 350L tank? im not sure of the best way to mix them?

thanks

Ian
 
you could use a tall single compartment sump on one side with an auto top up in the other. i would definitely try and sump the tank rather than use an external filter, you get so many more options plus you can do a bit of sumpwatching. you get loads of stuff growing in there that you dont see in the main tank.

the juwel glass is fine for drilling just keep the hole cutter very wet. buy a diamond hole cutter, theyr around £6 off ebay. if you get the 32mm one screwfix sell cheap black pipework in 32mm. £3 for 3m and 99p a bend.

not sure about putting live rock in a filter.

i dont use a skimmer on the tank and its fine. just dont over stock and keep up the weekly water change.

i use 330g salt per 10 litres so 11.55kg for 350 litres. get your water and salt in the tank with a heater and pumps and leave it for a couple of days to mix properly and get up to temp. then you can add rock. test the water first to make sure the salinity is ok. when your mixing it for a water change a few hours heat and circulation in a bucket etc will be fine.

hth

danny
 
Hi Danny,

what tall comparment sumps would you suggest?

Also what better options are there by using a sump other than larger water volume and external filtration?

When i drill the tank where would you do it, on the back or at the bottom? im also unsure what height i should drill.

thanks for the reply!

Ian
 
*youl probs have to get one made or diy one. theres a few tanks out there but they wont maximise the space usage.

i have a backup heater, nitrate/phosphate and carbon reactor in mine aswell as a few macro algaes like chaeto.

theres a large population of amphipods, copepods, rotis, snails, brittle stars and sponges that are all free from predators.

you can put filter floss in there to catch any debris that would otherwise be floating around in the tank water.

comes in handy of you have any pests or aggressors. you can put them in there until you get rid.

7/i drilled my tank through the bottom and ran a single pipe from the sump to the water line, you can see where in my journal. i drilled my mates from the back so half of the hole was above the hood line so the water level sat just above it. you can adjust the level when you make a small overflow box and silicone it to the back of the tank. half a small tupperware tub will do, just cut some slots into it for the water to flow through. i wish id done mine the same as my mates as he doesnt have a pipe in the way of the rockwork.
 
Hi,

ok, makes sense. Im definately set on the sumping and from what you have said drilling from the back is best.

How did you put the pipe into the glass on your friends tank? i assume you also sealed it with Silocone?

thanks
 
just slotted a piece through and siliconed it in place. make sure you push the silicone in the small gaps. it will be a tight fit anyway. ill try and get a pic of his. i would maybe try and make some kind of brace to secure the external pipework. i suggested this to my friend but he never bothered doing it. its never been knocked or leaked so you dont have to do it.

if you get stuck with anything just ask :)
 
Hi Ian,

Having put a mini-sump under a Rena Aqualife tank, I'd suggest seriously considering not buying the Rio at all but having a look to see what kind of real reef tank you can get - i.e. one with a built in overflow, pre-drilled, etc and with a cabinet designed for a proper sump. Maybe even see if you can get the sump as part of the whole package...

Anyway, if you do decide to go custom on the sump front, I got an acrylic one made my a plastics company down in Surrey/Hampshire to a design I came up with. It uses pretty much every square centimetre of space in the left hand cabinet, and in the right side is a 25l jerry can in the other for RO top-up as Danny suggested. I do use a skimmer in mine - Deltec MC500 fits in the sump very nicely, also got one heater in there and a second (external) inline with the UV lamp I have T'ed off the return line - did have RowaPhos reactor on that line too but couldn't get the flow, that's now hanging off the back of the cabinet behind the sump and is supplied by a NewJet pump. A second of these supplies another reactor with NP pellets in, the output of this goes into the skimmer's intake side. There's also a 6 inch by 6 inch chamber which did have a small amount of macroalgae in, but the NP reactor seems to have stopped that growing so it's now just a bunch of LR rubble in there. Will post a pic of all this if you're interested...

Finally - if you do go for the Rio, definitely drill it rather than going for an overflow - I'm so hacked off with mine I'm going to switch over to a side-mounted job instead.

Hope that's of some use!

Paul
 
Hi guys,

thanks for the comments, Would love to see the pics if you get time to upload them.

Paul, i have looked at some of the marine tanks this weekend and have emailed a company for a quote as they custom build marine tanks with the sump etc with it so am just waiting for a reply.

cheers

Ian
 

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