Starting Up.

[fishmad135]

Im new to the marine side of things and i need help deciding wether to make the leap from tropical to marine fish.
i have lots of experience with tropical fish, keeping them since i was 9 and then started breeding variuos fish when i was 14, im now almost 16 and want something more INTERESTING. And all fingers point to salties! i have around £300 to spend on the gear, all i need to know is what is required when keeping these awesome fish? I only want a small tank - around 60 uk gallons.. how many fish will that hold approx? what about live rock and sand? What is the deal with a protien skimmer? Basically i need all the information i can get. can you help?
thankyou.

 

[simonas]

hello mate
Good decision you have made you won;t look back!!
60 gallons is a decent size, I run a 20g at the moment and its so addictive.
I;m not an expert as I only set up in Feb this year but I love the reef tanks corals are so addictive.
Have a good look at the journals they are your best tutor at the start, ask loads of questions and plan it properly pricing up everything that you need. This is the most important bit. Slowly slowly and you will end up with a fantastic tank that you can add to and watch grow,. thats the beauty they are like a garden and you can watch your corals develop!!

Good luck Simon

 

[PaBucsFan]

I am currently in the learning process too. I think the best part of saltwater so far is that the cycling process is less than half the time freshwater was. You will need a protein skimmer in order to purify the water. I only have a 10 gallon tank and don't need a skimmer. You will need 1kg of LR for every liter of water (I think that is the UK ratio). Don't get Live Sand as I have been told it is worthless regular sand will do. I use pure white sand mixed with aragonite sand. I use 1lb of sand per gallon. Good Luck and be patient.

 

[simonas]

it won;t be as much as 1kg for every litre more like 1kg for every gallon but don;t quote me
theres a live rock calculator in the calculator above

 

[Harry1996]

its 1kg every 5-10L the amount of fish is depending on what you get. for a guide on fish its about 5cm of fish per 20L in a reef and 5cm of fish per 10L in fish only. thats what i have read. im no expert but i have been running my tank since January so i know bit.

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of the forum

I'm wondering if you meant 60L rather than the 60 gallons, as I wouldn't class 60G as small

If the tank is 60 gallons, you will need approx 30K of live rock, if 60L about 7K - However for a first tank I wouldnt go much below 125 litres. If you are a tropical fish keeper you probably have a nice tank already sitting somewhere?

The skimmer removes organics (old food, fish waste etc) from the water keeping it cleaner

Seffie x