Straight To Marine?

[Superspecs]

I think you will be fine just do lots of research ask lots of questions and just dont try to rush it

There are a quite a few diffrences between tropical and marine I have been keeping fish of all sorts for far too many years too mention and switching to marine is like starting all over again.

The first thing you need to decide if going marine is if you want a full reef (fish and corals) or just fish.

I definatly want a full reef setup!

 

[AK77]

I'd kept tropical fish for a couple of years before I started keeping marine. Mind you, I had a break of about 4 years between the two. Keeping tropical fish definitely helped me with the basics and made me aware of things like the nitrogen cycle, water parameters, stocking etc, etc.

My first marine tank, I got from eBay. I couldn't pass it up as there was about £800 worth of stuff that I got for £200! I would never have been able to afford getting all of it seperately. So I basically jumped in and frantically started reading. Definitely not the best way to do it as research is vital. I had about 3 days between the end of the auction to collect the tank, so I began reading on forums and educating myself.

I'd bought a FOWLR tank (about 25KG of live rock and a blue damsel fish). After a few hours reading I discovered that it was pretty straight forward. In fact, I found it easier than keeping tropical fish. No messing about washing out filter sponges etc.

I would recommend getting the same. A FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) is very easy. All you need is the live rock, salt water and pumps/powerheads to circulate the water around the rocks. The rock essentially performs the same task as the filter sponges do in a freshwater tank, providing a home for nitrifying bacteria to live and multiply. They feed on the ammonia and nitrites, breaking them down into nitrates, which are considerably less harmful to fish.

I'd stay with a FOWLR tank for a couple of months. By then you should be well versed in the care and maintenance of the tank and the concepts surrounding marine keeping. You then might want to move on to keeping a reef tank, adding some simple and easy to care for corals. It does get slightly more involved when adding coral, but with some reading, it again becomes pretty easy.

All the information you need can be found on this forum and people are always willing to help answer any questions.

I'd go for it! You won't regret it!

 

[Trod]

Yes it is possible. I knew absolutely nothing, I had never kept fish of any sort before I bought my Orca TL550.
I would say as long as you research everything and then ask lots and lots of questions, never buy on impulse.
Starting with a plug and play tank certainly helped me learn how things work, may be you should consider this route. I now run 2 tanks my Orca and a 5ft tank I started about a year ago.
This forum is amazing, with a wealth of experience and very helpful people, use them

 

[Superspecs]

I'd kept tropical fish for a couple of years before I started keeping marine. Mind you, I had a break of about 4 years between the two. Keeping tropical fish definitely helped me with the basics and made me aware of things like the nitrogen cycle, water parameters, stocking etc, etc.

My first marine tank, I got from eBay. I couldn't pass it up as there was about £800 worth of stuff that I got for £200! I would never have been able to afford getting all of it seperately. So I basically jumped in and frantically started reading. Definitely not the best way to do it as research is vital. I had about 3 days between the end of the auction to collect the tank, so I began reading on forums and educating myself.

I'd bought a FOWLR tank (about 25KG of live rock and a blue damsel fish). After a few hours reading I discovered that it was pretty straight forward. In fact, I found it easier than keeping tropical fish. No messing about washing out filter sponges etc.

I would recommend getting the same. A FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) is very easy. All you need is the live rock, salt water and pumps/powerheads to circulate the water around the rocks. The rock essentially performs the same task as the filter sponges do in a freshwater tank, providing a home for nitrifying bacteria to live and multiply. They feed on the ammonia and nitrites, breaking them down into nitrates, which are considerably less harmful to fish.

I'd stay with a FOWLR tank for a couple of months. By then you should be well versed in the care and maintenance of the tank and the concepts surrounding marine keeping. You then might want to move on to keeping a reef tank, adding some simple and easy to care for corals. It does get slightly more involved when adding coral, but with some reading, it again becomes pretty easy.

All the information you need can be found on this forum and people are always willing to help answer any questions.

I'd go for it! You won't regret it!

Cheers for the info dude, seems like sound advice. I think I the areas I am lacking on are using LR as a bio-filter, sumps, skimmers and general gear.

 

[AK77]

No problem.

As I said its pretty straight forward once you familiarize yourself with all the terms and concepts. The FOWLR tank is essentially a naked reef tank, so its a good place to start. Live rock is just a really porous rock which the bacteria live in. They need oxygen, which is dissolved in the water and so requires water flowing around it to keep it alive.

The bacteria will feed on ammonia initially. This comes from fish waste, which they then convert into nitrite. Both ammonia and nitrite are harmful to fish and especially corals and invertebrates. Eventually they break down the nitrite into nitrate. This is only harmful to fish in high concentrations, but inverts like shrimps and crabs and corals too will suffer as a result.

When you get your new tank, pour in 1-2" of sand. Aragonite is probably the best as the calcium carbonate in it acts as a buffer to PH levels (another water parameter you will need to monitor). You'll then need to add your water. You can either add the pure water and mix in the salt, or pre mix the water, which is probably the better option. To mix the salt accurately, you'll need a piece of hardware called a refractometer. This measures the SG (specific gravity) of the water. Typically an SG of 35PPT / 1.024-1026 is the desired range.

Once your water and sand are in the tank, you can add your live rock. If the rock is "cured" already (which most of it is), then you will have very little die off during transportation from your LFS to your home. Place the live rock in your tank after you've turned on your powerheads and heaters, so that the water is the correct temperature. During this time you will need to monitor the ammonia levels and nitrite in the tank for the first week or so, as the live rock contains a mulititude of organisms, which may die off due to the transportation of the rock, thereby releasing ammonia into the water. During this time, it is also a good idea to keep an eye out for any hitchhikers - potentially unwanted creatures that remain hidden in the rock, that might potentially harm your other inhabitants. One example of this is a mantis shrimp. Get one of those in your tank and you'll be wondering why those expensive fish and invertebrates you buy, keep disappearing lol. Try watching some google videos on these. Incredible creatures, some very beautiful, but only suitable for a species only tank.

Once the ammonia and nitrite levels have gone down, it is time to introduce your CUC (clean up crew). This is nothing more than critters like snails, hermit crabs and shrimps, that you place into the tank. They will then start feeding on all the unwanted algae that may be growing on your rocks. You can expect to struggle with the various types of algae for a few weeks, even a few months, until things settle down a bit. Once your CUC has done its job and your water levels are still reading 0 for ammonia and nitrite, you can then add your fish.

This is probably where most of your time should be spent researching. Its very tempting to just buy the nicest fish you see in your LFS and get it home. Unfotunately, not all fish are compatible. Some will eat other fish in your tank. Some will eat your inverts. Some will eat your corals. Some might be small when you buy them, but when adult, the tank will be too small for them. Also, don't be tempted to overstock your tank. The more inhabitants, the higher the bio-load will be and the higher the likelyhood of crashing your tank.

To deal with bio-load. Many people have sumps. This is nothing more than a tank that sits underneath your display tank. The sumps are fed water either through pipe work (if the tank is drilled) or iva the use of overflow boxes, that syphon water from the display tank. The sump can house such things are heaters, protein skimmers, reactors etc. It can also be where you have a refugium. The refugium is where you might grow macro algaes (seaweeds). These feed on nitrates and phosphates (something else that harms corals) The sump can also house a DSB (Deep Sand Bed). This provides a home for anaerobic bacteria (different from that in the live rock). These too feed on nitrates and help your water chemistry to be better for the tanks inhabitants.

Protein skimmers, which can be hung on the back of the display tank or placed in the sump, depending on the design, filter the water. They do so by mixing water with microbubbles of air. Dissolved organic matter in the water, stick to the air molecules and rise up to the surface of the chamber, forming a foam. The foam then gets collected in a collection cup, which is routinely emptied. Its amazing to see just how much junk is in the water and is removed by the protein skimmer.

You can also use ozone in your tank. This is a bit more advanced and is potentially dangerous if over dosed, but it does help with the removal of junk in the water and also sterilizes it. Often ozone is fed into the venturi system of protein skimmers to increase their effectiveness. Ozone will also kill bateria and parasites in the water.

Other items often found in the sump are reactors. These are basically chambers that house various types of media like activated carbon, granular ferric oxide, sulphur and calcium carbonate. These are chemical filters that absorb unwanted elements from the water (primarily nitrates and phosphates, although the carbon does remove other dissolved chemicals, including toxins released from corals).

What you are aiming for is to achieve an equilibrium in the tank, near self contained eco-system. Obviously you need to add food and if corals are present in the water, then you may need to add calcium reactors and other trace elements, although by performing a water change, it will do this for you.

Once your FOWLR tank is stable and the water parameters are good enough, you can add corals. Again, much research is needed on these with regard to the various types and the requirements they need to be kept alive and thrive. Some need strong lighting in the form of metal halides. Some will do just fine with standard T5 or even T8 flouresents. Light isnt the same either. Marine inhabitants generally need 10k + colour. The highest I've seen is 30k which is very blue, 10K being more white. Some corals need feeding. Some corals are also posionous.. Zoa's for example contain a toxin that can potentially kill. Some fish also contain toxins/venoms, which is why care and research is paramount. Lionfish, one of the most beautiful fish you could have in a tank, won't look quite so appealing if the #### stings you lol.

The above is pretty much a generalisation but enough to cover the basics. Further reading is required to fully understand some of what I've mentioned. It may be a good idea, to make notes in a notebook which you can keep to hand next to your tank and refer back to if needed.

Good luck and happy reading.

Cheers,

AK

 

[TigerIssey]

When you get your new tank, pour in 1-2" of sand. Aragonite is probably the best as the calcium carbonate in it acts as a buffer to PH levels (another water parameter you will need to monitor). You'll then need to add your water. You can either add the pure water and mix in the salt, or pre mix the water, which is probably the better option. To mix the salt accurately, you'll need a piece of hardware called a refractometer. This measures the SG (specific gravity) of the water. Typically an SG of 35PPT / 1.024-1026 is the desired range.

This bit I would do differntly.

Add water only to the tank and add salt till you get the required SG. Next add live rock so that it is sitting directly on the bottom, then add up to 1" of aragonite sand.

If you have any fish or inverts that burrow, you want the rockwork to be stable and not risk it falling as it would if the rock was sat on the sand. Also better for circulation as you will not have dead spots in the sand underneath the rock.

 

[youngfisher]

So when are you thinking about purchasing a tank?

YF

 

[AK77]

Yup, my bad lol. I forgot to mention that you have to make sure your rocks, especially if stacked, are firmly positioned and doing it as Tina mentions is the better way. Although you might position your rocks how you like them, get a mini bulldozer like the mexican turbo snail in your tank, and they will plough right through them lol. Falling rocks squish those below and could potentially crack your tank.

 

[Morri]

When you get your new tank, pour in 1-2" of sand. Aragonite is probably the best as the calcium carbonate in it acts as a buffer to PH levels (another water parameter you will need to monitor). You'll then need to add your water. You can either add the pure water and mix in the salt, or pre mix the water, which is probably the better option. To mix the salt accurately, you'll need a piece of hardware called a refractometer. This measures the SG (specific gravity) of the water. Typically an SG of 35PPT / 1.024-1026 is the desired range.

This bit I would do differntly.

Add water only to the tank and add salt till you get the required SG. Next add live rock so that it is sitting directly on the bottom, then add up to 1" of aragonite sand.

If you have any fish or inverts that burrow, you want the rockwork to be stable and not risk it falling as it would if the rock was sat on the sand. Also better for circulation as you will not have dead spots in the sand underneath the rock.

Hehe I do it slightly diffrent as well as I cover the bottom of my tank with egg crate so if anything should fall the shock of the fall is spread over a wider area, then place rocks on the egg crate then add sand in at the end

 

[Superspecs]

Cheers man,

So when the Live rock is established it essentially does the same job as the media in your filter, housing bacteria that break down ammonia to nitrite, then to nitrate. Then you can have aneorobic bacteria in a DSB in your sump (or in the tank aswell I assume?) which breaks down nitrate.

Does this mean you do less frequent water changes than with freshwater aquariums? As one of the reasons for water changes in that instance is to remove nitrate.

Awesome stuff! Its good to get a simple overview of the essential steps required for a tank setup. You can end up following an endless trail of ever more in depth information. Its knowing when to stop reading and when to start doing.

 

[youngfisher]

Hey mate, Just wondering whats your email so we can keep in touch?

YF

 

[Superspecs]

So when are you thinking about purchasing a tank?

YF

Well, I am not going to be setting up the tank till I have moved house but I am always looking out for a bargain. As I am not in a rush I can keep one eye peeled for a cheap used tank.

If anyone could point me in the direction of brands/makes or particularly good and reasonably priced bits of kit that would be great as I am pretty clueless on gear.

 

[youngfisher]

You moving out of hinkley or staying in that area?

YF

 

[Superspecs]

You moving out of hinkley or staying in that area?

YF

Not decided yet, but either way I doubt we will be moving far. You know any good Fish shops in leicester? Im sure there are a few.

 

[youngfisher]

Hmm.
Leicester Aquatics - Dirty Tanks, Owners are not interested, just want your money.

Ocean Commotion - Decent set up, healthy fish but dont trust a word they say research before you buy from them, and ask them lots of questions before you buy somthing - to make sure there is nothing wrong with the thing your buying.

Herondale Aquatics - Brilliant selection of tropical fish, really nice owner but only keeps tropical and cold water.

Clearwater Aquatics - Carnt say a bad word againest them, one of the widest marine sections and best set ups in the East Midlands, tons of frags and corals etc. Couldnt go wrong apart from somtimes there prices are abit high but they have everything to do with marines etc.

Friends For Sloppy Homes - Quite a good place, not a wide selection of marines though.

Birstall Garden Centre - Only do tropicals, and not a huge selection but has lots of ornaments.

Coalville Aquatics - Fairly good, only been there once dont have a wide selection of tropicals, and have about 4 small marine tanks if that.

YF