Thinking Of Switching To Marine

[rl1oyd]

Hi i have some questions ill do a few posts at a time as i think of them and hope i get some good replys

My hobby at the moment is Malawi/Tanganikan Cichlids i have a Juwel 400 lire tank and a Juwel 350 litre Corner tank.
I am very seriously thinking of using one to set up as a marine tank, my dad had them when i was growing up and it is what i have always wanted. I got into malawis as they were the next best thing with a lower price of course. I have read most of the threads regarding setting up but just really need some straight forward answers to my questions. I aslo realise that my fish need to be crammed in where as marines i would only be able to keep a few.

Q1. Is it easier to maintain the tank the larger it is (like it is with malawis) as i was thinking of purchasing a bigger tank 6x2x2. Would the bigger tank be better if i wanted to keep different species. Trigger fish iv heard are aggressive would these mix better with other fish in larger aquariums?

Q2. Is it easier to maintain the tank with just fish or better with live coral and enenemys (sorry about spelling) Im thinking just fish what have you guys got?

Q3. Would i still use exteral filters at the moment i have the internals plus eheim 2217 in each tank. Because from what iv read the live coral acts as the benefitial bacteria filer, therefore if i have exterals would this not work. Over filtering is good in tropical tanks keeps the water fresh is this the case with marines?
With my tank i can just fill a bucket with some conditioner in, then straight to the tank. Is it a long process with marines and how often would the water need to be changed? I change around 25-30% weekly in my set ups.

Even if individuals answer individual questions id appreciate it. I went into the Malawi hobby with out much research and it ended up costing me alot more than it should have, so id like to have it go as smoothly as possible.

Thanks
Richard.

 

[SkiFletch]

Larger = better in the marine world. Much easier to keep everything stable and leaves you with options for fish selection.

Corals make the tank harder to keep healthy. Corals can be very demanding organisms, requiring a lot of knowledge in the areas of lighting, flowrate, compatability, and chemistry to keep successfully. They look awesome though which is why so many people have them.

External or canister filters aren't really used in marine setups. They become septic nitrate facories if not cleaned religiously and nitrates are a big big enemy in marine setups. Live rock, protein skimmers and sumps are the name of the game for saltwater filtration

 

[Lynden]

With the falling costs of live rock, many tend to think of 2 main options with saltwater.

Fish only with live rock (FOWLR):
PROS:
-Easiest type of tank to maintain because few or no invertebrates allows nitrates to run wild.
However, the ability to slack off with a FOWLR can occaisionally be a bad thing for some people, as algae builds up, and nitrates raise into the levels of 100ppm or more and kill the fishes.
-You can keep an external power filter for FOWLR for the aformentioned reasons
-You can keep many different varieties of fish, regardless of how safe they would be in a reef
-You don't need as much live rock
-You can get away with subpar lighting systems
-Normally is about as cheap as a freshwater system
CONS:
-Must have a protein skimmer to deal with more waste
-Must have a larger sized tank, unless you want a clownfish and nothing else
-May have more fish, but has no where near the variety and veritable sparkle that a well set up reef tank has

Reef tank, which tries to mimic a natural coral reef
PROS
-Incredible biodiversity of animals living in more or less harmony, more than any other type of aquarium
-Can stock but a few fish, but as many as thousands of invertebrates
-Beauty of a well-maintained reef is shocking
-Depending on setup method, may not require a protein skimmer
-Can keep reefs as small as 0.5 gallons in size ("Nano" and "Pico" are measurement prefixes, but they are used by fishkeepers to refer to tanks less than 30 and 5 gallons respectively)
CONS
-Requires giant lighting system to support corals, clams, and anemones ($$$!)
-Requires regular maintainence to keep system from the sewer stage
-Full stocked reef tanks require incredible stability
-Needs tons of live rock to keep stability ($$$!)
-Needs lots of flow, provided by powerheads and wavemakers ($$$!)
-If you skim, you need to add chemicals to the tank to keep it healthy
-Incredible amount of electricity needed to keep lights, ect. running ($$$!)
-Often contain pests which can do a signifigant amount of damage to livestock and owners
-The most expensive all-around system ($$$!)

Wow! A two-pager!
-Lynden

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd also like to add since I forgot, triggers do not play nice with other fish that are smaller than them. Unless you want them to be a meal, dont put in anything smaller than the trigger itself

 

[crazyelece]

One thing to throw in on your research. If you plan on getting a 6x2x2 be prepared to spend a bunch of money if you decide to do a tank that large as a reef setup. I think many hobbyists start with a FOWLR as it is cheaper and seems easier. I say seems because much of the chemistry apllies to both FOWLR and reef. Once the hobbyist learns about the different species of coral and how they interact with each other a reef setup is not much more complicated than a FOWLR. A reef does however have more maintence involved. I would suggest (especially if you get the large tank) to start as a FOWLR and then upgrade to a reef as your knowledge builds. Just be sure to pick out reef safe fish for the FOWLR.

 

[rl1oyd]

Thanks Very Much for the reply's guys
I obviously have lots more questions which ill set up other posts then hopefully ill learn bit by bit.
However i do know you never really find out untill you do it for real!

Also do you think my Juwel 400 tank would be ideal for a marine tank? 400 litres 85UK gallon. 151cm x 62cm x 51cm. Obviously i can use this tank, i was thinking if i got a bigger tank like 100 - 120 uk gallon. It would be easier to keep stable and i would be able to have better fish ie bigger ?

 

[Matthew5664]

I wouldn't say bigger is better. More expencive to feed and more agressive yes, but better?

 

[demonmagus]

I wouldn't say bigger is better. More expencive to feed and more agressive yes, but better?

easier to keep, 'dilution is the answer to pollution'- or something like that

 

[SkiFletch]

Close: "The solution to pollution is dillution."

Bigger tanks do allow for more stable water parameters, more overhead if things go wrong, and also allow you some flexibility in the sizes of fish you choose. Wish I could fit a 400L in my house

 

[crazyelece]

If you can afford the larger tank it is always the better option as it allows more flexability, less stress to livestock, and easier to keep water params in check.

 

[Chac]

I have a pdf file on 'making your own liverock'

You will still need to buy some LR to Seed but it may help save you a packet

Pm me your email addy & I will send it on if you are interested

Chac