Tropical To Marine Same Tank Few Questions

[MrWhite]

I Have a 110l tropical setup but i wana change it to marine in about 3months so i can save up anoth money for all the right equipment so i dont mess up and also do as much research as i can i just need some questions answer really if you dont mind

I read you dont need a filter becasue the live rock does this job with the correct amount of power heads is this true ?

How much live rock would i need to buy for a 110l how much would this cost est ?

what extra equipment would i need to add to a tropical tank Lights, protien skimmer also would these fit on a standerd tropical tank without it looking stupid ?

all i would like to keep is 2 clown fish a clean up crew and maybe 1-2 more small fish will this be ok as the stocking is alot different than tropical ?

How much would you say est i would need to spend to set a trop to marine ?

Thank you very much in advance BTW i would just want live rock and fish no corals until i could afford a proper setup to run that sort of tank

 

[-Nemo-]

Hey! Welcome to the salty side!

Live rock is an amazing natural filter system, just make sure it is cured when you buy it. I had only live rock as filtration for almost 6 months before I added a sump in.

About 13 Kilos will be enough LR. Can't help you too much with price, because I'm not from the UK.

What kind of tank are you planning? A reef tank, or a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank? IF you are planning on keeping coral, you will need much better lighting compared to a FOWLR tank, which will only need basic lighting. There are a few different types of protein skimmers, as to where they are placed. Without a sump, you would probably need a HOB protein skimmer (HOB = Hang on Back), which does exactly that- it hangs onto the rim of your tank.

That stocking will be perfectly fine. In addition to the clownfish you could defiantly put it in a few more fish.

Aye again with the pricing, Be prepared to spend a lot, it gets addicting

 

[MrWhite]

Thanks nemo well i would just want to start of with FOWLR because im really new to marine so i would just keep it basic for a while cost is a big issue with marine though but i love fish keeping and it pays of in the end

Also in my tropical tank i have a built in internal filter would i need to take this out or could i run it aswell if so what media should i have init whould this just be more filtration witch is better

 

[rabbut]

If it were me, I'd have the internal filter out You can keep it, and load it up with phosphate/nitrate removers and floss to polish your water, but TBH, with a good water source you shouldn't need phosphate/nitrate remover and many manage fine without mechanical filters

The shopping list for a new set-up should include, for a 110l tank;

11KG liverock (about £130 in a shop, £50 on-line through AC, Ebay e.t.c)
Two powerheads, of 11,000lph or more each (about £30 each)
Refractometer (skip hydrometers, they are naff, looking about £25 online, or £50 in a shop for a reasonable refractometer)
Air Driven skimmer and air pump (about £60-70 in a shop, dirt cheap if DIY'ed or Ebay'ed...)
RO unit, or RO water from shop with satisfactory TDS reading.....
Salt

Standord lighting will be fine for a FOWLR

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Truck]

i think rabbut meant 1100 lph each for the powerheads, as 22000 lph is alot and would be on a tank of 1000 litres ish

 

[MrWhite]

Looking at the price it might be sooner than later will be doing tons of research 1st though the only reason i want to go marine everytime i go in the LFS i get so gutted because i have to walk past the marine fish tere so amazing

Also when you say stanard lighting is this ok 2X18WW Fluresent tubes

and also thank you very much rabbut

Also say i added all this to my tank today what would i need to do for eg if it was a trop tank you would have to add ammonia ect then monitor the water do water changes untill after the 6weeks the tank would be cycled then you could add fish how would it work for marine

 

[rabbut]

i think rabbut meant 1100 lph each for the powerheads, as 22000 lph is alot and would be on a tank of 1000 litres ish

Where did the extra zero come from Well spotted Truck

Looking at the price it might be sooner than later will be doing tons of research 1st though the only reason i want to go marine everytime i go in the LFS i get so gutted because i have to walk past the marine fish tere so amazing

Also when you say stanard lighting is this ok 2X18WW Fluresent tubes

Yes, for FOWLR, that's fine

Also say i added all this to my tank today what would i need to do for eg if it was a trop tank you would have to add ammonia ect then monitor the water do water changes untill after the 6weeks the tank would be cycled then you could add fish how would it work for marine

You add a covering of substrate to the bottom, add and scape the live rock, add the rest of the substrate (where applicable) then fill with water, switch everything on and then wait. Test at reasonably regular intervals. You should see an Ammonia spike, followed by a NitrIte spike, followed by NitrAte as per a FW cycle (assuming uncured LR, or a longer journey time. Well cure rock on a short trip may invisibly cycle). You don't need to add Ammonia, it's supplied by the live bits of the rock dieing back in transit

Once Ammonia and Nitrite have read zero for a week, do a 40+% waterchange and re-test Nitrate. If it's below 10ppm, you get your first fish/CUC then Build your stocking over time, go nice and slow. There's a saying; Perfection comes with time, disaster comes with speed. Very fitting with stocking a tank, a marine tank especially

All the best
Rabbut

 

[MrWhite]

ok makes sense now how long does this process take would you say between 2-6 weeks depending on the live rock die off ?

 

[bronzecat]

Welcome to the wonderful world of marines

I'm new too, having recently set-up a 40g, and the guys on here are very helpful

 

[Truck]

ok makes sense now how long does this process take a few months ?

anywhere from a week +

depending on how long its out of the water

 

[MrWhite]

ok makes sense now how long does this process take a few months ?

anywhere from a week +

depending on how long its out of the water

Well my lfs has a large stock of fiji cured rock about 5 mins drive from me als if i add LS does this help the process ?

 

[rabbut]

Nope, may hamper it, as Live Sand is actually dead and leads to a bigger Ammonia and/or Nitrite spike and a longer cycle time when all that rotting muck is added to the tank

 

[MrWhite]

Nope, may hamper it, as Live Sand is actually dead and leads to a bigger Ammonia and/or Nitrite spike and a longer cycle time when all that rotting muck is added to the tank

Ok thanks for that input

well so far heres my plan BTW rabbut your being a very big help thank you very much

Juwel 110l remove the internal filter keep the standerd lighting as im only going FOWLR i was thinking about keeping the internal just to polish water but got told not to because it can cause dead spotswhere nitrates build up

To buy list

Saltwater master test kit
Refractometer
Two powerheads 1100 lph each where aboutson the tank do i put these sorry for noob question i just wanna no as much as i can 1 on each end ?
10-12 kg live rock ( filtration )
water that will be buying from lfs ready mixed
Might skip the skimmer for now this ok ?
will i need to buy these and what are they for im really a noob to marine link

am i missing anything important


Also when do i do water changes maybe once a week 20%

Thanks

 

[Truck]

Nope, may hamper it, as Live Sand is actually dead and leads to a bigger Ammonia and/or Nitrite spike and a longer cycle time when all that rotting muck is added to the tank

Ok thanks for that input

well so far heres my plan BTW rabbut your being a very big help thank you very much

Juwel 110l remove the internal filter keep the standerd lighting as im only going FOWLR i was thinking about keeping the internal just to polish water but got told not to because it can cause dead spotswhere nitrates build up

To buy list

Saltwater master test kit
Refractometer
Two powerheads 1100 lph each where aboutson the tank do i put these sorry for noob question i just wanna no as much as i can 1 on each end ?
10-12 kg live rock ( filtration )
water that will be buying from lfs ready mixed
Might skip the skimmer for now this ok ?
will i need to buy these and what are they for im really a noob to marine link

am i missing anything important


Also when do i do water changes maybe once a week 20%

Thanks

sounds good, use two koralis ones for power heads and maybe a nano along the back. should be okay without the skimmer. and on my current SW tank i do 10% weekly with mixed RO

 

[bronzecat]

Hi

The Koralia's are a type of pump that makes the movement in the water. Powerhead is just a term used, but a true powerhead is what gets attatched to uplift tubes. So yeh the Koralia's are good like Truck said

You need to place them either end of the tank. They are magnetic so easy to position. When you get the LR in, point the "powerheads" at the rock to ensure lots of water movement around and through the LR. This is how the tank will cycle. I have a 40g and have 1 x koralia 2; 1 x koralia 3; and have also added a small Seio pump for a bit of extra flow around the back.

One tip - when you choose your rock, smell each piece. If it smells of egg, its not fully cured. Thats what i was told anyway, perhaps someone could confirm this?

When you scape the rock, try and design it so you get caves and archways etc....this will give your fish plenty of individual terrortories to occupy. Took me flippin ages to get it how i wanted lol