Upgrading From Brackish To Marine

[Chac]

You can use Internal Filter in your tank but they do IMO clutter the tank

If you dont want to use an External then why not use either Seios or MaxiJets

520gph is a good turnover

Temperature - I try to keep my temp at 27c, but as with all things marine consistancy is more important than getting spot on readings, massive swings are very bad for reefs

 

[timmystood]

OK, so temperature is roughly the same as tropical then? I tend to keep my tropicals at about 27c so it's sounds similar.

I've worked out the flow rate I would get from my powerhead and internal filter at full flow and it's 357 US Gallons per hour. The exact tank volume in US Gallons is 33 so depsite what I said ealier it would need a flow rate of 660 US Gallons per hour. But surely a powerhead and a very powerful filter on full pelt would provide enough flow for a 33 US Gallon tank? Otherwise, it means I would need to add another powerful powerhead to make up the extra 303Gph that i'm currently missing? 2 Powerheads and an Internal? That seems like an awful lot of flow!

The flow rate I have is as follows:
Fluval Internal at Full Flow - 185 US Gph
Ehiem 1212 Powerhead at Full Flow - 172 US Gph

Any more and surely the fish won't be able to swim?

 

[Chac]

I would either recommend getting another powerhead or replacing the internals with more powerful powerheads & get teh turnover up to at least 15x

I run my tank at around 33x with no problems to my livestock

 

[timmystood]

OK, i'll look into a more powerful powerhead! I've made a bit of an action plan (below) Do you think there is anything else to do? What order should I do it in?

Marine Shopping / To Do List:

To Buy:

- Skimmer
- Aragonite Sand
- Live Rock
- Coral
- Livestock
- T5 Lighting Tubes x 2
- Tank Background

To Do:

- Replace Silver Sand with Aragonite Sand
- Raise Salinity to Marine Levels
- Get Flow Rate to 20x times tank volume (Flow Rate needs to be 660US Gph or 520UK Gph)
- Modify Tank Lid to accommodate Skimmer
- Replace T8 Lighting with T5 Lighting
- Change Tank Background
- Insert Live Rock, Coral and Livestock

EDIT - Also, I will need an air pump to run the protein skimmer won't I? Like the Interpet AirVolution?

 

[timmystood]

Would it better and less hassle if I replaced the tank lid with this? It just saves me having to find the right size T5 lighting etc?

Also, this is the sand I was thinking of using. Do you think I would need one bag or two?

Cheers again
timmystood

 

[Chac]

OK, i'll look into a more powerful powerhead! I've made a bit of an action plan (below) Do you think there is anything else to do? What order should I do it in?

Marine Shopping / To Do List:

To Buy:

- Skimmer
- Aragonite Sand
- Live Rock
- Coral
- Livestocke
- T5 Lighting Tubes x 2
- Tank Background

To Do:

- Replace Silver Sand with Aragonite Sand
- Raise Salinity to Marine Levels
- Get Flow Rate to 20x times tank volume (Flow Rate needs to be 660US Gph or 520UK Gph)
- Modify Tank Lid to accommodate Skimmer
- Replace T8 Lighting with T5 Lighting
- Change Tank Background
- Insert Live Rock, Coral and Livestock

EDIT - Also, I will need an air pump to run the protein skimmer won't I? Like the Interpet AirVolution?

I would suggest bring your Salinity up to 1.026, then add your new Powerheads & Liverock, then skimmer.
(remember - do not add salt directly to the tank)

Lighting can be added at any point

Adding livestock should be slow & remember to only add livestock that will be compatible with your Puffer, they do have a bad rep of nipping other fish

Corals I would wait a couple of weeks/a month for just to let your reading settle & for you to decide what corals you want to add & read up on them

Have a look at the links below

Oh & there is no need to waste money on Live Sand - just buy Argonite Sand - your Liverock will seed it with life very quickly

Skimmer

Maxijets Powerheads

The Luminaire is fine, make access to teh tank easier & they look cool - have a look at This other Ebay company that may offer a cheaper Luminaire

I have used them in the past & they were a good company to deal with & there products are good

 

[l337dave]

The Luminaire is fine, make access to teh tank easier & they look cool - have a look at This other Ebay company that may offer a cheaper Luminaire

I have used them in the past & they were a good company to deal with & there products are good

yeah I did tones of research on 'on the cheap' lighting and I've decided (based on specs and price) EQJ were the place to go - I'm going for a PC one that should give me 110W cheaply I looked at T5's but there was very little differance in the output over T8's at the length I was going for (24")

there is a thread somewhere I started called t5 vs t8 at 24inch or somthing like that where SH explains stuff to me

another choice for a powerhead would be seio

ebay link

one of these provides most of the flow in my tank. I decided to get one based on output/price/running costs and this one worked out the best for me. The other thing I liked was the way it splayed the flow out in a much bigger arc than a normal powerhead - seemed more natural to me.

as you can see I like to do loads of research before I buy anything - I've found fishkeeping to be one of the worst hobbies for people in shops trying to get a sale out of you!




dave.

 

[timmystood]

OK, thanks very much for your help there. I will get a luminaire before I add any corals. In fact the luminaire maybe my second purchase after salt. I want to the lighting sorted out early on!

OK, so I have a few more questions..

- What's the best way to store salt? I have Seachem Reef Salt that I use at the moment in my brackish tank but where it has had access to the air it has taken in moisture and formed hard clumps and it doesn't dissolve very well at all. In fact some of it sits at the bottom of the tank

- People say that you need x amount of live rock in your x Gallon tank? What does that mean? Surely how much live rock you add is just to your taste?

- Is it ok to place corals on top of live rock?

- Does live rock need lighting etc?

Sorry to be a pain and keep asking question!

 

[Chac]

- What's the best way to store salt?

Marine Salt comes in Plastic Buckets - This is the best way to store it, always seal it as soon as you are done

- People say that you need x amount of live rock in your x Gallon tank? What does that mean? Surely how much live rock you add is just to your taste?

No taste really has nothing to do with how mucg LR you need, as the Liverock will be taken care of you biological filtration you need an appropriate amount for the size of tank (gallonage) you have, the general rule of thumb is 0.5kg per UK G - so in your case you will need between 13 - 20kgs how you aquascape it is obviously your decision
(FYI the high flow rate you will be adding to the tank isnt for you fish but for the bacteria that colonise on your liverock btw)

- Is it ok to place corals on top of live rock?

Most corals come attached to livercok already but yes they can be attached/placed onto liverock

- Does live rock need lighting etc?

The rock its self doesnt, but liverock does sometimes come with corals sponges etc growing on that do require lighting.

 

[BigIan]

and as we`ve found with our recent marine set up wating the life bloom out of LR is really amazing to watch

 

[timmystood]

Brilliant, thanks Chac. Your a real credit to the forum. Ian your tank looks fantastic! I've been reading the other thread!

At the moment I don't think I have anymore questions but many more will follow as the adventure begins!

Cheers again

EDIT - wait, another question has come up!! (told ya it wouldn't take long!)

- Can I just go into my LFS and say I want around 16kg of live rock? Is that how it works?
- How much will 16kg of live rock roughly cost?

 

[SkiFletch]

Usually you go and pick out some rocks that look cool, they weigh them and you work out 16 kilos worth. If you're 15 or 17, no big deal . As for price, I hear it runs around 11quid per kg in the UK but thats just from my readings. You can often find people selling it on ebay, online, or in local clubs for much cheaper but I'm not the one to advise you on that, Chac is

 

[timmystood]

So that's around £170 for the live rock! WOW! lol!
I reckon this reef setup will be near to £600

 

[Chac]

I'll pm you some links on cheap Liverock

 

[nmonks]

A green spotted puffer in a reef tank will be interesting... sort of an expensive buffet for the fish! In terms of compatability with inverts, look up stuff like triggerfish and dog-faced puffers -- GSPs are about the same.

GSPs will demolish anything molluscan (snails, clams, etc.), wormy (fan worms, peanut worms, etc), or crustacean (shrimps, barnacles, etc.) in the tank. Puffers have that beak for a reason -- in the wild they simply snap off anything vaguely interesting to see if it is edible. Not much will survive in the sand because these fish dig and some pufferfish use jets of water to expose "craters" in the sand to get at stuff deeper down. Echinoderms (starfish, urchins, etc.) I am not sure about, but I would guess they will be destroyed eventually.

You might possibly be able to keep a GSP with anemones and corals, and almost certainly sponges (which are eaten by only specific fish). Macroalgae are another option, too.

To be honest, other that using living rock for filtration, I'd forget about the fancy lighting and just set the tank up as a fish-only system and use species that will be ignored by the puffer, such as aggressive damsels, lionfish, morays, or triggers.

Cheers,

Neale