Wanting To Go Marine

[boardy]

Hi all,

I'm currently running 24" and 36" tanks as freshwater tropicals, I'm looking at a custom made tank for my freshwater fish big enough to hold all the fish from both tanks. Both tanks are X"x12"x15".

I will have either the 24" or 36" tank going spare after I get a bigger tank. I have a real interest in Amphiprion Ocellaris Clownfish, yes mainly due to Finding Nemo but they are lovely looking fish. I would also like some live rock in the tank as well.

I have as above either of those tanks, a Fluval 205 canister filter, and a 200w heater. What other equipment would I NEED to get a marine tank running properly? I will be building a cabinet for either tank as the current Roma 200 cabinet will be used for the new tank when I get that.

Should there be anything I should know, I have read the FAQ thread on here about starting a tank but is there anything else I should know coming from a freshwater tank?

Cheers
Adam

 

[aaronnorth]

Hydrometer, protein skimmer, sump??

 

[boardy]

I was thinking I'd need a hydrometer, and a skimmer, but do I absolutely need a sump? I'm not entirely sure how I would hook one up, or even if I can with the tanks I use.

Cheers
Adam

 

[aaronnorth]

I have no experience with marine what so eve! I found this on new posts. I just now that these are vital but that is why i put ?? next to sump. Sorry.

 

[boardy]

I have no experience with marine what so eve! I found this on new posts. I just now that these are vital but that is why i put ?? next to sump. Sorry.

Ahh thanks for clearing that up I've been looking at sumps for my freshwater tanks but really didn't see the need with external canister filters. I'm in as much of a blank area as I was when I started Freshwater tropical fish keeping.

Any more info on this would be great, I've looked at a lot of setups on here and can't see any pipe work for sumps on some of them so I'm guessing they aren't 100% needed.

Cheers
Adam

 

[nanocubeking]

A sump is always good for any tank. I would recommend that you buy a sump that can hold a refugium and all the other filter media. A canister filter would do too but id put some live rock rubble in one chamber to house benifical bacteria and micro organisms. But the upper hand to a refugium is that you can have lighting over it so it can house macro algaes.

 

[boardy]

Thanks for that reply. If I use the Fluval 205 for a while until I can find space and money for the sump I should be ok. I understand that it's not ideal, but as I understand a sump is basically an external filter but can contain more than an external filter mainly due to being able to use light to keep things alive.

If all I need to start on a simple marine tank is a skimmer and hydrometer that's not too bad. This won't be happening for a few months possibly, but I want to be prepared and make sure when I move into the new house, I can buy the stuff and get the tank in place.

My list so far contains going on using the 36" tank using some of the current freshwater kit -

2 x Powerheads
1 x Skimmer
1 x Hydrometer
1 x Master test kit
Lighting
Living Rock

If there's anything I've forgotten that I'm going to 100% need for a simple starter tank please let me know so I can start planning.

Cheers
Adam

 

[WayneVT08]

What kind of lighting, PC? T-5? MH? It all would depend on your preference for corals.

I'd shoot for about 25-30 lbs of live rock in your tank, and you could use the smaller tank for the sump under it. The sump is not essential but it helps keep the display of the heater and all that good stuff. So you'd just have to plumb it in and get a return pump to make the water from the sump go back up into the display. You'd need to install somekind of an overflow system in the tank to accomplish this, but it can be done.

Just read a lot and don't take the peoples words at the LFS for being truth, come here to verify what the LFS told you. Then ultimately make your decision based off of that. Just read and make sure you have everything in order before you start.

And the key is patience, patience, patience. We can't emphasize that enough.