62 replies to this topic

[gilz]

o wow
still in the contemplation phase of this venture
haha

iv been researching a fair bit and have been getting a lot of "information"
but now what i want is some actually questions answered.
so what better place than here to ask

ok
firstly
what is the best substrate to use without breaking the bank
don't what rubbish. but at the same time money doesnt grow on trees for a uni student
something that will do a nice job but isnt the very top end stuff

secondly
halide lighting is OUT (not shouting just needed it haha) of the question haha
i dont have a tank yet so i though i could base the tank around the lights given they're more expensive
i was thinking 3 x 1.5-2 x 1.5-2
what kind of lighting would i need in order to have some live rock
i don't need a huge ammount
once again im thinking of going more around middle ground
enough to make it look nice but not so much that i cant afford clothes

i think that will do for now
will give me something to think about at least

if im already completely off with some of my theory then feel free to tell me to hit the books haha

[tranced]

when i have more money i will do another marine tank, most definately with no substrate, and with a proper wier and sump.

lighting... there is so many options out there, all with pros and cons. it all depends what you want to grow with them, and what you want now may not be the same as what you want later on. resale value on these kinds of things is not good either

[aussiemcgee]

it is all a bit daunting to begin with and things do cost - there is no way to get around that, but there is good gear around which will see you through;

tank - there is plenty of them in the classifieds, send up a 'want to buy' and you should get heaps o responses
sump - definately have a sump. it keeps everything neat and tidy and increases water volume which helps keeps parameters stable
skimmer - i have had a needle wheel skimmer running for nearly 2 years now and it seems pretty good for an average priced skimmer
substrate - i just have coarse coral sand/ rubble in mine; seems to do the trick
lighting - T5 high output for sure. good all round light for fish and soft corals
water - get seawater delivered and keep back up in storage. this way you can do water changes whenever and however much is required
waiting - wait, wait, wait, wait, wait for your tank to be fully cycled - dont rush in and load it right up.You will get massive ammonia spikes and end up back at square 1

people are really helpful around and always willing to help

[gilz]

thanks heaps for that mate
very helpful =]

[tranced]

just bear in mind with T5 lighting, that the globes need to be relaced every 9 months. this makes T5 probably the most expensive option out there, although its the most attractive and customisable in terms of colour temperature.

[werdna]

Aragonite is also a good option for marine.

And then if you get sick of saltwater and want to get back into cichlids you can reuse the substrate

Andrew

[gilz]

hey guys
im getting closer to this saltwater thing

now
iv been told that a sump is a very good idea
however i just read one of the newbie threads on the maswa forum and it pretty much said dont use one
what do you guys think
i liked the idea of having everything in the sump given the tank will be 3 x 1.5 x 1.5 so big heaters and skimmers will really stand out

also my t5 light is designed to have 8 x 39w globes in it. so ill have 4 white 4 blue
is this enough to have corals in a tank of that size??
will it be fine for most just not some of the ones that require high end light??

that should do for now
cheers Jadon

[Neakit]

8 t5s will be fine for any corals even sps. Sump the tank you will be happier when you do it

[tranced]

you will really wish you had a sump later on, i sure did. it makes things so much better...

[gilz]

ok cool
now another question
if i drill in a hole just below the top of the glass and have the water running down into the sump
then have the return go up over the glass and in but dropping above the water level
if the power goes out. all should be fine right??
the only water going down into the sump would be whats in the pipes at the time
would that prevent any problems with the whole pump stopping thing???

[Neakit]

having the return come over the top is no issue at all. What you will need to do is with your sump is make sure it has enough air space for the water from above to drain into. Also something to think about is having a weir and a siphon and a drain setup instead of 1 drain to your sump, the reason i say this is you will go nuts with the trickling sound the drain will make. I had a single drain on a tank once, drove me nuts nothing i did worked very long or needed a lot of fiddling to make silent but still made noise with in the day.

[gilz]

I'll look into it. My study/fish room is noisy anyway. Filter outlet for cichlid tank is above water level among other things.
Also it's a 180 liter tank. I'm planning on having an eheim 3000 l pump in the sump. Will this be ok? Planning on having 20 mm PVC running off the pump up into the tank. If I just drill the hole and use gravity to feed the sump. What size hole/pipe should I use?

[Neakit]

i have 25mm or 1 inch pipe on my 3x18x18. I can really recommend a weir they also give you surface skimming.

[gilz]

Ok. I had a good look at the weirs. And yeah they do look good. Are you able to point me in the direction of a good one??

[Neakit]

http://www.beananima...low-system.aspx
this may be of some help.

[Simon A]

I use one of these Overflow, They are very efficient and quite, plus you don't end up with a wet floor if the power goes out,I used 1 inch PVC, just put a end cap on "C" with a 5mm hole drilled in it and use a 1 inch to 3 inch adapter on "A" to give you a bit more surface skimming area. Took me about 10-15 minutes to build and cost less than $30.

[Neakit]

i advise against that overflow suggestion. The biggest issue is how will it self start when the power is cut? Read bean animals page its worth the time.

[Simon A]

The overflow maintains a siphon in a section of the pipe, so there is not problem when the power goes out, I've had it running for years on numerous tanks. Siphon starts by itself when power comes on again

Edited by Simon A, 23 February 2011 - 08:57 PM.

[gilz]

So if you were to cut the power leave it for 5 and turn it back on it would still work fine??

[Neakit]

If you haven't got your tank yet get one with a wier. Not only does it give you peace of mind it also gives you surface skimming which is a good thing in marine. here is a pic of one of my tanks the give you an idea what is possible.