16 replies to this topic

[ruffaz]

I have a spare 980t (worse purchase of my life ) witch to me is a big waste of money

now my partner wont a small salt water aquarium and im considering using this all of my past salties have been wet dry sumps this tank has a built in filter wich i dont like the pump attached uses too much power for what it is but the plus side its around 270 ish litres i think and has built in lights and a nice looking cabinet

my plane is to run this with out a skimmer but shut of the factory filter and add my spare aqua one 1000 cannister get two power heads and just fill it with live rock

I think my partner only wonts clown fish in there

do you guys reckon it will work or should i drill the tank for a small sump with a protein skimmer

[Riggers]

A friend of mine has a similar setup with the inbuilt filter system, a jewel tank, we have just finished setting it up for marine to house a few fish and some soft corals... We left the internal box filter in the tank purely for mechanical filtration and extra flow, we ditched the canister filter, added in 8 t5 tubes to the hood, a couple of wave makers from eBay and added a hang on skimmer... By the sounds of it you've just about got all you need to get it up and running... I personally would run a skimmer but you might be able to get away with regular water changes more often? You might be able to get hold of a cheap one? The live rock will do the bulk of your filtering so I reckon you'll be fine without a sump go for it mate..... You know you want to I'll take some pics for you when I see my buddy next

Edit... Spelling....again!!

Edited by Riggertron, 01 July 2011 - 03:31 PM.

[Neakit]

i am currently running an ar510, i use the top filter for chemical filtration only (carbon and a phosphate pad). Don't bother with a canister it will be more hassle than its worth.
Normally i would recommend using a skimmer but if this is only going to have fish no skimmer will be fine, just keep the stocking densities low.
As for the power heads tunze now make some cheap ones that are reasonably good, you can pick up a brand new 6015 (1800L/hr) for $50 now. In saying that i run a 6055 (5500L/hr) in mine.
If your going for only fish then the stock lights will be fine, but if you wish to try some corals look into corillamorphs.

Lastly Make sure your partner knows that unless you do modify this tank and run a skimmer and more powerful lights the clowns cannot have an anemone. Also if you do choose to go down that path the tank will need to mature before adding one. The clowns will be just fine without the anemone and will most likely host something else you put in there.

[ruffaz]

what options do i have to run a skimmer

[Riggers]

Heaps of options for skimmers ey, it just depends on how much you want to spend. The Red Sea Prism skimmers are pretty good for the $$ and nice and compact so you can hide it away where it cant be seen
http://saltaquarium....redseaprizm.htm

If you want to keep an anemone for your clowns you dont have to wait six months (allthough wait for your tank to go through its full cycle) but you do need to keep your water spot on.... If you want more info on clownfish and host anemones I recommend the book "Anemone Fishes and their Host Sea Anemones", by Daphne G. Fautin and Gerald R. Allen, Published by Western Australian Museum 1992 its a bloody good read and really helpful

Nick

[Neakit]

see i cant say anything good about the prism, even with the modifications that red sea came out for it its still woefull. Octopus make a hang on skimmer thats ok for the price, deltec make a hang on skimmer that is excellent. Stay away from jebo skimmers they are just as good as paper weights, tunze skimmers are good but can be a little pricey. Basicly look into skimmers that use either a needle wheel or a pin wheel or a mesh wheel impeller, Apparently aqua one have come out with a needle wheel skimmer thats cheap and works but thats coming from guys in the eastern states.
http://www.guppysaqu...om.au/index.php This site has some grey products that are cheap and work so have a browse but careful on the delivery charge.

[ruffaz]

my problem is i would like it to be all hidden in the tank unless i cut holes etc

[Neakit]

well to be honest it will be very hard to hide your powerheads etc, if you want a clean look i would say sump it, and go closed loop for your in tank flow. How ever closed loops are not cheap and are prone to leaks.

[ruffaz]

i dont need it all hidden as such i just wont it all to be under the hood if you know what im saying powweer heads can be showin

[Neakit]

then all i can say is forget the skimmer and anemone and just do weekly to fortnightly water changes.
The ar510 i have gets 20L changed weekly and every fortnight i change my carbon and once a month i change my phosphate pad. Its not hard to do, the all in ones aren't really the most desirable tanks for marine but the can work well.
The biggest limitation is the lighting, i don/t know what type of fluros your tank has but mine has power compacts and people have kept sps under them before.
If you do use the top filter remove all filtration media (live rock will be all the filtration you will need) and just use it for chemical media, that way if it doesn't need it you can just turn it off. If your going to remove it completely add a skimmer it will make your job a little easier and it can also stretch your water changes.
This may sound silly but do you know what a protein skimmer does?

[sandgroper]

Hang the skimmer off the back, a sump is the best option. cheers steve

[ruffaz]

Yea i have had a few salties before but always have had sump systems were my skimmer was there i was just trying to keep the astectics of the tank for our lounge room i can run a small sump i reckon just for the skimmmer maybee use a little mech filtration

[Neakit]

mech filtration is a pain in the butt, you have gotta keep cleaning it regularly.

[Riggers]

If your going to go to the trouble of doing all this for a marine tank sell the one you have now and get a new tank you can customise to suit your needs, it will save you massive headaches in the long run..

Nick

[ruffaz]

the idea is to try and use what i have now

[Riggers]

Ok if your keen on using the tank you have I'd suggest doing a bit of research into a skimmer and powerheads that will suit your needs, there's so many available that all work pretty much the same but in different ways, you just need to find the one that suits your setup. If I had your setup and was going to convert it to marine this is what I would do,

I'd put a nice deep sandbed of at least 3 inches into the tank, for more about sandbeds have a read of this article.
http://www.reefkeepi...ature/index.php
Then I would fill my tank with live rock and saltwater and leave it alone for at least a month.
I would use 2-3 wave makers, I prefer these to powerheads because the wavemakers create more of a surge than a jet of water and there are a few decent units that come with controllers so you create the perfect conditions for your tank.
Since you would like clownfish, and possibly an anemone, for the lighting I would remove everything that's all ready inside the hood and replace it with a minimum of 4 T5 tubes, you can do this by buying a T5 ballast unit and wiring kit that you can fit into the hood with a few screws.
For the skimmer I would use a hang on needle wheel skimmer because all that is inside the tank is the pump and outlet and it can easily be hidden away from sight. You may find the skimmer will only draw light coloured skimmate for the first month or so but this is normal.
And that's pretty much it, the tank will cycle in the first month (maybe shorter or longer there's no set amount of time) then you can start introducing livestock I hope this helps mate the best piece of advice I can give you is do your research, get lots of different opinions (everyone has had different experience) and just jump into it and give it a go, the worst that can happen is everything will die but I have found my best lessons come from my worst mistakes good luck

[Riggers]

As promised a few pics of my buddys jewel bay front tank marine conversion

Hes still running the internal box filter with some crushed coral and some de nitrifying pads and hes added in the second internal box but it comes with a skimmer instead of the filtration device. These are made by Jewel so he was able to get a replacement piece for the hood with the precut holes to suit a skimmer setup. Hes put in a resun controllable wavemaker and added 4 extra T5 units to the 2 exisiting. Its been running 3 months now and hes added a few coral and a couple of clowns.... I think its really nice tomorrow im going to drop off a couple of cardinals and a stripey to continue the stocking....slowly does it