50 replies to this topic

[fishyyyyyy77]

by the time i got money to go marine u will be pro:P plus u cldnt be more noob about marine than me..; i stray away intentionally while i dont have one to avoid confusion of infos.. but while im here... so many ppl say cichlids need a diff rate of salt in the water wats the proper dose?? freshwater fish obviously:P

[golden_dase]

ok ok!

When & if you need help setting up your "marine" tank.. i'll come and help you!

By the way, update your profile to show your location.

Cheers!
Kevin.

[Boof86]

wahahah nice bro
im gonna steal ur tank one day when ur not lookin..

you have to beat me to it

[C_Pretz]

awesome thread, just a question what exactly does a power head do?

[Iamsam]

what exactly does a power head do?

moves water around in the tank

[golden_dase]

awesome thread, just a question what exactly does a power head do?

There are many uses for a powerhead.

1. To power an undergravel filter (instead of using airstones)
2. To pump/suck water into a top-mount "trickle" filter
3. Used in most marine tanks to circulate water around liverock/corals etc.
4. To power most modern protein skimmers.
5. For fish to "surf" in the turbulence! HAHA!

Hope that answers your question..

Cheers!
Kevin

[Boof86]

muahaha that scooter blenny.. is mine:D i steal him in ur sleep hahaha

[new2marine]

hi, Firstly what a great thread, very useful for beginners, so thanks for that

Secondly i'm New to all this so excuse any stupid questions. This is what i'm currently planning so please let me know if it sounds wrong etc.. I'm going on what i've been recommended by different lfs and info i've found online.

Tank is 6ft x 18 x 18

planning on doing the following (ps tank is for live rock and livestock for now atleast) and am trying to stick to a low budget

eheim 2217
jager 250w heater

questions

1) for circulation would you recommend using 1 or 2 powerhead or possibly 1 or 2 eheim aquaball? (would this add more filtering)?

2) will be using 20kg of live rock, on a base of mable chips and crushed coral
do i
a)put base in first add live rock on top and then fill with salt water?
add live rock, then add base around them and fill with water (read this is more stable)?

3) should i use trickle filters also (please remember this is very low budget set up initially)

4) lighting, will be added in month or two

I understand after adding the rock and water i will have to filter (for however long it takes) to get the levels right before adding fish

water changed for first month 50% every week? then after that 30% weekly or fortnightly?

[Neakit]

don't bother with the cannister, try to get more live rock and spend money on a skimmer,circulation should be in the vecinity of 10-20 times the tank volume. check out http://www.masa.asn.au , you will have to regester but the wealth of info is invaluable. use sand on the bottom and the creatures that live in the sand will help clean the bottom.

[golden_dase]

hi, Firstly what a great thread, very useful for beginners, so thanks for that

Hi!

Glad you found my "newbie" post helpful.. haha!

Ok, a few things you should know (based on my experience). Firstly, marine keeping is a "game of patience". DO NOT RUSH! You should allow a few weeks for the tank to cycle.

In regards to filtration, follow Neakit's advice and use heaps of liverock. Only use canister filters if you have to... but remove all factory media and add coral pieces instead! Canister can also be useful for adding things like phosphate remover etc... Also, you will need to clean the canisters more often than that of freshwater keeping.

Powerheads: The more the merrier as they say.. ideally, you should have 2 or more powerheads to allow for adequate flow around your liverocks/tank.
Trickle filters: They're good if you know how to use them properly. Top-mount filters can be "re-engineered" to be used as small "fuges".

The main problem I had with the "basic" set up was that I got a very annoying oily surface film, because I didn't have surface skimming... If possible, add some sort of surface skimming (either via overflow into a sump, or surface skimming attachment to use with canister).

I hope that helps...

Kevin

[Sazabi]

You probably need to take some pics of your new marine project and step by step progress album