Saltwater Beginner Needs Advice On Tank!

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DominicUK

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Hello All,

Ive been trawling through this forum and have found it the most useful on the net so i decided to sign up and use your expertise for some q & a's :)

Im researching setting up a Saltwater Aquarium with corals and fish and i would like some advice on a tank ive seen advertised.

200litre tank

Does the tank on that link look like a good buy for a first aquarium? It comes with pump/filter/lights but i think from reading the lights will probably not be powerful enough
Thanks in advance
Dominic
 
well looks good to me as its always good to start at a good size a few tings i see if your planning to have coral then yes your more and likely going to need stronger lights however this doesnt meen you have to start fresh as you could just add on to you other lights on the other hand if you only want fish then you dont need tthat stronger light giving allowance to some. another thing it doesnt say anything about a protien skimmer some say there not essential but they are a very good piece of kit
also if your going to have live rock in there then your more and likely going to need some powerheads.

regards bae1994
 
Only thing with that tank is the brace bars. You may find it difficult to get big chunks of LR in there and light it without shadows
 
also there is no mention of what lights are included. For a tank that size you would need at least 4 t5 bulbs or a double halide unit.

Looks a nice tank but when it comes to buying there are so many good bargains to be had in the classifieds. Usually come with extras too. Things like heaters and powerheads.

Some come as complete systems with live rock and live stock.

Check ebay and your local classifieds for similar sized tanks. you may be surprised.
 
not trying to be rude but it does say on the tank page the lights it comes with and i would say buy a new tank as i think half the fun is setting up and waiting but like mutantbigman2000 says you will get a better deal on ebay and it could be easier as its all done for you but then again it could throw you in at the deep end as you may end up buying a setup to find it has lots of pests and or really specillist corals.
 
Dont worry about being rude. as far as i could see it says it comes with 2 x 20 watt bulbs and 1 x 10 watt bulb.

Doesn't specify whether they are t8's t5's or Pc.

Either way for a tank of its size the lighting is woefully inadequate for anything other than basic softies.

I suppose my main point was in a very short time the lighting will need a big overhaul. This will then make the cheapish tank not so much of a bargain.

I wouldn't advise buying an established system online because the logistics of transferral and set up is one headache i could do with out. But there are many bargains to be had.

For example about 9 months ago on ebay i was the winner of an Aquamedic Chromis 30g tank. It came with the ocean light 150w halide, a hydor powerflo, hydrometer, salt, stand, seperate t8 ballast, mag float, heater and breeding trap.

I got that for £140. Tank was in mint condition. and that was the main thing but it also releived the pressure of all the added extras you need when setting up a tank/reef system.
 
Some good advice so far. My other concern is the rounded edge... You'll have to get creative with algae scraping, either with a soft scraper or a really strong mag-float. Also the filter, is it a canister or an open-topped wet/dry option? Doesn't seem to specify in the ad.
 
Thanks for all the advice so far guys but i have changed my mind on the tank!
I think im now going to buy a fluval osaka set up which includes:
Fluval 305 External Filter
Fluval Tronic Heater 300w
LCD Thermometer
Life-Glo & Power-Glo T5HO Bulbs
Nutrafin Max Tropical Flake Food
Nutrafin Aquaplus
Aquarium size; 103cm long x 62cm high x 45cm wide.
Cabinet size; 115cm long x 70cm high x 49cm wide.
Volume 260 litres (56 gallons)

Fluval Osaka 260

As i mentioned previously i want to have a coral reef with fish and i have been researching what combinations of coral and fish are compatible!
Im a complete beginner to the marine reefkeeping world so all the advice is very welcome. I think from what ive read on the internet and in books that maybe including a sump in the cabinet of this setup will make reef management easier and i also want the main tank to show off my intended aquascaping and fish not be full of pumps etc !!

What do you guys think? Has any of you got experience of the Fluval Osaka? and i need as much advice on a sump as possible :)
Dominic
 
The tanks are well made and the cabinets and lighting units are no worse than adverage :good: I cannot remember if this is one of the ones pre-drilled for you. If so, fitting a sump is not only a good idea, but it's actually had most of the "hard" work towards it done for you :good: The stands aren't too helpfull for fitting a sump however, as you won't get one large enough to take the extra water that will drain into the sump in a powercut into those doors without major modifications. You would have to modify the stand to allow the fitting of a sump :nod:

The exturnals supplied are unreliable and hard to work IME, so I would not use it. Have you any idea how hard it is to get dryed in marine salt out of a carpet :crazy: No, neither do I, all the failures I've come across in Fluvals were in FW :lol: but I wouldn't run a Fluval in a marine tank (or FW) for fear of finding out about salt damage to carpets :shifty:

The supplied heaters are good, but the water conditioner and flakes are of questionable use... You will want to be using RO water for a reef set-up. If you want a sump, it may be cheaper doing a stand yourself and getting generic tanks for the sump and display, or getting someone to do a full custom set-up for you could be an option...

Lights will likely want upgrading if you want anything other than realy hardy softies like leathers, mushrooms and button polyps..

All the best
Rabbut
 
Hi Rabbut thanks for the feedback so quickly!
I can buy the tank separately (as the design is the main reason i like this tank!) and it would be possible for myself and brother to modify the cabinet but getting a matching wood may prove difficult. How large would a sump need to be to cater for a 260litre tank? I think upgrading lights shouldnt be a problem as i intended on getting UV's and lights for the the evening.

What is everyone's experience of havings sumps? Are they a must (which a lot of people seem to think) or are they just a luxury that wont make a huge difference to my marine set up?
Thanks again
Dominic
 
Well, you generaly aim for a sump that can take a minimum of 20% of the tank's capasity, so in your case, 52l, about a 2X1X1ft tank. Note however, that installing baffels in here would be tricky, as you would run the pump dry if you missed a top-up, and running it otherwise would give overflowing sump issues in a powercut. Idealy, go for something arrond 50%+ of the system volume, allowing for compartmentalisation and hence make equipment installation in the sump easier.

Sumps are not essential, but they increase system volume, hence stability, and hide all the equipment. They are a good place for dosing and addatives also, and allow for additional filtration that would not be available in the main tank. So, advisable "luxury", yes, essential, no :good:

Realy, look for a 150l sump, about 3X1.5X1.5ft for ease of use and higher safety margins in a power failure :nod:

I would not run a UV over a tank, it can kill corals and possible fish as well, while damage eye-sight for both ocupants and human viewers. I think you mean moon lights, or possibly Actinics, that are blue in colour and make corals glow or show off better colours ;)

HTH
Rabbut
 
Ok Guys an update one what im doing :)

Im going for the Osaka 56 gallon tank but im having a custom cabinet made by my brother and i want to have a 30g gallon sump inside there.
My total water capacity will be approx 86g in the total system so what skimmer would be best? and how powerful will my return pump need to be? (the height for the water to rise will be about 1-2metres)

What lights are best for a coral reef set up in your opinion? Im costing the set up at the moment so obviously im just trawling the net for the best prices!

Thanks again guys :)
 
For a turnover through the sump of 10X an hour, look for a pond pump that will push 580-620GPH. Top-up your flow in the display then with a couple of powerheads of Tunze style pumps :good:

What type of corals do you want? A lot of what lights you need depends on the species and types you like. For general flexibility, you cannot beat Metal Halides, but softies, LPS and some SPS's (higher up in the latter two cases) should be OK under 4 T5's

All the best
Rabbut
 
Yes i agree pal.. Check www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk excellent website. Sometimes you get amazing deals but too far away, but thats because i dont drive! Haha!

2-3weeks ago there was a full marine set up on there, complete with live rock, livestock, including fish and inverts for £300 ono.. Good ay. =] well i hope you get what you want, with no problems and no hassle.. And as cheap as possible =] let me know how you get on =]
 
Do remember, if you're going T5's, each lamp must have it's own individual reflector for it to be worth anything
 

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