180l Tropical To Marine Conversion

[alexktz]

ok, have been reading the forum for absolutely ages and am so inlove with the idea of having "critters" popping out of the rocks at night I'm going to take the plunge this weekend.

i live in manchester, and use Oasis aquarium for all my tropical needs, if anyone knows a better shop for marine stuff let me know! i've just recently lost about 6 fish meaning i now have a small enough tropical collection to transfer into my old freshwater tank.

from reading i get the impression the best thing with salt water tank, is patience. my question is regarding the sump and getting things cycled. currently i have a tetratec cannister filter (ex 700 if you're interested), a standard air pump and a 200w heater.

what if anything from that will i need for the new marine setup? where exactly does the sump fit into the whole thing? can i think of the sump almost as a replacement for my cannister filter?

my tank is the aqua one regency 80 and it's dimensions are 80 long, 70 tall, 40 deep. what sort of limits do i have for stock in there? the gf really wants a tang (clichéd i know), but i think that the tank might be too small for this? i know fish are a good couple of months away yet...

finally, what can i realistically have expected to acheived by the end of this weekend? live sand? live rock? or just some salty water!?

 

[adamgreen240]

ok, have been reading the forum for absolutely ages and am so inlove with the idea of having "critters" popping out of the rocks at night I'm going to take the plunge this weekend.

i live in manchester, and use Oasis aquarium for all my tropical needs, if anyone knows a better shop for marine stuff let me know! i've just recently lost about 6 fish meaning i now have a small enough tropical collection to transfer into my old freshwater tank.

from reading i get the impression the best thing with salt water tank, is patience. my question is regarding the sump and getting things cycled. currently i have a tetratec cannister filter (ex 700 if you're interested), a standard air pump and a 200w heater.

what if anything from that will i need for the new marine setup? where exactly does the sump fit into the whole thing? can i think of the sump almost as a replacement for my cannister filter?

my tank is the aqua one regency 80 and it's dimensions are 80 long, 70 tall, 40 deep. what sort of limits do i have for stock in there? the gf really wants a tang (clichéd i know), but i think that the tank might be too small for this? i know fish are a good couple of months away yet...

finally, what can i realistically have expected to acheived by the end of this weekend? live sand? live rock? or just some salty water!?

Hi mate, i have a 6 X 2 X 2 reef tank, I live in Liverpool and travel into Manchester to go into Oasis - it really is great! The staff are very helpfull and i have found the prices to be reasonable! Well worth the trip, i would love it if it was nearer lol! You lucky thing

Patience is the key really yes, regarding the sump, are you planning on using a overflow box or drilling the tank and installing a weir? The sump is a seperate tank which hides all the equiptment, e.g. protein skimmer.

You will not need to use the canister filter at all, don't be tempted to use it! The live rock in a marine aquarium provides the filtration, just ensure you have lots of powerheads around the rock.

You will need something to measure the salinity, a refractomer is best (Oasis have the D+D ones for £39.99) . Unfortunatly, the tank is a bit too small i would say for a tang, although pepole might sat different.

Basically, you can have live sand and rock first, along with the salty water, Welcome to the world of marines mate, Just PM me or post below if need any advice, all the best, Adam (15)

 

[seffieuk]

Welcome to the salty side - it's great over here

If you want to get started this weekend I would do your planning and make your shopping list - hit good old flea bay and aquarists classified on the internet to look for bargains unless of course you are made of money


shopping list:

You will need:

power head for a tank of about 26 gallons - I went for the KORALIA as recomended by the guys on here, I got the Koralia 2

Refractometer, don't bother with a hydrometer - again ebay

Bucket of marine salt - don't bother getting packets, it's a false economy

Sand, you will need approx (sorry not sure how many gallons your tank is) - don't bother with live sand - it will seed from the Live rock

Testing kits for nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and PH - just to start with you will need more a little later - Salifert tests are generally considered the best - prepare yourself for a shock on price!

Water container - food safe, Camping and General do them for a good price (that's if you are in the Uk)

Container to mix your water - empty salt container is ideal I find - see if lfs will give you one or sell for a couple of £s

Cheap power head for mixing water

Cheap heater to heat water when mixing

Syphon

Good quality tank scrubber and algae magnet - you get what you pay for here, don't go cheap! Ebay again

Ro unit from RO man - you can get one for about £65, a sound investment in the long run

Live Rock - you will need about (again need tank size) - look to get it from a reefer breaking down a tank - if in the Uk check out the classifeds on ultimatereef (there is a lot on there at the moment) or ebay, or aquarists classified - you will get a better deal, less die off if it is local ( I transported mine for an hour in water and had little die off) and better rock with lovely coraline growth and more hitchhikers - a win, win situation (you do not need a canister filter, as the LR is your filter)

What lighting has the tank got - if it has been used for FW then you will also need to change the lighting

Protein skimmer unless tank small

Good book about invertibrates

Good book about fish

Good book about corals (have a read of my thread for 'the book')

My suggestion to you would be go slowly, plan and do your research - ask us loads of questions, we have all been in your situation and done the same You could go out and buy all this stuff from your lfs, BUT it will COST you a little time and planning can save you an awful lot of money and boy, you will need money because this is an adictive, expensive hobby

I'm sure there will be something I have forgotten but someone is bound to pop by and tell you - anyway have fun planning and share the fun with us.

Seffie x

 

[alexktz]

i like the saltier side of life

anywho... thanks very much for all of the advice, i like active forums with nice people

one of the big questions i still have in my head (thanks for answering about the sump) is regarding the RO water. how long does it take to produce enough water to do a water change, say 20l?

can i do it without a sump? or just have the equipment around the top of the tank?
what benefits are there to having a sump vs not having one?

finally, i've just emptied the big tank tonight and taken it off the table we were using to stand it on. it was a cheapy thing from argos so obviously mdf, and it looks like i've spilled some water underneath the tank during the past year, and the veneer is coming away from the wood. i have an aqua one regency 80, how difficult would it be to build my own stand from wood available at say, b&q? does anyone have any experience of doing this type of thing?

thanks!

 

[seffieuk]

i like the saltier side of life

anywho... thanks very much for all of the advice, i like active forums with nice people

one of the big questions i still have in my head (thanks for answering about the sump) is regarding the RO water. how long does it take to produce enough water to do a water change, say 20l?

All according how big an RO unit you buy, I have a small one £65 from RO man, which produces me 25l in an evening - which is fine for me

can i do it without a sump? or just have the equipment around the top of the tank?
what benefits are there to having a sump vs not having one?

You can get away without a sump but it is better to have one, the equipment can go in plus lr rubble and even cheato if you have a light

finally, i've just emptied the big tank tonight and taken it off the table we were using to stand it on. it was a cheapy thing from argos so obviously mdf, and it looks like i've spilled some water underneath the tank during the past year, and the veneer is coming away from the wood. i have an aqua one regency 80, how difficult would it be to build my own stand from wood available at say, b&q? does anyone have any experience of doing this type of thing?

Several people have built stands on here, the last I think was Rabbut, take a read of his journel in Marine Journels - it is a good read

thanks!

You are welcome, don't forget to take us some photos

Seffie x

 

[rabbut]

A self-build stand is easy if you know how. With a 180l tank, I'd use 3X3 for safety (though 2X2 would suffice) and build a front and back frame with four up-rights and then one beam top and bottom. Mortice and Tennon these together You then join the two frames together with some smaller Coach Bolts (Pre-drill the holes for these, or the wood will split. You are going into the grain with a thick screw ) Once done, sand it smooth all over and then fit any marine grade ply over it to cover (Note, some sumps may need building in this cabinet, as manuvering them in will be tricky. You could also slide them in before cladding, but after the base ply). Anywhere you place a tank will need 1/2" ply fitted to ensure an even base, and I'd use 1/4" for any cladding Once all done, apply 3 thin coats of stain where applicable, followed by 12-14 thin coats of varnish, sanding with a very fine paper, to get a glass-like finish to it This will be water and scratch-proof for the life of the tank (20+ years). If your tank isn't floating based, you will need 1/4" polestirien over the bases that the tank(s) sit on

All the best
Rabbut

 

[alexktz]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice on the stand, but I went ahead and found a full 400l setup for £400, that is already established. Just about finished topping it off with RO water now (which is a pain in the #### to fill up 300l with!)

Thanks

 

[adamgreen240]

Thats good news mate, youll have to get us some pics, More water is always better in a marine tank, 100 gallons is a nice tank! I recon you will want an upgrade in less than a year tho!