Aquarium Gravel In A Marine Tank..

[Cheebs]

I've recently had the opportunity to get a great deal on a 90 gallon tank with most equipment included. It comes with tons of aquarium gravel and an undergravel filter system. Iw as wondering if this would be ideal for a marine tank, in which I plan on having living rock and housing a Snowflake maray eel. I know the size is big enough by far, but I couldn't find too much info on whether or not the gravel would make a good substrate in a marine tank. Am I better off replacing it with crushed coral or dolomite? or live sand perhaps?

If I do buy this tank, part of the investment will be towards the gravel, which is a little expensive, and I'd hate to have to replace it with something else.

My second question is in regards to the filtration system. Would I be alright with jsut the UFG, or will I need additional powerheads? Or am I better off going with a different system altogether?

Thanks,
Cheebs

 

[SkiFletch]

Well cheebs, I dont claim to know the first thing about eels so I'll leave that part of the substrate discussion to others. But if the eel will tolerate it, try and go for a coral sand, or aragonite sand for your substrate and ditch the UGF to rely on the LR for filtration instead. Easier to keep clean IMO. UGF's work, but if you're allready planning on having LR, they're entirely un-necessary and may even become nitrate factories.

If you wanna save a few bucks on finding aragonite (calcium carbonate) sand, here's a little tip. Take some vinegar to a hardware store or garden store, somewhere that they sell play sand locally for you. Put a sample of the sand in the vinegar. If after one minute the sand continues to bubble and fizz in the vinegar, it's a calcium carbonate based sand and suitable to use. If it stops fizzing before a minute, it's silica based sand and not suitable. If you live in the States, track down some Kolorscape sand from your Home Depot or Lowes, as Kolorscape is for sure aragonite based.

 

[Cheebs]

Well cheebs, I dont claim to know the first thing about eels so I'll leave that part of the substrate discussion to others. But if the eel will tolerate it, try and go for a coral sand, or aragonite sand for your substrate and ditch the UGF to rely on the LR for filtration instead. Easier to keep clean IMO. UGF's work, but if you're allready planning on having LR, they're entirely un-necessary and may even become nitrate factories.

If you wanna save a few bucks on finding aragonite (calcium carbonate) sand, here's a little tip. Take some vinegar to a hardware store or garden store, somewhere that they sell play sand locally for you. Put a sample of the sand in the vinegar. If after one minute the sand continues to bubble and fizz in the vinegar, it's a calcium carbonate based sand and suitable to use. If it stops fizzing before a minute, it's silica based sand and not suitable. If you live in the States, track down some Kolorscape sand from your Home Depot or Lowes, as Kolorscape is for sure aragonite based.

Thanks for the advice. I happen to work ot the Home Depot so I'll definitely be looking into that.
Now assuming I rely mainly on the LR for filtration, I must still need powerheads to keep the water flowing in the tank?

Also, this is the tank in question: http/www.usedottawa.com/classified-ad/36...=aquariums-fish
The stand cover doesn't look great hehe, but I've already contacted the person, and he's willing to go to 300. If this tank proves to be reliable, would this setup be ieal for my Snowflake?

Having browsed through other setups on this site, I notice that many people with large tanks use more complex forms of filtration/water flow, with some heavy plumbing involved (sumps, skimmers, etc...). Is that something I should be worried about with a tank this size with the small amount of inhabitants I will have?

Sorry for all the questions, I know this is a bit ambitious for what is pretty much my first tank, but I want to make sure my eel is comfortable. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[SkiFletch]

Does the tank come with those atrocious drapes?

 

[Cheebs]

Does the tank come with those atrocious drapes?

Haha probably, like I said the stand cover is brutal . So what are your thoughts SkiFletch? Worth the deal for what I want to do?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, like I said, I have no idea if a 90g is a good sized tank for an eel, but if it is, that looks like a good 90g tank. Just remember to get some more appropriate sand instead of that freshwater gravel

 

[Musho3210]

do a lot more research before you actually get anything live. Not just on taking care of eels, but taking care of saltwater tanks.

 

[Cheebs]

do a lot more research before you actually get anything live. Not just on taking care of eels, but taking care of saltwater tanks.

I'm working on the research part. I realise this takes patience, I plan on buying the tank soon, but I realise it may not be another month until I actually get anything live in there. Like I said I want to make sure that everything is safe for my eel. I've started by reading almost any beginner saltwater tank guides I can get my hands on, and I plan on making a few trips to reputable fish stores to get more help. Wetwebmedia.com is proving invaluable as well, I can learn alot from other peoples mistakes. Anyways my point is, although I'm super exited aobut this project I'm not going to rush into anything and get my fish killed. I apreciate the advice though

 

[Musho3210]

call up your local public aquarium, eels are pretty cool fish and i wouldnt be surprised if your local public aquarium has one, they could probably help you out.

 

[Cheebs]

call up your local public aquarium, eels are pretty cool fish and i wouldnt be surprised if your local public aquarium has one, they could probably help you out.

Luckily my LFS is a Big Al's right down the road, and I have the fortune of having a friend who works there. I can't wait!

 

[n3ont3tra]

90 gallons should be fine for a snowflake eel. You could also have a few fish in with it if you wanted. I'd definately replace the gravel. Make sure you read the pinned topics in the marine chit chat section. good luck!