Aquastart 320

[danb_1985]

Hi, I have an aquastart 320 (28litre) tank doing nothing in the loft and want to get back into fish keeping. I was thinking about a freshwater set uP with a betta n some others as an option but really want marine again. I never successfully kept corals the last time so would like the set ip to be packed with corals. Would also like one or two fish on there and inverts. I don't want a skimmer as it won't be able to stick out of the tank due to the hood.

Without a skimmer how often will the water need to be changed?

Also will the 11w aquastart sunlight and marine blue bulb be enough to keep some decent coral?

Can anybody also recommend a pump/internal filter for this tank?

Thanks in advance

 

[ainsy]

I would start by having a good read of MARC.

It is possible to keep a tank without a skimmer, but I don't recommend it. You would need some method of removing the nasties out of the tank. This can be achieved by having a fuge or lots of water changes (but this means more salt and that = more money). This is why I always use a skimmer.

It is also possible to keep a reef with loads of live rock with plenty of water turn over & no skimmer as long as you keep your bioload low ie. little or no fish.

I am not an expert in CF lighting as I use metal halides, but generally (apart from the non-photosynthetic corals) the more intense the lighting the better.

I would avoid internal filters & spend the money that you set aside on more live rock & powerheads to move the water over/through it (the Live rock is your filter)

HTH