Converting Tropical To Fish Only

[rcracer20071]

Hi,
I have had a tropical fish tank for several years now without any problems, I have had a range of fish during my time ranging from guppies to black ghost knife fish etc.

I am now thinking of converting my tank to be a fish only setup. Below is a list of equipment that I already have to make the move:

180 litre Juwel Vision 180 tank
Fluval 205 External Canister filter
2x 35watt bulbs
1x korilia Nano wavemaker
1x Korilia One wavemaker
1x air pump

Do you recommend a protein skimmer and do you have any recommendations for my tank?

Is my existing equipment up to the job or do you think i should upgrade any of it?

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side

180 litre is a nice sized first marine tank - what lights does it have, T5 or T8?

I would look at the deltec 300 mce for skimmer, try and get a secondhand one.

The koralias are fine, probably what we would have guided you to but you will not need an airstone.

Can I ask what you are going to use for filtration?

Seffie x

 

[nick87]

Hi,
I have had a tropical fish tank for several years now without any problems, I have had a range of fish during my time ranging from guppies to black ghost knife fish etc.

I am now thinking of converting my tank to be a fish only setup. Below is a list of equipment that I already have to make the move:

180 litre tank
Fluval 205 External filter
2x 25watt bulbs
1x korilia Nano wavemaker
1x Korilia One wavemaker
1x air pump

Do you recommend a protein skimmer and do you have any recommendations for my tank?

Is my existing equipment up to the job or do you think i should upgrade any of it?

If your only having fish, with no liverock or corals then most of your equipment will do the job

You can you the external for filtration, any lights will be fine for fish only.

As for a skimmer i would reconmend a deltec mce 300 or 600, or a tmc v2 400/600.

 

[rcracer20071]

Firstly can I just say thanks for the help folks it is really appreciated.

seffieuk
To be honest I was not sure what type of lights it had so i did a quick search, heres what i found:
High-Lite refers to the new light technology by JUWEL Aquarium. It combines the existing tube lengths of the T8 with the new bright T5 technology.

Why will I not need an air stone?

Filter wise I have an external canister filter (Fluval 205 External filter), I beleive that the 205 means it is designed for aquariums up to 205 litres in size.


nick87
I thought I still had to have live rock? all the stores that I have been to have been saying that I need at least £100 of live rock?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Filter wise I have an external canister filter (Fluval 205 External filter), I beleive that the 205 means it is designed for aquariums up to 205 litres in size.

the 205 turns over 680 liters per hour, it is designed for aquariums up to 200L, but the "205" part is just a model number.

 

[nick87]

nick87
I thought I still had to have live rock? all the stores that I have been to have been saying that I need at least £100 of live rock?

Not at all, if you just want marine fish you don't need any liverock, Fish only with live rock or reef and you will need around 18kgs of live rock (About £200)

Have a look here for a quick run down of the different setups http/www.fishlore.com/saltwater_aquarium_types.htm

 

[rcracer20071]

Once again thanks for your help.

From my research and asking local fish stores about my filter, they are saying that I can get away with using my Fluval 205 (a 200 litre rated filter with a 180 litre tank), they seem to be recomending that I should have a better one like the Fluval 305 or the Fluval 405. In your opinion would this help my setup and maintenance requirements or is it a waste of time and money?

The problem with doing the above is that my cabinet only has enough room for the one that I have, however I could put another Fluval 205 in the other side of the cabinet and link them up, would this be the same as getting a bigger filter?

 

[seffieuk]

What is the turn over of the filter?

To have a successful marine environment you don't have to have live rock - however, I would be asking why would you choose a less efficient and less aesthetically pleasing environment for your tank?

Seffie x

 

[xxBarneyxx]

As already said in a fish only tank the setup is basically the same as a FW tank. I personally would get another 205 and run it alongside the one you already have. This doubles your filtration capacity as well as giving you a vital backup if one of them happens to fail.

LR does look better, works well as filtration and gives you a bit of bio diversity in the tank (you get loads of other critters in there).

However in a FO tank there are advantages to not using live rock. For one if you need to treat the tank at any point then you don't have to worry so much about what meds you use.

Personally I would pick LR every time but external filters can work just fine. I would definitely add a good skimmer to your kit (MCE 300 or 600 are really great HOB skimmers, go for a second hand one though). Also use phosphate and nitrate removal media in your external filters.

Seffie, I totally agree with you on the LR but a Fluval 205 can be picked up for about £20 second hand, a lot cheaper than the LR needed for filtration in this tank.


Rcracer, dont forget that a lot of the fish we see in LFS are from the reef so even though you dont have lr make sure you scape the tank so there is plenty of places for fish to hide away and sleep.

 

[seffieuk]

Seffie, I totally agree with you on the LR but a Fluval 205 can be picked up for about £20 second hand, a lot cheaper than the LR needed for filtration in this tank.

Oh indeed you are right, I just wondered why the op was going the external route! Would like to hear the thought proccess

Seffie x

 

[rcracer20071]

Hi there,
once again thanks for all your input.

Basically I want to start off slow which the cheapest options, so i probably will start off by replacing my sand with the proper stuff (crushed coral is it?) for a saltwater tank and get the extra 205 filter. As time goes on i plan to get live rock and a protein skimmer as well. I beleive it is cured rock that i can get to insert into an already runing saltwater tank?

So in essence what i am saying is that i plan to eventually be running 2 x 205 filters and live rock and a protein skimmer (probably the one you guys recomended).

Below is how my tank looks currently (Fresh water - tropical), I have used all my spare stuff to make a artificial reef. I plan to get rid of the rock on the left and move the one on the right into the middle of the tank, to make room for live rock on either side. I am currently hunting down places that sell soft artificial coral / anemones that move in the water current to finish the artificial reef before making the swap over

Both artificial rocks are hollow with lots on nooks and crannies for the fish to hide in.

I shall be passing on about half of my existing fish in the next two weeks to friends. I am still trying to find a home for the bigger fish (Angels, rainbow fish and sharks).

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Thats a good plan imo. Switching from FW to a basic marine FO setup isn't that much of a change so its a good way to ease yourself into the hobby. Getting the LR a bit at a time also makes it a bit more affordable too plus if your getting it from a LF you can go and hand pick a good bit every time (rather than maybe getting one good bit and having to put up with whatever they have left just to fill your tank).

Just remember when you do come to put your LR in not to put too much in in one go. Yes if it is cured in theory it should be totally fine. However there is a chance of an ammonia spike and if you put in a lot of LR in one go that all spikes it could be more than the system could handle. Thats the main advantage of having the rock before the livestock, you can put it all in and any ammonia spikes you get wont do any damage. As said though you can still do it gradually, just have to be more careful about it.

I never really liked all the fake corals and things when I have seen them in the shops but that FW tank actually looks pretty good can't wait to see what you will do with a marine tank

 

[rcracer20071]

Hi folks,
I am having a little trouble with my artificial reef. Obviously an artificial reef is more regid than the real thing, my artificial anemones and coral are moving slightly at the momment but i would like it to move more. So bearing in mind i have a 180 litre tank and a korilla nano and a korillia one could i replace the korillia nano to be say a korillia 2 and not have too much flow for my future salt water fishes?

For flow details on the Koriallia range look at Korillia flows

 

[seffieuk]

For your 'real' reef yo uwill be looking for at least x 20 turnover, so 3600 lph

at the moment you have:

nano = 900
K1 = 1500
k2 = 2300

would = 4700, which would be good flow for your 'real' reef - you could have one either end and then maybe use the nano further down or further up to create a nice amount of turbulance

Seffie x

 

[rcracer20071]

Hi,
Should the Korilias be running all day?

Also where in this forum can you keep a aquarium diary?