Doing Things Backwards - Reef To Tropical

[Gav_B_UK]

Hi

New to the forum. I am a former keeper of a 120Gallon Reef Aquarium and due to moving house and a change of circumstances I am now looking at setting up a tropical aquarium (which is typically backwards of me). I have a few questions:

1) I'm looking at a Fish R Fun FRF-2100 tank with built in filter and lights. Are these any good and has anyone got experience of them?? (sorry, posted similar questions elsewhere also) If no good, what sort of setup around the 40" Wide x up to 24" deep and 24"ish high would members on here recommend?? I'm looking to spend up to £500 on the tank, cabinet, lights and filtering.

2) The tank size I'm looking at will be 47 Gallons/ 210 Litres. When I was keeping salt water fish this equated to about 4-5 fish. With typical community type tropical fish, what would be the limit to a tank of this size in terms of fish capacity?

3) Any recommended links for beginners?? I've read the fishless cycling thingy and I've also got a reasonably good book.

4) I used RO water with my Reef Aquarium. I've still got the RO equipment about. Is this worth using with a FW tank until the filters die? Will it need dechlorinator? What would be the process if I wasn't to use RO Water??

5) I plan on keeping plants. The set-up I mentioned had 2x 20W Flourescent lights. Would this be good enough for plants? What is a typical lighting set up to keep plants??? I know how to keep corals...but plants are mystery

6) What kind of substrate would experienced keepers recommend? I like the look of river sand or fine gravel.

7) Do you need to keep a cycle with lighting, in the same way as you do with corals?? For example, say 8 hours a day at set times for on and off?


Sorry about introducing myself with a load of questions....I'm just trying to get a few things clear in my head before committing.

Thanks in advance

 

[ElectricMayhem]

Hello! I'm doing things the other way round, already have tropical and looking at marine.

[1] I'm not too sure on that particular brand [I'm in Australia] but I know that I bought all of my stuff seperately, bought a tank, then bought filter and lights online etc and the whole lot came to about $AU150. The all-in-one tanks have the advantage of being complete though, don't have to worry about finding a hood to fit etc. Do you know how many watts the lights are?

[2] The general rule is one inch of fish per gallon of water. This only applies to slim-bodied fish that don't get too big. Plus you have to account for fish that might be territorial depending on what kind of fish you're looking to keep. Make sure you check the compatibility of the different fish first

[3] Yep! 10 rules for healthy fishkeeping [even though you're not a newbie to fishkeeping, might be of some use] and how to do a fishless cycle and the fish index so you can research what fish you want to keep.

[4] Not so sure about the RO water, I use regular tapwater and have never had a problem. All I do to prep water is get it into a bucket, add the water treatment [I use Seachem Prime, but look for anything that will get rid of chlorine/chloramine], wait for it to hit room temperature then pour it in.

[5] Lighting pretty much depends on what kind of plants you'd like to keep. You could check the guide for lighting in the planted section here, and PlantGeek can help a lot with different types of plants and their requirements. Corals to me are a complete mystery!

[6] Completely up to you and what fish you want to keep. If you plan on fish like corydoras sand is better for them to snuffle through. I like the look of sand, and plants seem to do well in it too. You do have to be careful of anaerobic bacteria pockets, but this thread should help out a lot if you decide on sand!

[7] Is best if you can. I find that regularity with lights is good for the fish too, they get a bit stressed if they're on too long or if they don't come on at the right time in the morning! The plants will benefit too because they need periods of light longer than 4 hours at a time and I think 12 hours is what to aim for [keep in mind, I only think this from personal experience and research. My pretty basic plants are doing well on 12 hours of light a day.]

Hope this has helped a bit

 

[Gav_B_UK]

[1] ........................... Do you know how many watts the lights are?

Thanks for the reply. The tank is advertised as having 2 x 20W lights, although the only replacements I can find are 30W. I see that it falls in the 0-1 WPG lighting with 20s or 1-2WPG with 30s....I'd rather the later.

Thanks again....

any more comments anyone???