First Post, First Marine Tank

[HappyGeorge]

Ok so here goes, have read through the great resource material on here and most questions are covered and my brain is full of new watery things to digest. At present I have a 100G malawi tank that I have been running for a year and a pretty good understanding of water husbandry for FW. I had always wanted a marine tank but thought FW was a much more sensible and less expensive starting point.
My main tank has been very succesful with a number of breeding pairs, but I had an aggression problem between the dominant male and a female (that turned out to be a male).
I wanted to rescue him from his life of hassle and transfer a few of the juves away from the main tank, so without a great deal of time in hand i went to my LFS and bought a 20G Boyu tank, neat little unit with the compartment in the back for all the gumph.
I have now sold my distressed (now fully recovered) male and all the juves on, and want to look at turning this into a marine tank.

So the question is has anyone got any advice with regards to equipment specifically for this tank, or how to male best use of the available void in the back.

My plan is to have live rock, to continue running the built in pump and some mechanical filtration, and obviously I already have the thermometer and heater. Turnover is about 12x from the pump in the tank, was planning to add one or two powerheads, maybe 2 newave 1000's?

Obviously I need a protein skimmer so any advice to ones that are a good fit for this tank would be gratefully received.

I think I'm then ready to look at giving it a go so with the addition of a refractometer i think im good to go.

Only other thought was whether with just one 20g tank to maintain an RO unit is worth considering or just buy it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[seffieuk]

Ok so here goes, have read through the great resource material on here and most questions are covered and my brain is full of new watery things to digest.

Enjoy the planning and research and dont rush

So the question is has anyone got any advice with regards to equipment specifically for this tank, or how to male best use of the available void in the back.

Yep, sure do live rock rubble, phosphate remover and chaeto (with a small light)plus a small skimmer

My plan is to have live rock, to continue running the built in pump and some mechanical filtration, and obviously I already have the thermometer and heater. Turnover is about 12x from the pump in the tank, was planning to add one or two powerheads, maybe 2 newave 1000's?

Ok, if you have any bio balls, noodles, foam in the back - take it all out turnover needs to be at least x20 and you need good flow in the display area, so buy a good powerhead, maybe a koralia 1 or nano - dont buy from lfs get off fleabay

Obviously I need a protein skimmer so any advice to ones that are a good fit for this tank would be gratefully received.

Boyu make one for that tank - cheap but works and with regular weekly water changes of 25% you could even get away without one

I think I'm then ready to look at giving it a go so with the addition of a refractometer i think im good to go.

Cool

Only other thought was whether with just one 20g tank to maintain an RO unit is worth considering or just buy it?

Well, you will be doinga 25% water change every week, buying water from the lfs can be become a bit of a pain, however if the water they are selling is good (low in phosphates etc) then why not buy from them for a while and see how you get on Buy yourself a TDS meter so that you can check their water

Thanks in advance for any help.

Seffie x

 

[Morri]

In the back not knowing the tank unless it is the same as a TL450 I would have heater, wg308 skimmer cheap from flea bay shipped from HK, rowaphos and carbon, then return pump (Not a Fan of Rubble needs a lot of flow to be useful)

As Seffie has said all bio balls and foam out of tank will just turn into a Nitrate Farm and cause you heartache trying to reolve it.

For Flow I would add a Koralia Nano or one dont have there flows infront to check against.

An RO unit is very useful but it depends on how local your LFS with RO is I never used one until i started my 100 Gallon tank.

I would start considiring your stock before you purchase anything just incase you want to go bigger 20G is 3 smallish fish

 

[HappyGeorge]

Thanks for the advice guys, let me assure you I wont be rushing anything as you can see if you look at the links to my last project. I don't like to make mistakes and so far since the set up of my Malawi tank have lost only one fish, but successfully bred over 50 juves since September. A baby who decided to take on the wrong fight.

Seffie - I didn't know about the chaeto thing, what a fabulous idea, you live and learn, thanks. As for buying stuff, don't worry I'm an ocsessed bargain hunting haggler, I don't pay full price for anything and if I do I check it to death before clicking the "buy" button, most of the stuff I buy is from the online side of my LFS so its net prices and they take my Malawi fry off me in exchange for a pretty healthy credit with them to set against stuff I need.

Morri - I would love to have a bigger marine tank but this size is good as a start and I want a striking piece to occupy the space this tank is in. I know I'm limited but it will produce what I want when my wife sees the finished article I'm sure I can then approach the subject of another 6 foot tank on the house.

It's interesting you both mention Koralia powerheads and was wondering why? I use the Newave 4000 in my big tank without any issues and having looked at the 1000 it is cheaper to buy than the Koralia and consumes less power.


My Malawi tank project


Recent tank photos

 

[Morri]

I only recomended the Koralia as its the one most people use on nanos

 

[seffieuk]

quiet, reliable and spreads the flow nicely



ps just been and had a look at them - and I'm liking the way they look and the stats - will be interested in your feedback after you have had them running for a while


Seffie x

 

[steelhealr]

Save some money. You don't need a protein skimmer with a nano tank. Mine is up for 5 years and I don't skim. My clown if 5 years old; my watchman is 3-4 years old as is my urchin. A surface skimmer is much more worth it.

SH

 

[HappyGeorge]

Save some money. You don't need a protein skimmer with a nano tank. Mine is up for 5 years and I don't skim. My clown if 5 years old; my watchman is 3-4 years old as is my urchin. A surface skimmer is much more worth it.

SH

The protein skimmer previously mentioned is only £12 so may go for that, I'm assuming that if the protein skimmer removes all particles anyway I don't have to worry about the surface as well?

I had read that protein skimmer wasn't essential having been a relatively new innovation for fish keeping. I am thinking this is the ideal way to go, given that there is room for the protein skimmer to hide away in the back of the tank?

Is the surface skimmer able to be completely hidden away? The intake on my boyu MT50 is right on the surface and even in its current state as a 2nd tank with some filthy cichlids in it the surface remains clear and thats without powerheads or any additions to the initial set up, so I have high hopes for my water quality.

 

[steelhealr]

Protein skimming doesn't necessarily remove the film that accumulates on the surface of the tank. A protein skimmer is unnecessary with a nano tank if you are consistent with regular 10% weekly water changes. There aren't too many negatives to adding it if you have the money except that you have to turn it off at times when feeding certain corals/animals.

Surface skimming improves light penetration and diffusion of oxygen into the tank. IMO, worth more than protein skimming.

SH