Here We Go.....

[divegirl]

Hi, well I've been asking a few questions on the main board about going Salty and have to be honest and say that my confidence wasn't exactly running high!
I'd been reading the Biffsters thread about his Nano and thought maybe that would be the way to go but that said and I say this with the utmost respect to him, I wanted something I could keep fish in .. And so yesterday whilst 'browsing' at Amwells I just happened to pop into the marine section [well I needed salt ] and spotted what I hope you'll agree was an absolute steal! So for 99.99 [stand included] I got myself a second hand one of these..........

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boyu-Zumbo-Fish-Home-128LT_W0QQitemZ150501256271QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=155039225750&rvr_id=155039225750&cguid=f827279d1270a0e202607d70fe13e2ea

It has been in the shop for the last two and a half years being used as a Sea Horse tank and the lady there [can't remember her name but she has always been very helpful with my Brackish tank] said that it is a lovely beginners set up and really is plug and play.

This is going to be a slow burning project as I am STILL waiting for my floor to go down and I now need to save up a bit for the rock, but I'm chuffed to bits with it as is number two child as we can finally get 'Nemo' [she's 13 for crying out loud]!

So what do you all think?

Lisa x

 

[-Nemo-]

I'm 20 and I still love nemo...

Welcome to the salty side

I'm not familiar with that particular tank, but its a good size for a first tank.

 

[divegirl]

Thank you for the welcome!

Right here we go....first question!

Powerheads. I know that everyone recommends Koralia would I be OK if I were to get two of the Nano sized ones? As seen here....

http/www.cheappetproducts.net/KORALIA_NANO_WATER_PUMP_260GPH_3_5W_AQUARIUM_CIRCULATION_PUMP-UKP47613.html

They seem a good price and I would have thought two small ones would be better than one big one....or am I wrong?

Lisa x

Oh have just seen that they are in the US, but you get the idea!

 

[divegirl]

No one! I want to start spending some money here .

Lisa x

 

[Yuma]

Lisa-

I'm pretty new here myself, but I can tell you what I have learned in the last several weeks from other members on the forums. Ideally you want at least 20x's volume of flow per hour. So with 129L you need about 2600 Liters/hour of flow. In addition it is better to have multiple lower volume powerheads rather than just one blasting away.

The Koralia nano's (that you linked) are listed at 260 gph or right at 984 Liters/hour, so two of them would give you 1,968 Liters/hour, which is not quite the 20 times I've seen recommended many times on these forums. Your link on the tank indicates that it comes with an internal filtration system (creates some flow) as well as a powerhead. It doesn't specify what powerhead is included, but combined with a couple of the Koralia nano's, you will likely get close to the amount of flow you need. There is another version of the Koralia Nano that is half the power consumption and 425 gph (1,608 liters/hour each) you might consider looking at them as well.

I myself, just purchased and installed 2 of the Koralia Evolution 750s, and I have to say I absolutely love the powerheads. They are whisper quiet (the fan on my laptop is louder than my tank) and the flow is dispersed nicely. I would highly recommend the Korlia powerheads.

That's my 2 cents. Hopefully someone with more experience can add their 2 cents as well for you and provide additional insight.

Yuma

 

[divegirl]

Cheers Yuma, the woman in the shop did say it should only need one power head [that's all she had run it on for the last two years].
I'll have look at the ones you recommend.

Thanks

Lisa x

 

[bae1994]

is it a orca 550?

aslo i have a koralia and some sun sun powerheads and so far the sun suns seem to beat my koralia in all but ive only had them a month so things could change just my unless half cent

 

[Yuma]

One other thing that you'll want to consider is what you're going to keep in the tank. Some corals require a higher flow rate than others.

Just something I thought of after the fact.

 

[divegirl]

I'm going for FOWLR to start with.....
One more thing....Is the act of buying a power head second hand a false economy? Or do these things stand the test of time?

Lisa x

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Welcome to the salty side.

As mentioned above multiple powerheads are better then 1 single one. The reason being that it creates more random flow around the tank, stop deadspots from forming (where there is no or little water flow) and if one powerhead fails you still have 2 or 3 to keep things going.

If you go for a decent brand (korallia, tunze, etc) then second hand can be just fine. I have three second hand korallia 3's and they have been ticking over nicely for some time now (apart from the snapped prop shafts but that is my own clumsiness ).

The old style korallia's could probably be picked up fairly cheaply now as well as they have launched their new evo range.

 

[divegirl]

Oh well that's good then....On your say so I have just bought one and the guy had a hydrometer for sale too so I just asked if he'd do a deal on the both together ..... Don't ask don't get!!!!
Any one wanna buy a refractometer? Hehehehehe....

It's a koralia 1 so does 1500 ltrs p/h. I'm going to set the tank up hopefully this weekend and run it with fresh water just to see what sort of power the inbuilt pump puts out and then maybe add a koralia nano as well!

I'm going to get my sand this weekend. Is Argos play sand Okay in a marine tank or should I go for brand?

Lisa x

Ps....he's got a skimmer for sale too....the lass in the shop said I should be fine with the 'separator' that's built into the tank as long as I don't over-stock....Any comments on that?

 

[seffieuk]

Ah ha, Lisa, with a name like Divegirl I had wondered how long it would be before you jumped over to the salty side

You have bought the very same tank I had when I started its a lovely tank

Sand:
You dont want play sand in a marine tank, look for aragonite and dont get the stuff that is advertised as 'live', how live can sand be 'live' when it has been kept in a plastic bag for months is beyond me!

Powerheads:
You will need two powerheads. The stock power head is next to useless!!

Skimmer
They have obviously taken out the stock skimmer, but that is fine, the small, cheap boyu ones are work well in this tank.

Does the tank still have the spray bar and how old are the tubes, I suspect the tubes will need replacing as I am sure I saw that tank about a year ago in their shop. Tubes will only need replacing once you start thinking about coral, and you will

Anyways, enough for now

Seffie x

 

[divegirl]

Yeh you got me there Seffie....you did say to me ages ago I would succumb!
Thing is I now have two tanks waiting to be set up, a 55usg that I was going to go full marine with for my Gsp's but looks like they'll be staying brackish for now.
Then I saw the Nano and just couldn't resist! I just got the power head and hydrometer for 30 quid...So I'm happy with that.
I'll get some pics in the next few days of what's been left in the tank and take if from there as to what I need to get next .

Lisa x

 

[divegirl]

Right...So that's one power head and hydrometer on it's way! [I plan to get another p/h soon]
Sand is sorted!

Next question!

Test kits.....
Does everyone use the Saliferts kits?
From what I can see these are bought as individual tests or is there a kit you can buy?
If I am starting off FOWLR what are the tests I require....in order of necessity please, as I assume I can add kits as I go along.

Many thanks

Lisa x

 

[the biffster]

hi Divegirl welcome to the
salty side i wish i had the
money to go for a bigger tank
but if i start small and expand
if and when cash allows i will be
keeping an eye on how you are getting
on

good luck the biffster