Marine tank

[-=DG=-]

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?ac...t=ST&f=1&t=7014

 

[CFC]

What do you think?

If it was as easy as that 1 why would everyone be up in arms that Tetra would try selling such a stupid idea,and 2 why would people spend thousands of pounds on set ups if all you have to do is buy a 5 gallon starter set up and stick whatever and however many marine fish you like into it.

 

[-=DG=-]

Wishful thinking

But it would be great if it could be done. But i'll be doing a proper setup.

But i do have a serois question. I was told by the lfs that i need a minimum of a 3ft tank. Is this true or could i use a 2ft?

 

[CFC]

I have been told that a succesful marine set up needs to be a minimum of 40g to allow the water to stabilise properly,with marines it is water you are keeping not the animals that live in it.Iwould not consider keeping marines unless i had a very large house,with a 75 gallon tank (large 4foot) you can only have 17" of fish in a reef style tank or 35" in a fish only tank.
You also need a lot of equipment,a UV steriliser,protein skimmer and v.large evternal fiter with good flow production are just the basics and if you want corals you must have a pretty powerful lighting system and a Co2 system,a nitrate filter would help no ends as well.

 

[-=DG=-]

My malawi are in a 4ft tank. But dont have space for another. I dont really want to get rid of the malawi.

I dont want live corals, just a few fish (some clowns) and maybe a moray eel (white one)

 

[-=DG=-]

What i was thinking way maybe 2 x 2ft tanks. The second one under the first in the cabinate like a sump.

 

[Jamnog]

well today i saw 2f tanks with marine fish in and the fish looked ok but then thease guys know about more long term fish keeping perhaps there was something different about the setups i saw

 

[dolphin]

Hi DG

If you check out the July issue of PFK they have a feature on small marine fish tanks. The smallest they suggest is 14 uk galls, and this is for a reef tank.

SO small can be done.

 

[CFC]

If you can get the water to stabilise in a 24" tank then you could do it but for a 21g tank with the dimensions 24x18x15 (using the trusty PFK tank calculator) you can only keep 11" of fish,so that rules out a moray instantly,i think 2 or 3 clowns would be your limit which hardly makes the effort seem worth it.

 

[-=DG=-]

Dam, that moray was beautiful.

So really its 'all or nothing' if you want a half decent setup.

BTW whats PFK? (sorry if that sounds dumb ) )

 

[CFC]

PFK=Practical Fish Keeping magazine

Yeh marine tanks really are the domain for the rich,to have a decent set up you do really need the space (and the money) to have a least a 150 gallon system (100 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump).I was going to change to marines a while back after i lost a lot of fish to a velvet outbreak but was put off by the small stocking levels for even what are reasonably large tanks.The Panther Grouper that i wanted would need a 75 gallon tank all to its self

 

[-=DG=-]

Cheers cfc

Maybe in a year or so when i stop wasting money on my pc ) I'll save up for a marine tank.

BTW dont suppose you know what the white moray eel is called? I dont think it was pure white but maybe had speckles (cant remember exactly now).

 

[CFC]

No,i have not allowed my self to get any marine fish books for fear of temptation,im not the most disaplined of people and i think the mrs would leave me if i was to set up any more tanks.



Edit:could it possibly be the same fish as the snowflake moray?

 

[-=DG=-]

Yeah cfc i think this is it.

He's a beauty.

 

[dolphin]

Hi DG

Maybe in a year or so when i stop wasting money on my pc

It will never happen