Im just gonna come out with it basically your a fool. You cant just add salt to a tropical tank and call it a fish only marine tank.
Woah there! If you had done more than just read a few posts on this forum, you would realise there is more than one way to run a saltwater tank.
In its simplest form, a FO marine tank is exactly what you hate so much, a FW tank with salt in the water.
You need to be testing for alot of different things and as you are not using a skimmer need to be water changing reguarly also using a normal filter just wont work as these will send your nitrates through the roof and you need to keep them under 10ppm LR isnt just rock to add hidey holes for your fish is beneficial to your tank as a marine tank is a living eco system.
What else exactly should one be testing for in a FO set up? nitrates would be nice, but as explained below, they are not the evil thing many believe them to be. Other than that, the OP has all the tests he needs. All the advanced calcium and phosphate tests are purely for keeping inverts such as corals and nems, nothing to do with the fish.
Skimming on small tanks is not necessary so long as water changes are used to keep DOC at a reduced level.
If you researched the science behind fishes in marine tanks, you would know that many lfs have nitrates in the 80s, and that the only scientific paper anyone has found regarding fish and nitrates found that SW fish suffer no long or short term problems with nitrates of 100ppm or below.
You need to rehome all your fish and either stick with tropical or research how do do a fish only tank.
And you need to realise that you do not know everything there is about salt water fishkeeping before becoming so forthright with advice. MAybe it is you that should research a little more, especially if you are going to preach so vehemently about other people's set ups.
See you have done no research your tank should be turned over about 15 times an hour with a power head to put flow int he tank so that there is no dead spots and filtration should be done through LR as normal filters will cause high nitrates. But you already knew that as you researched it properly thats why you have some normal rock and fake plants in with marine fish.
Wow, so pious, and yet so indicative of how the SW crew has become on this forum. Essentially, if someone isn't doing the Berlin method they are thought of as fools.
Dead spots are a problem genberatetd by filling the tank with LR. Likewise, the 15 times is to prevent food settling under the rock (though it does have to break down somewhere, either in, on or under a rock). If you don't fill the tank with LR, there will be less dead spots. Also, with less rock, it's easier to gravel vac and get any uneaten food.
Experienced SW pred keepers use 10x turnover as the
maximum flow in a tank, even if it has live rock. Many advocate 5x and under.
And here's a quick hint for you: "normal" filters
do not cause nitrates. The nitrates occur due to ammonia being broken down. Just putting a standard filter onto a SW tank will not magically cause a huge spike in nitrates.
If you do not maintain your filter (such as cleaning out sponges and such) then nitrates can occur. However, a lack of maintenance on any tank will cause problems. When properly maintained with water changes and regularly maintained filters, the system being used by the OP is perfectly adequate.
Maybe you should research more than one way of doing marine before being so overly critical of others? You do realise that the OP has a filter that can handle ammonia and nitrite better than your beloved Live Rock, and that ammonia and nitrite are a hell of a lot worse for fish than nitrates, yes?
Considering the OP could be a little overstocked by some people, they have probably given their fish a better set up by using a biowheel (essentially a small wet/dry filter).
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/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...?article_id=594
