Need Advice

[kellyinman1]

I have been wanting to change over to marine firsh for years now, but everytime im very close to being swayed i get all flusted and think im going to mess it up and 4get all my plans.
I went to my local Fish Shop today and once again fell inlove with the marine fish. I asked one of the guys there what i would need to change my set up over and he made it sound really easy and cheap so i got all excited fushed home and straight onto ebay looking for the bits he said i would need. now im all flusted again have no idea what i really need! thats when i remembered how great you guys all are! hehe
Ok so I have 2 4ft tanks and want to change one of them over. Im not really fussed what marine fish i have, i just think the colours and shapes are amazing and i havent seen one i dont like yet so i will be easy when it comes to stocking.
I have an internal filter so the man said i would need to buy a really good external one, so i dont know what one to get?
also a protein skimmer, he said these were around £100 in the shop, but i have no idea what one to get?
I already have the marine Blue Light for my tropicals as i like the colour it gives off and its only about a month old so could i keep this? and would i need any other lighting to go with it?
He said i wont need a sump, which is great because i have no where to put it and thats what changed my mind last time i got the 'marine bug'
He then explained i would need to use either tap water or ro water and mix with the salt (but now i dont know what would be best)
He said i would need to go back the day after the salt was in to get live rock. and then leave for 4 weeks b4 adding fish.

im so so confused but i really want this so badly! please please could anyone help me out???

 

[Buddyboy67]

I would forget the external filter...simply circulate your water arounnd live rock in your tank around 20/30 times per hour turn over. A skimmer is advantageous, but not always essential, i personally would add one. As for lights it depends if you are going fish only or adding corals, a lot more lighting is required for the latter.
A small external could be added to house carbon, rowaphos, live rock rubble, etc....good quality live rock not only looks good but will also do your filtration for you and can be picked up second hand for around £5/kilo..

 

[kellyinman1]

I would forget the external filter...simply circulate your water arounnd live rock in your tank around 20/30 times per hour turn over. A skimmer is advantageous, but not always essential, i personally would add one. As for lights it depends if you are going fish only or adding corals, a lot more lighting is required for the latter.
A small external could be added to house carbon, rowaphos, live rock rubble, etc....good quality live rock not only looks good but will also do your filtration for you and can be picked up second hand for around £5/kilo..

so an internal filter would be ok? sorry i didnt really understand....
im planning on going fish only to start with and then when i have my head around it all getting into corals as i think they are great.
would my lighting i have now be ok for just fish?

 

[Buddyboy67]

with fish only a marine blue in combination with a marine white will be fine....lighting can be upgraded as you go....internal would do if you remove the media and replace with phosphate absorber and carbon. Would be tempted with an external for this just to keep as much equipment out of the tank as much as possible

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side - it's a great place to be

So let's start your journey.....................woo hoo

There are some things that you need to do before getting your tank ready

grab your self a pad and pen and take loads of notes, read the journels on here and the pinned threads, you will then have loads of questions


But just a simple run through

the filtration on salt water tanks is usually done with live rock, so you dont have to have an external or internal filter

if you are having a fish only tank you can use tap water with salt added, although if you intend to have some corals later you should start with RO water, which you can buy from the lfs or make your own with an ro unit

Most people use a skimmer - which takes out organic waste

you will need a refractometer to check your sg (saltyness)

you will need sand - arogonite

mixing buckets

syphon

algae magnet

extra powerheads as the live rock needs good flow, korallia and tunze are good

Test kits

Lighting will be dependant on stocking
so there are a few basics, now spend a few weeks researching and asking lots of questions and all will be become clear

Seffie x

 

[jtnova13]

I think this will clear it up.

Your actual filtration is done by moving water over live rock with powerheads. How many gallons or litres is your tank? a 4 ft tank could be anywhere from 55-125 gallons.

If you don't want a sump, you can hang a protein skimmer on the back of your tank. If you go fish only with the intentions of going into reefs later, you should not buy fish that are not reef compatible unless you plan on rehoming them or selling back to the LFS.

 

[Musho3210]

Seffie got it perfect, but you dont need sand, personally I find bare bottom tanks easier to care mainly due to the fact that they are so easy to clean and you dont need to worry about flow that disrupts the sand bed.

 

[kellyinman1]

Seffie got it perfect, but you dont need sand, personally I find bare bottom tanks easier to care mainly due to the fact that they are so easy to clean and you dont need to worry about flow that disrupts the sand bed.

oh really how does that look?

 

[kellyinman1]

to the salty side - it's a great place to be

So let's start your journey.....................woo hoo

There are some things that you need to do before getting your tank ready

grab your self a pad and pen and take loads of notes, read the journels on here and the pinned threads, you will then have loads of questions


But just a simple run through

the filtration on salt water tanks is usually done with live rock, so you dont have to have an external or internal filter

if you are having a fish only tank you can use tap water with salt added, although if you intend to have some corals later you should start with RO water, which you can buy from the lfs or make your own with an ro unit

Most people use a skimmer - which takes out organic waste

you will need a refractometer to check your sg (saltyness)

you will need sand - arogonite

mixing buckets

syphon

algae magnet

extra powerheads as the live rock needs good flow, korallia and tunze are good

Test kits

Lighting will be dependant on stocking
so there are a few basics, now spend a few weeks researching and asking lots of questions and all will be become clear

Seffie x

Hiya thank you for your help. Im still really confused about the filter stuff! sorry im dumb! and what are powerheads?
also at what point do you start using a skimmer? I have brought a couple of books so im going to get reading them.

 

[jtnova13]

Hey, so the nitrogen cycle for saltwater is similar to freshwater.

Only... in saltwater, all the bacteria lives in the live rock IN your tank. In order for this bacteria to eliminite ammonia and nitrite, you must keep water flowing over the rocks. To do this, you use powerheads which either use jets of water or a propellor to push water through the rocks.

 

[SkiFletch]

Hey, so the nitrogen cycle for saltwater is similar to freshwater.

Only... in saltwater, all the bacteria lives in the live rock IN your tank. In order for this bacteria to eliminite ammonia and nitrite, you must keep water flowing over the rocks. To do this, you use powerheads which either use jets of water or a propellor to push water through the rocks.

Exactly. One difference though, while the bacteria perform the same function they are a different species in seawater as opposed to freshwater. So you can't use freshwater bacteria in seawater, and vice versa.

And propeller types are EONS more efficient and effective, especially in larger tanks

 

[Musho3210]

Seffie got it perfect, but you dont need sand, personally I find bare bottom tanks easier to care mainly due to the fact that they are so easy to clean and you dont need to worry about flow that disrupts the sand bed.

oh really how does that look?

Looks like a tank with no sand. Many like to have the bottom covered in coralline or a mat growing type coral (zoanthids, green star polyps).

If you are looking at 100+ turnover rate your gonna want to go bare bottom. Many SPS like a lot of flow, and sometimes to please them is to increase the flow to those levels.

I know my next tank wont have sand, I've had enough of it.

But at the moment this isnt a big deal. You need to know what you want in your tank first.

 

[jtnova13]

Seffie got it perfect, but you dont need sand, personally I find bare bottom tanks easier to care mainly due to the fact that they are so easy to clean and you dont need to worry about flow that disrupts the sand bed.

oh really how does that look?

Looks like a tank with no sand. Many like to have the bottom covered in coralline or a mat growing type coral (zoanthids, green star polyps).

If you are looking at 100+ turnover rate your gonna want to go bare bottom. Many SPS like a lot of flow, and sometimes to please them is to increase the flow to those levels.

I know my next tank wont have sand, I've had enough of it.

But at the moment this isnt a big deal. You need to know what you want in your tank first.

Yeah, I am still deciding whether or not to go bare bottom. Some burrowing fish and inverts need a sand bed, so you should decide what you want to keep in the tank before you choose your equipment and stuff.