Thinking Of Going Marine.....

[ben3486]

thinking of going marine with either my fluval edge or poss buy a slightly bigger more normal tank.....but my question is....do I NEED a protien skimmer?? Could I in theory just take the salt level up in the edge and keep running it how I run my brackish tropical? Guess what I really mean is will I need to buy any thing extra for it or can I run it as is but get the SG correct? thanks in advance.

 

[seffieuk]

Well Ben, it really depends on how big your tank is and your stocking - if your tank is below 30 gallons and lightly stocked it is perfectly possible with good maintanance to run skimmerless

Seffie x

 

[ben3486]

think the edge is something like 26ltrs?? or there abouts....and im pretty good at maintenance. As for stocking im not really sure what I could have....but would love to have just two tank bred clowns and maybe one or two snails. No live corals but poss some live sand/rock.

Another question...if I took some live sand from a friends marine set up, would it spread and make my non live sand live?

 

[seffieuk]

26 litres is way too small for a pair of clowns they will need 26 gallons however, i have often thought what a lovely tank the edge would make for live rock and a zoa or ricordia garden, with maybe a small goby or even an assassin fish, if you can find one.

The live rock will seed your sand - I would never put sand from someones elses tank, you never know what is in it

SEffie x

 

[ben3486]

bummer, would of loved a piar of them. Was in the gold fish bowl in oxford and they had a 30ltr tank with live rock, two clowns, one cardinal, and a red and white shrimp...so thought just having two clowns would be ok

 

[seffieuk]

yeah, lfs do that!!!!! Does my head in! If you have a nice 125 litre tank sitting around, that would be perfect Or how about looking on ebay for a second hand 125 with t5 lights, perfect for your requirements - if you went to a 180 litre you could also keep a bubbletip Nem about eight months after you tank has cycled, how cool would that be

Seffie x

 

[ben3486]

whats bubbletip nem? been having a scan on ebay....but im big on the look of tanks and how they fit into my living space. hence the edge lol. I have to have a tank that looks good empty as well as stocked lol and its got to fit in with the furniture. cant have oak looking furniture and a beech stand lol. shame they cost so much though lol. will have to get saving.

 

[ozzie2011]

im big on the look of tanks and how they fit into my living space. hence the edge lol.

Have you looked at the Osaka range,very smart in my opinion.

This is the 155, I prefer the bigger but. Come in different colours too

 

[ben3486]

Well.....im sure seffie and othersw will be happy to hear im going bigger lol. Seems the in thing to do with marine lol. My friend bid on a Juwel rio 125 and stand but didnt think he would win it. low and behold he has and was panicing about not wanting it. so i have stepped in to help him out lol. It is in beech (but im going to try recover it to oak) and comes with the filter (which all rios come with???) a 100w heater, 20kgs of gravel (but i want sand), a tetratec asp 150 airpump (), water test kit that i think is prob for tropical fish, some air stones, some decorative broken slate, ornaments, artificial plants, thermometer, a algae magnet and a book on tropical fish. Quite the deal. Just hope my mate comes through and goes to get it for me. Hes left it a week befor contacting the seller so hope the seller doesnt tell him to do one and sell it on.......

now...hmmm.....what to fill it up with lol.

 

[ben3486]

one other thing.....says the bulbs have blown (prob the bloody ballasts) but what bulbs shoulc i get to get a really cristal clear look in the water. you know the type....bright white with a hint of blue. i think it makes the water look so fresh, crisp and clean.

 

[GrayScale]

T5's say maybe a 10k bulb and a actinic blue bulb. If it was used for tropical it's going to need a scrub down.

 

[ben3486]

the seller has said it has been cleaned and steralised?! not sure how he did that....just water and a sponge the best way to clean?

Also whats the rough price of bulbs?

 

[kj23502]

I clean my tanks with vinegar Can also use bleach and some kind of acid muratic?? Ski stated it awhile ago. Just rinse well. I wouldn't take their word for cleaning it. Clean it yourself as well!

10k and actinic would be great for coral growth and will give you that nice blue color. 10k by itself almost looks like pee water, imo.

 

[lewiss]

I have that exact Osaka tank!! wish it was bigger though!!

 

[ozzie2011]

I would check to see what they cleaned it with. I have heard of people using mr muscle in the past

I just missed out buying a mint Osaka 260 for £150, gutted