RTBS

We have a complete set of ballasts, holders and tubes I ripped out of our AR980 when we upgraded to a marine tank. You're welcome to them if you want them for the cost of the freight. We won't need them as the 980 has now become our sump

I guess although Tim made our tank and no problems even after me picking it up and driving to Nelson.

If it was made by Tim it won't leak

If money was no object Id get this purely cause it looks like a wizzy gadgit and has all the timers etc inbuilt. Satisfies those who prefer T5 and those who prefer MH and free moonlights for both. If I were ever to sell my ATI's it would be for something like this, although no plans fro that unless we upgrade again Would cost approx $4500 +gst i guess not including freight, ouch Giesemann - MOONLIGHT

Just calculated our upgrade from 3ft to 5ft is at over 5K not including livestock so approx 1k per foot I would say is very close to spot on . Gonna stop keeping recipts now too scary Our tanks cost probably $60 p/w including power and the fact we buy our top water at the mo, Well worth it though

Agreed, when we got into marine we decided it was a long term thing. Time is a big issue for most of us and better equipment may free up some of that time for other things or just to enjoy our tanks. I would imagine if you wanted too you could run a reef with very little equipment if you had lots of time to maintain it, but I would suspect in the long run would cost about the same, (but cost would be spread out).

We had a Deltec MC500 on our first marine tank, 220l 3 footer,It rocked but had to upgrade it when we went bigger along with it seems everything else

Personally I would say because there are so few of us, shops don't stock the gear, market forces and all that. I purchased my first skimmer overseas, latest one Locally as I wanted local support, Both start with a big D. Local one would have been about the same cost if I imported by the time freight and GST were added. Our local LFS has been very helpful however they are expensive I have found Bruce @ Deco City to provide excellent service and competitive prices, can supply most equipment to order etc etc. I think there is just not the market here for all the required equipment so many stores aren't interested in stocking any marine stuff, I can totally understand this as they are there to make a profit, its not generally their hobby as well.

I would have to agree with the Buy once Buy right school of thought even though it hurts . Especially when you consider the total cost of the tanks inhabitants. The equipment which always seems to be a huge cost in the beginning (ie skimmer / lights ) actually is not that expensive in the long run especially if you only have to pay up once and stay in the hobby. Good equipment can also mean the difference (but not always) between small whoopsie and total disaster

Yeah well its an easy mistake to make But we do buy most of our fish via Bruce at Deco City Pets, great to deal with and goes the extra mile in terms of customer service. Mike

Yep I'm in Nelson but I think the origional poster is in Napier, I have a bin of rock cooking but can't spare any at the mo as it's for a rearrange in the display.

So how do people who aren't lucky enough to live in Ch-Ch or are silly enough to have moved from there to Nelson get a stock list or onto the mailing list

And the lights tooooo We laughed when some one told us to allow $1000 per foot, we thought they were winding us up, well they wern't kidding, had 3ftr on the cheap ie DIY lights and good skimmer no sump etc,and sort of worked OK but when we upgraded to a 5ftr we decided to do it properly, ouch wallet is still smarting but will be worth it in the end. Going to fit a new skimmer in the weekend. Wahoo Definitely Expensive, Definitely Rewarding Soooo worth it in the end

And the reason for that is??? They look great

What are these and are they available??

I use one of these PondMate PM18000P 18000lph 18000 lph at 0m head. Might be overkill.

Silver

Yep that is true we are upgrading , and I just discovered the pictures have been archived by the hosting site as well. Upgrade is not going as fast as we hoped and are currently using the AR980 as a stand in sump and the lights from it as well until I get past Xmas rush at work. We have lost no livestock or corals in the move. Yay for us cause I know it's always a risk. Will be for sale as complete tank, stand, Lighthood later in January HOPEFULLY, or we may just keep it as the sump :roll: Heres a pic of the new tank but quality not so good Converting the AR980 to marine was fun but we found it too small in the end. Thanks to TM in Ch-Ch for helping us with having the tank built

Hey where were you working up there, I have spent quite some time each year working in Honiara, Noro and Munda. Company I work for services the Tuna fleet there. Great Place but couldn't reccommend the air travel on the local airline. Give's me the Sh$%s every time.

Don't give up just yet, have you considered something like this http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/totm/index.php You would still need a skimmer but could also do large water changes. Could have one very small fish, shrimps and corals. Would need to have better lighting but is possible.

Don't be put off if you really want to give it a go but do listen to all advice freely given and make up your own mind. I am new to Marines as well. We converted one of our freshwater tanks to marine just after xmas. I did a DIY on the lights to save $$. reused everything in the way of pumps ete BUT bypassed the bio-filter system. We use NSW and just started using RO water for topups. Added a modded 6025 Nanostream as well The one thing we didn't skimp on was the skimmer. Best advise given to me here was just that. Yes it is expensive, yes we spend more than we perhaps should, but I don't regret it. Most important thing would be patience, nothing good happens fast in this hobby. RTBS

Update 8/4/07 Diatoms all gone not its the attack of the green algae. Rowaphos on the way to try and take nasty phosphates away??

Update Pics Well we have a few corals now and all seems happy. Corals are growing Fish are happy. Added a couple of shrimps and a Blue Tang, (i know he will out grow the tank but we can always upgrade!!! Most of the brown Algae is gone and the green slowly going. Now Adding Magnesium, Calcium etc Brown Algea started to disappear after we started doing this?? Here are some shots of the tank now, (sorry for the crappy photos) Blue Tang Coral Banded Shrimp Tank Shot Another tank Shot

Heater turned all the way down to 23, hasnt been on since mid dec but I don't have the balls to unplug it just in case Temp rises to 29-30 by late afternoon and drops to 27 Overnight. Tried leaving the hood open with fan blowing Same same. Hope doesn't get much hotter or more gadgets will have to be brought. More noise in lounge

Here it is almost all done with first renters at home Thanks to TM Now if the rock would only GROW something other than green algea