xfactor

Was gonna say "Is that a cowfish?". Aren't they poisoness/hazardess for a reef? They look awesome anyway!

I reckon! ...meh I really disagree that a great aquarium is just a matter of personal opinion. Your example, reef, was really well justified. If a tank has algae and pests living in it, you really should strongly consider any advice taken from the owner. Most of the more important aspects of running a marine aquarium (water parameters and control) are a matter of FACT not opinion...

If you don't have photoshop you can get GIMP for free. http://www.gimp.org/windows/ Other programs can also manipulate images to an extent. Even paint can do what you're after, but its more straight forward with photoshop/gimp

My first experience of any kind of pet is a marine aquarium, so you can surely start with a reef if you are patient and prepared to put the money in. I think this is one of those things where a whole lot of variables counter balance against each other. Variables like 'money spent', 'previous experience', 'good advice', 'time invested'... For instance I made up for my lack of experience, by spending quite a lot of money, getting a lot of advice, and taking a lot of time. Some people may be able to do a reef cheaply by running a nano or something. But it would require a lot more time, and a lot more experience, to balance the money saved. I for one couldn't stand having any of that non-vibrant fresh water stuff. Bright colors = cool 8)

Why do you say a yellow and not a blue? I trust your opinion, but just wondered why since I had always been told the opposite

Check out my tank if you want. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/the-home-straight-anyone-interested-in-my-first-aquarium-vt22127.html From what I can see you are pretty much setting up the same tank as me, but I may be month or so ahead of you if that. As someone who has been setting up my tank for 3 months - actually more, one thing I would recommend is getting your cycle started and working out the details later. This may push some buttons, but a cylce can take 3 months to carry out which is pretty rugged. In hindsight a great way to do it would be get some rock, make up some water, whack it in a $10 plastic bin and put it in the garage with a powerhead circulating the water a bit. Then you can work on getting your other equipment and such, while keeping an eye on your plastic bin's levels and all.

Sorry that pic is decieving with the pipe going off to nowhere. There are two bulkheads in the overflow, so that pipe coming out the overflow is the return line, it just needs to be cut off at a better length. I am hoping to keep 2 percs, 1 firefish, 1 yellow tang, 1 blue tang, 1 royal gramma, and 1+ yellow tail damsels. I'm pretty much going to try go through that list in order until bioload won't allow more. I'm not so fussed about corals to tell the truth, I am told soft corals will have neglegeable bioload. I'm pretty much just going to pick up corals as I see ones I like.

Shopping List Tank 920L x 350W x 600H with corner overflow (Greg) Cabinet Custom made from local kitchen maker Sump* Skimmer Deltec MC500 Pump Eheim 1206 Lighting Atman MG600 combo Water movement Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6025* Rerfractometer* Thermometer* Test Kits* Rock 15kg Substrate 6kg coral sand Salt 10kg makes 300L I was pretty surprised about how large this list ended up being. There really is a lot to starting off a tank, and there's not a lot of oppertunity to cut corners that you wont regret. I'm a fan of doing things once, doing things right, so I went for trusted brands like Eheim/Tunze. Managed to save a fair bit on tanks with Greg, and the cabinet.

So I have been lurking around this forum trying to get my aquarium off the ground, for about 6 months now. In the next few weeks I could well even have a fish to show for my troubles. So here's a thread to document my experiences so far, and let you know my progress as things fall into place... This thread is as much for my own amusement as yours, but I hope you get something from it. None the less, I think I will stick in some titles so you can decide which parts you'd like to read or skip In The Beggining ... My wife and I had these oversized vases left from our wedding, which we had no idea what to do with, until she saw a local 'Stevens' keeping goldfish in them. She became set on the idea of having fish in vases, so I had a look into it... ... And decided on a THREE FOOT MARINE TANK!!!

Thanks all. I have stopped the leaking. Clearly I had no idea how to use plumbers tape, and used nowhere near enough. Now its fine. What is salt creep? I keep hearing about it, but can never find a thorough explanation of it, or ideas to remedy it. At this stage I have not used glue on any of my connections for the standpipe since my overflow is very narrow and I would prefer to be able to undo it easily should anything need attention. The return tube is very tight and secure with no glue either - I will be interested to see if this changes when water pumps up it. At this stage I am content, but are there any precautions/recommendations before I move on?

I tried putting way more thread tape on the connection and it seems to have fixed that problem. Now I have put a bit more water in the problem is with the standpipe instead. It could be not enough tape again, but the socket may be too tight for me to get it off to redo the tape. I have considered adding a hoseclamp for the tube, but will it create a rust problem in salt water? Thanks

I am setting up a 3 foot marine tank with an overflow in the back corner. The overflow has two bulkheads which I put in myself. This morning once the silicone on the bulkheads had cured I moved onto my other plumbing and put some water in to test. I put a durso standpipe on one bulkhead and a tube on the second, which will be a return. When I added a couple of litres of water to the overflow drips started coming down the pipe with the tube on. At this stage the bulkheads and the standpipe don't seem to be leaking. So the problem must be with my connection from the bulkhead to hosetail adapter, or from the hosetail adapter to the tube. Any ideas on how to test or remedy this situation. Thanks

I am in the middle of setting up my first tank at the moment. I have been researching solidly for the last three weeks. I've shopped around to get the best deals, while still getting quality equipment, and totally agree with all the advice on budgets you've recieved. I have had some seriously sweet deals and am still looking at $1800 to kick off, without livestock. I think there a lot of costs that are the same in both salt and fresh, but a good skimmer and higher costs for livestock quickly make a huge difference.

I am pretty new and in the middle of making my marine setup. I am currently looking at around $1700 to get started, without having a single animal in my tank. You could ask me about my budget if you need, as it's well researched and current. Good luck!