Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 ...And unsure what to put it in. It's a monster of a thing. It's approx 1.5 metres long, sixty cms wide, and about 1 metre or so tall!!! Was debating going reef with it (I have a two foot marine cube atm) but not too sure if it's feasible... I told him I'd need scuba gear to clean it out. :lol: Anyone got any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 go marine 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I really am leaning in that direction eh. Just not sure how it'd work with light and stuff, and what sorta filter/sump I'd need (if any). Not to mention tho I have the basics (skimmer, heaters etc etc) it'd be pricey buying the bits to fill out so it might look empty for quite some time whilst I build it up piece by piece. I still have to work out how I'm going to transport it to my place, even if it is only down the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 You will need one hell of a skimmer if you were to make it a reef tank. The small skimmer you have now would not do the job. I say go reef, IF you have $3000 to spare Otherwise, go planted!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Never much been into planted tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 turn it into a palidarium , for archers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 turn it into a palidarium , for archers Explain further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 its deep enough to have plants growing above water , or could make a ledge and put plants on it ,would be a good way to show archers skills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Ah I see, could be a possibility...they're brackish right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 they are , could have monos and scats too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Could be a possibility, just always wanted a reef tank I guess :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 my idea will be cheaper :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 you would need more that $3000 to make it into a reef tank... You would be looking at $10,000 if you wanted a full on reef that size, taking into account the fact that you would need 3x 400W lights, a decent sized skimmer, a Calcium reactor, plus the sheer cost of corals and fish to fill a tank like this... Of course it would be cheaper if you wanted to make it a softies/LPS tank as you could get away without a calcium reactor or the 400W lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 It's ok, it's a project tank. Initial cost of the equipment is all I need...will build up fish/corals piece by piece if to go that way. What I really needed to know if type of lights to get... And also filtration I'd need. I have no idea on how to make sumps for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Don't forget to take the running costs into account. We are talking big biccies here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Make it a FOWLR, be SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than a reef and you can get a lot more cool fish that aren't reef safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Whatever you make it into make it something you don't have to get to the bottom of very often! I planted a 80cm cube once and spent alot of time perched on top of chairs upto my armpits int he tank trying to plant it out.. Sounds like it has alot of potential though, I had a couple of tanks that were 4ft long 4ft high and 45cm deep but decided it was too hard to set them up and sold them after trying to clean them once.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Yep agree with Ryan about not having to put your arm into the bottom. My new one is 60cm deep and I have to stand on a chair with my armpit on the edge of the glass to get to the substrate. You're about my height so unless you've got longer arms :roll: I'm thinking one of those planter things in the pet shops, the ones with grips, might be a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camnbron Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Just get this basketball player to help you out Sweet as. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I have a two footer cube, I know all about it Someone mentioned a deep sand bed, would take up some of the space, and then the bottom wouldn't need to be siphoned. Could that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camnbron Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Have you had a proper measure up yet of the height? I think it would be quite neat to have a DSB in there and to have it over 10cms then you would have all sorts of critters living in it. But like I said before, I don't know of anybody with one set-up in NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Not yet, haven't seen him yet. But next time I go, am definitely taking a tape measure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Having a DSB does not mean that you don't have to syphon the bottom. Infact, it makes it even harder. You need to regularly syphon out a quarter of the sand and give it a good clean in fresh saltwater, then put it back. If you dont do this to all the sand every year or two your tank will crash. Barebottom or just a small amount of sand is much easier to look after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camnbron Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Having a DSB does not mean that you don't have to syphon the bottom. Infact, it makes it even harder. You need to regularly syphon out a quarter of the sand and give it a good clean in fresh saltwater, then put it back. If you dont do this to all the sand every year or two your tank will crash. Is this based on experience? here is an article for you to read: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-06/rs/feature/index.php and this is from one of the guys in the Aussie forum that has one I've run a DSB for about 2 years now. It obviously helps with nitrate reduction in the anerobic layers. As for water movement, I would think that the flow above the sand bed would slowly draw some of the water out of the bed, but not all. The flow would have to be very strong, which would disturb the bed to much. As for pods and worms, If you look at a tank at night - when the lights are off, you will see heaps of little critters. I have alot of snails, bristle worms and things I don't have a clue what they are. You can buy live sand to seed a dsb, or live rock and be patient. As for these creatures disturbing the sand, they are a little to small to notice the disturbance, but they do work there way through it. I have a gentle flow over mine, but try to avoid disturbing the sand bed to much, there's thousands of critters doing it for me It would take about a year to develop a decent pod population to benefit from this method, unless you seed it. You have to remember that alot of these creatures/bacteria will not be visible to the naked eye. As for water not penetrating the sand bed, break one down and move the tank. Water is right through your sand bed. Some aquarists actually run plumbing, covered in gauze on the bottom of the tank, with holes drilled in the PVC. This pipe leads out of the tank, working on a siphon when the valve is open, and this is how they do water changes. Water will penetrate the dsb without any problems, especially if you use bigger grain gravel, which is not reccomended. You need sand in my opinion, and even with sand the water will get through forcing the air out of the substrate, creating an enviornment for anerobic bacteria. HTH :cheers: Chris The part of his quote that probably links up with what Evil is saying is about the seeding of the live rock - you have to give the benificial critters time to build up. This is where it is hard in NZ, as from what I understand, we cannot import live rock or live sand so rely on other established tanks for the supply of these. Also here is the MASA wikipedia explanation of a DSB: http://www.masa.asn.au/masawiki/index.php?title=DSB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Yea but that blacjack guy has only had his sandbed for 2 years. It will be working awesomely yea, but in another 3-5 years time, he will most likely not have a healthy looking tank anymore if he doesn't do anything with his sand Some people say they're good, some say bad, some don't care, but the amount of tanks with a DSB that have crashed after 5 years is phenominal. I am not realy speaking from experience no. I started my old marine tank with a substrate, but it just collected so much crap in it that i took it out, and it was way better. Its up to you whether you run one, but i'd advise pulling out quarter or half the sand every 6 months or so and giving it a good rinse out in fresh saltwater as this should prevent too much crap building up in it, causing a crash in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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