Mirio Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Our sea water has some deficiencies in Salinity, and Calcium levels I think? ASW Mixes are much more ideal especially if your tank is only going to be a small one. It's basically a matter of using the premade mixture , fusing it with water, making sure it's all disolved etc and voila. Skimmer etc, will depend on what size tank you're getting exactly, I think there are a few good priced hang on skimmers. I too am looking into setting up a marine (100x50x50) Still deciding though before I go all out. Still debating planted/large hardscape south american of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 NSW has a slightly higher salinity than what you would use for tropical marine (watering down by 10% fixes this) other than that there is no difference chemically. For local marine, you can't get much better than local water. whats ASW? NSW = Natural sea water ASW = Artificial sea water What RODI water RO/DI water is very pure water, for very small tanks you can just buy it from the super market, otherwise it's worth investing in an RO/DI filter. As the tank water evaporates it leaves behind impurities, if you top up this evaporation with dirty (tap) water the impurities will build up. Would i need to get a refractometer for a small tank or just a hydrometer? Having an accurate way to test salinity is even more important for a small tank, a refractometer should be near the top of you purchase list. what filter do you recomend? or skimmer? You need to do some research on how you want to run the tank, it is quite possible to run a small tank without a skimmer, but a skimmer does make the job a lot easier. As you suggest regular large water changes can remove the need for a skimmer, but you'll get sick of it pretty quickly. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted June 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 OK, I might go for a skimmer, What one would you recommend? Would i need a filter? ASW sounds easier,even if we are on rainwater do you need special RODI water ? Thanks Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 What one would you recommend? The bubble magnus ones deep blue sells are pretty good, and if you can afford it you can't go wrong with a deltec. Would i need a filter? The only thing you can use a filter for in salt water is chemical filtration like carbon, or PO4 resin. You best to give the filter a miss and invest the $$ in as good a skimmer as you cab afford ASW sounds easier,even if we are on rainwater do you need special RODI water ? You can get away with a lot when doing local marine, but it really depends on how clean you water supply is. HHF should have a TDS meter and be able to check you water for you, that will tell you how dirty it is, ideally you want 0, but anything in the low teens should be okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted June 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 OK,next time i am at HWFF i will check, if the water is from 0-13 should i just use tap water for tropical marine? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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