wasp Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 IMO the only skimmers to consider nowadays are the needlewheel ones, $700.00 will come somewhere close to getting you the very basic one of these, if you can shop around and find a deal. Normal shop price over a grand though. But as previously stated, the skimmer is probably the most important piece of equipment. Actually, with your sizes of tanks, you will have to go bigger / more expensive on the skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 it's not being nosey at all!!! thats what the forum is here for, ask til your hearts content personally, my total tank volume is 1,000 litres and I run a deltec TS1060 skimmer. it's rated for 1,500 litres i think so i really could get a larger one. however in saying this, i have a massive amount of LR (live rock) which is a very good form of filtration. skimmer is worth $1600 new. i would recommend you look for a 2nd hand skimmer and save a heap of bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 weve only got 30kgs (approx) of base rock, that im hoping has turned into live rock during the cycle (no cool stuff on it though like on all your tanks, just helpful bacteria). thats our main filtration so i know we do need a very powerful skimmer to help us out. just trying to find the right one is hard. price doesnt really matter if it comes down to it, would rather have a healthy tank than a cheaply setup tank with unhappy fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 i guess that then asks the 2nd question. fish can handle higher concentrations of nitrates etc than corals. a good skimmer is specifically important for a reef tank rather than FOWLR. if you are looking at keeping corals, then get a good skimmer. if FO, then an average skimmer will suffice. so are you going to go reef tank at some stage or fish only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 metal halides arnt in the budget at the moment, i also think i have to get a bit more experiance before i tackle a reef set up. im aiming for fowlr, but i do want some mushrooms and inverts (cleaner shrimp mainly). fish on the wish list at the moment are - dottyback (the one that looks like a royal gramma), yellow goby, yellow tang, and of course my 2 little clowns. was thinking we might go reef in 2 or 3 years, will i have to get a new skimmer by then, even if i get a decent one now? do they break? if i got the big, powerful, expensive skimmer now, will it still be working in 3 years time? thanks again for all your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 Take the advise of a guy who has "gone cheap" on skimmers, and as a result has owned 4 skimmers, it would have been cheaper to "go expensive" right from the start. A good skimmer will last you for life, you may need to replace some of the moving parts (pump) once every few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 yes, skimmer will last ages assuming you service it every now and then (ie: clean out lines with white vinegar etc) personally, i would either buy the love daddy skimmer now 2nd hand and have it last me forever, or save some bucks and buy a middle of the range skimmer brand new (still, dont go too budget). marine is an expensive hobby, while you dont want to cut corners you dont need to buy the best of everything... (says chimera who is perhaps the worst at this...!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 mushrooms dont require alot of light, so in most tanks you can have them, another great thing is that they are not very fussy when it comes to water quality so they make an excellent begginer "coral" and i think they look cool, (i wouldnt mind a mushroom tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 yeah, i love the look of mushrooms, very cool! ill take your advise and try to get the best skimmer as possible. i didnt know they lasted that long! (another thing to tell the boss, hopefully shell see that shell save money in the long run). thanks again guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Hi Bonnie Good to see you're getting plenty of advice on here. As for collecting your NSW, if you gonna collect it from Cable Bay don't bother waiting for a off-shore breeze,it don't happen there often. You best bet is to get a high tide that falls about 10-11am so you can collect b4 the sea breeze kicks in. Also take your time with the skimmer choice,your tank volume vs the size of those 2 clowns you could easily get by with water changes and running carbon occasionly for a few months. Try DB Reeftec, i believe his skimmers are the needle wheel type and also a tad cheaper than Deltecs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 hi yota! is your tank ok? the clowns arnt the only fish going in the tank over the next couple of months, plan on getting one or two of the other fish on the 'fish wish list' soon. i can get a deltec rated for a 500lt tank (nearly twice the volume of my tank) at a very reasonble price, thats why i thought id go with one of those. thanks for the beach advise, maybe you could show us where to go oneday? also, where did you get your snails from? thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 tank is still standing with no centre brace,been like that for 3 weeks now with no sign of "Tasman Glass" coming to fix the prob,if i get time this week i'll be calling them a visit and start demanding a full refund. Snails!!......go to the rock pools off rocks road,lots of life there but don't get those carnivorous ones tho. Also that rock work in your tank..is it sitting on the glass or substrate as it needs to be stable as you don't want it toppling and hitting/scratching the front pane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 what do carnivorus snails look like? i think the rock work is stable enough, bit hard without alot of sand in the bottom to hold it there. ive riggled it around lots, and doesnt seem to want to fall over. i spent practically a whole day rearranging it so it was stable. ill post another pic tonight, just got to load them off my camera. sorry to hear about your tank, why dont you try one of those metal braces? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 lots of diatoms! tested water today (still cycling) nh3 0!!!!! n02 0.3, n03 20 some more pics.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/bjordan/2005_0314shopfish0011.jpg note the bleached coral and plastic fish - the bosses contrabution to the decorating......... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/bjordan/2005_0314shopfish0048.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/bjordan/2005_0314shopfish0017.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/bjordan/2005_0314shopfish0018.jpg and a happy clown in the little tank..... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/bjordan/2005_0314shopfish0058.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 theres 2 reasons for not having a metal centre brace,first is it will cause shadows and secondly i should'nt have to compromise for poor workmanship :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 theres 2 reasons for not having a metal centre brace,first is it will cause shadows and secondly i should'nt have to compromise for poor workmanship I have a metal centra brace, infact I have 2. Shaddows are non-existant, which would have been a problem with glass. And my braces are by design as an upgrade from glass, which I felt would be sub-standard. Go the metal. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 i cant believe tasman glass cant fix your tank. maybe pies could post some pics of his center brace so you can see what you think. have you thought of anything else that might work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 i dont know why they havent done anything about it! they should have at least said sorry. im so sorry you havent had any success with them have the other glass suppliers etc been any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Actually Bonnie (I've figured that's your name!) it's quite funny reading this thread, every question you've asked you got a whole range of divergent opinions! But that's reefing, there is often more than one road to get to Rome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Pies,i'd like to see sum pics of your braceing and why do you think glass is substandard,and when using flouro's i don't see how shadows can be avoided. another glass company said they would make me a tank using euro bracing bonnie which would be best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Pies,i'd like to see sum pics of your braceing and why do you think glass is substandard,and when using flouro's i don't see how shadows can be avoided. another glass company said they would make me a tank using euro bracing bonnie which would be best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Pies,i'd like to see sum pics of your braceing and why do you think glass is substandard,and when using flouro's i don't see how shadows can be avoided. another glass company said they would make me a tank using euro bracing bonnie which would be best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 euro bracing sounds good yota! hope ya get ya money back from tasman to pay for it. you should come in some time to check things out, see if im doing things right. and some times it can be good that i get different answers for my questions - gives me different options. thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Check out Pies post on his setup, it has all the pic's etc you could want. Regarding snails, I used to collect rock pool snails but don't bother any more, it is difficult to get them to live for long. And it's not that had to get proper turbo snails that will last and breed. However glass shrimps are really good, you need to climatise them really slowly (up to a day if you can do it) its the water parameters they need to get used to not the temp so just a slow dripping hose into a bucket works well. Also have you put in any cured live rock? Cycling a marine tank takes much longer than freshwater, upto 6-9 months before you stop getting different algae blooms. Good cured rock can speed this up alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Pies,i'd like to see sum pics of your braceing and why do you think glass is substandard,and when using flouro's i don't see how shadows can be avoided. Yota - There are pictures of my bracing on my thread "first look at the new setup". maybe pies could post some pics of his center brace See above link. Glass braces get clogged with salt and haev a far more detrimental effect on lighting than 2 small metal rods running accross the length of the tank. Also if you want to have a MH light in the center of the tank, you are going to get very poor light penetration, especially compared to no glass. Also heat from MH lights can crack the glass, particulary if a MH is close to the glass. As for shaddows, none are visible, both with the MHs on or off. If you don't see how shaddows can be avoided, come and have a look at my tank or ask someone else who has seen it, I assure you there are none. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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