benM Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'm just thinking about fgilling my tank for thefirst time and I'm tossing up between buying a shed load of Pure Dew and buying a load of containers to collect sea water with. Are there any other options in the Wellington area? I'm guessing that there may be people with large amounts of surplus RO/DI that they might sell for a more reasonable price than Pure Dew or an alternative resource available for the initial tank fill. Hoping to use NSW for the top up's going forwarfd but that's a lot of trips to the beach as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Get an RO filter?Hoping to use NSW for the top up's going forwarfd but that's a lot of trips to the beach as well!You can't do that. That's #1 entry in every "marine tanks for dummies." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) If you have a reasonable sized tank and don't want to go down the track of collecting nsw, then lowering the salinity with pure dew or RO water to a level suitable for tropical marines (Tropical marine salinity 1.023 - 1.025, NSW salinity 1.027) then investing in a RO unit is a financially worthwhile option. Mine cost $300 for a four stage RODI unit but you can get them way cheaper (I don't know how reliable the cheaper units are). Either way you will also need a TDS metre.Topping up a marine tank is done with RO water or Pure Dew. When salt water evaporates it is only the water that reduces, the salt does not evaporate meaning that the salinity in the tank is higher once evaporation occurs, until the tank is topped up with pure water. My 250 litre tank has a daily evaporation of 4 litres in the spring, summer and autumn months, and about 2 litres per day in the winter. Most marine keepers have an automatic top off unit to stop salinity swings.Some shops will sell RO water, you may be lucky and find another marine keeper who will sell you some of theirs.I hope this helps. Edited December 14, 2015 by Adrienne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benM Posted December 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Sorry, was clearly using the wrong terminology there. I know to top up with fresh water, I meant my weekly changes there. Not anywhere near to knowing enough yet!I've just had a look at the costs around getting natural sea water (buying water containers is expensive!) and buying Pure Dew and for a 275 litre tank it's about the same price as an RO/DI unit for the first fill, with no view on future fills. So, ordered myself a RO/DI unit, am hoping that's the last bit of kit that I have to buy up front!!Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciated as always Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 What other gear do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benM Posted December 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) With the tank I got:TankSumpLights (T5)SkimmerReturn PumpHeatersLive RockAnd then I've bought the RO/DI filter last night and have this lot being delivered later in the week:Blue Planet LED Track Lighting 60cm Blue Planet LED POD Colour Enhancing Blue Planet LED POD Lunar Blue Blue Planet LED POD Cool White Fluval Sea CP3 Circulation Pump x2 Blue Planet U View Purifier - 24 Watt Seachem Ammonia Alert Seachem Multitest - Ammonia Seachem Multitest - Nitrite and Nitrate Seachem Multitest - Phosphate Seachem Multitest Marine - pH/Alkalinity Hydrometer/Thermometer Aqua One 4 in 1 Scraper 24 Inch Aqua One Easy Reach Tongs Extra Large Aqua One Gravel Cleaner 24 Inch Digital Stick On Thermometer Fish Net 5 Inch/12.5cm Long Handle Hailea Magnet Cleaner Large Coral Sand 20kg TLC Saltwater StartSmart 125ml Red Sea Coral Pro Salt 22KG 660L I'm pretty sure that I've got all the essentials in there but I'm sure that I'll need additional stuff down the track as well. If you spot anything that I'm missing or should be thinking about then please let me know! Edited December 14, 2015 by benM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 You will need an ATO at some stage as you will get tired of topping up constantly to keep your skimmer functioning properly. Live rock - how are you currently keeping it live?Just remember starting up a marine tank is a slow, uninspiring process as it takes time. Patience is the key to success and its like watching paint dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benM Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 (edited) yeah, I read up about the ATO units and I've decided that it's something I can make myself for a fraction of the cost of a new one. They're so simple that I could set one up with 2 float switches, a relay and a pump and it shouldn't take more than an hour to do. It's definitely on this list of things to add but I'm figuring on getting everything up and running first and then seeing where I can slot it in without it looking too ugly.For the live rock, currently I'm not keeping it alive, it was delivered dry in a box but had been 'cured'. Apparently that means leaving it in a running aquarium with no light for a few weeks and that it should be rejuvenated when put into water. I'm expecting that to take a while though and thinking that I may even be starting everything from the beginning.As for the patience, I think that must be the one piece of advice that really is #1 entry in every "marine tanks for dummies." I'm currently planning to put one Ocellaris Clown in there in mid Feb. So long as everything has been stable for at least 2 weeks, maybe a little earlier though, and after that the recommendation that sounded most reasonable was one fish a month or one coral a week from then on until the tank was full (with breaks if a mini cycle kicks in to let that work it's way through). I'm figuring on ~4 Ocellaris clowns, a blue tang, 1 royal gamma, 1 lawnmower blenny and some shrimp/snails, with coral going in from ~August (if everything is staying alive well enough by that point). I know 6 months is on the early side for coral but I figure that it'll probably be looking a bit dead in there with only fish and rocks and August will be around the end of my patience Am hoping to put in some anemones after 12 months as I've heard they really need a mature tank, I might look at getting some less hardy corals around that point as well, depending on what the tank is doing.That's all assuming I don't cock it up too much and have to start from scratch at some point, fingers crossed! Edited December 15, 2015 by benM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 15, 2015 Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 Live rock is no longer live once it dries out so yes you are basically starting from the beginning. Curing it means that it has been washed through removing any crap that will increase nitrate levels. You could be looking at up to 8 or so weeks to get it 'live' before you can add any livestock but that depends on what you do to speed up the process. My only suggestion re your stocking is that you add snails - known as CUC or clean up crew - before fish and as soon as your tank shows it has cycled to start to much on the inevitable algae that will appear My first tank is now 15 months old and this was the processed I used with stocking 1. CUC (snails) 2. 1 small coral followed 1 week later by a single fish.Then I proceeded along the recommended path (mostly) by adding a few corals, 1 at a time, and then the odd fish. The one time I strayed I ended up with an ammonia spike. My 250 litre has a pyjama cardinal, pair of picasso clowns, copperband, rabbitfish, target mandarin and cleaner shrimp in it plus a remaining one or two snails.Yes 12 months for anenomes, they really do need that tank established as do some fish like mandarins.My new build will hopefully be ready to go around the same time as yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benM Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 right, sounds like I'd best go and but some actual live rock once I've put the water in then, doh! Would just a kg be enough to start things going with other cured rock or do I need to be buying a lot of the stuff?Good advice on the CUC, I was planning on adding them after the first fish so that they have something to clean up after, but then I guess that all the other live stuff is going to be producing waste as well. I'm thinking I'd like to get some crabs in there as well as snails and then some cleaner shrimp later on but I think that's all going to depend on where I can get hold of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) Put what you have in to the tank and start with that and then, if you want add a piece or two, or a kg of it to speed everything up. Live rock is hard to get hold of and if you do get it sometimes holds undesirables anyway ie bubble algae, aptasia. Once you add live rock you will need to add something to the tank to feed the bacteria in the rock anyway. The only reason I chose not to add crabs is that the hermit crab needs a selection of shells in the tank to choose its next home from or it kills off the snails for the shells.Instead, unfortunately I managed to introduce a crab which after a year I managed to catch (at which stage it had started to nibble my corals). It came in with a piece of live rock as I saw it scurry off when I put the rock in to the tank Also check your messages as I have sent you one Edited December 16, 2015 by Adrienne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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