Setting up a marine tank

[JoandWilly]

Ok I have a tank 1.00x.62x.45 and was thinking of using a tank .6x.3x.3 for a sump which works out to be roundabout 300L once both filled, is this going to be a big enough sump or would i want to make it taller, maybe .45. Also thinking bout using this pump

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Pumps-filters/auction-40020518.htm

Will this be ideal as flow rate is pretty high for the price.

We are wanting to keep a few fish and some corals with a shallow sand bed, Jo would really like some clownfish and anemone's so what othe requipment am i going to need??

Skimmer, what one and how much?

Lighting, what and how much?

Powerheads for more flow?

Also how much live rock would I need? Is live rock, coral rock that is filled with good bacteria?

Is there anything else?

[ghostface]

a bigger sump would allow more room for equipment [heater, skimmer, pump etc]

you could look at getting a second-hand eheim return pump from a member here instead of the one you were looking at. prob. better quality.

the more you spend on the skimmer, the better. if you get a good one it will allow you to keep more livestock in the tank.

the clownfish are pretty easy to keep, however you may want to hold off on the anemone for a while. apparently they are a wee bit difficult to loook after.

if you just want soft corals, then flouro lighting should be fine. metal halide lighting is what most people with reef tanks have, but these are quite expensive. the advantage with them is that they throw out enough light to keep hard corals etc.

i think the live rock to litres of water ratio is about 1kg rock to 8litres of water.

the more flow in the tank, the better. ideally you want no dead spots for gunk to collect and decay in. i have a few small powerheads in the tank as well as a couple of bigger ones.

im sure that heaps of people will be able to help you here..

[Brianemone]

the important thing with the sump is to make sure there is room for equiptment at the appropriate water level and leaving enough room to take out equiptment like the skimmer and also room for the overflow from the main tank in the event of a power cut.

sumps are an art which i am yet to master.

skimmer. again get the best you can afford or wait untill you can save to get a better one.

lights, all in what you want to keep

[lduncan]

Ok here would be my recommendation.

1. Skimmer - Something like a Deltec AP600

2. Lighting - two 250 watt halides. You could do 175's or 150's, but the 250's will allow you to reuse them if (when ) you decide to upgrade to a larger tank. $500 DIY. Could go with T5's over halides, but I prefer halides for the shimmer effect.

3. Flow - a couple of stream 6000 (or 6100 for eventual tank upgrade ) http://www.tunze.com/149.html?&L=1&C=NZ ... zeprod_pi1[predid]=-infoxunter025

4. Live rock - anywhere between 12 and 20 kg. More of a personal preference thing, trend is towards less live rock these days, but remember it does perform a filtration function. $10 to $13 per kg.

5. Sand - go with a largish grain size, around 3.5 to 4mm plus in diameter. It's easier to vacuum and keep clean.

6. Test kits - around $100 to $160 for a full range (Salifert)

7. Refractometer - essential for measuring salinity.

[petplanet]

Hmm, if you want the best then go with that stuff. Personally if I was buying all that stuff I would buy a bigger tank first. If this is your first tank you may not want to jump straight it to the deep end. Note, I have a small vested interest as I do sell a lot of this stuff but I also use most of it aswell.

1. Skimmer - Deltec AP600 - great skimmer but at a price. If $$$ count the Jebo 180 for $49.95 is a petty sweet deal. Not the best skimmer by far but not a massive investment. I am using one on my 430 litre tank.

2. Lighting - two 250 watt halides is serious overkill for a tank that size unless you are planning an SPS tank. A single 150 would be fine. T5 would be great and you could keep almost all types of coral.

3. Flow - Your return pump would supply enough of this for fish only. The pondmaster is relaible. We run our three shop tanks with them. If you can get a cheap eheim then go for that. They are a very good pump. Corals would need more. Any type of pump can add aditional flow but quality and price vary. Tunze would be considered the best but also the most expensive. Seio cheap and crappy - we are sending them all back (50% return rate). Aqua Clear powerheads are a moderately priced reliable powerhead.

4. Live rock - 10-20kg would probably be enough. The stores buy it in 25kg sacks so you could probably get a better price if you buy a sack (we do them for $200).

5. Sand - I prefer a finer grain or a mixture of the two finer grades. All down to personal preference. I fined the smaller stuff cleans better but can blow around more. There is marine substrate that is actually marble chip (about 2mm size) which is half the price of sand.

6. Test kits - Salifert are a top of the line test kit. Aquarium Pharmaceutical do a saltwater master test kit (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph) for around $60.00.

7. Refractometer - Again comes down to dollars. Range from $15 to $150.00. Quality and price are relative.

8. Sump size. I would co as big as possible. You don't have to fill it right up. It will give you more room for containing water splashing and salt creep. Leave a decent amount of room above the sump for getting things in and out .

[JoandWilly]

heres a little picture i just whipped up that i want my tank to look like

[JoandWilly]

Also how do you guys make your bulk heads?

[HelifaxNZ]

Hi JoandWilly

Check out my thread on some ideas.

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/start- ... t9619.html

I recommend getting the Hansen tank fittings(bulkheads(US talk)) from Mitre 10. You can get them from Mico, but I find if they don't give you trade or discount, then they can be more expensive than Mitre 10. Have a look at my link to see pictures of what it looks like.

Also checkout http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html for sump ideas.

Good luck.

[chimera]

no one pays retail, get them from mico or chesters and tell them you want trade price. melev's site is an awesome link for getting ideas, highly recommend it!

[wasp]

That tank design is cool, but needs one change. The skimmer can be a source of bubbles so don't have it right next to the return pump, you may get a tank full of tiny bubbles.

Have the skimmer seperated from your return pump by the baffles.

[lduncan]

The way I see it is if you go with cheap equipment and you decide the hobby isn't for you, it has no resale value at all. Alternatively if you decide to upgrade to a larger tank, you end up having to buy a new skimmer, new pumps, and new lights.

If you go with good quality branded equipment and you decide the hobby isn't for you, you have equipment which you can sell and recover more money. Or if you decide to upgrade, you'll be able to make the most of a lot of your existing equipment, without having to purchase everything again.

[jetskisteve]

Or somewhere inbetween?

[JoandWilly]

At this stage im only going to go for the cheap stuff that isnt gonna crap out on me... on a very small budget, probably buy a bit at a time and maybe set it up as another fresh water tank untill i can afford the skimmer, rock and lighting.

Would 3 foot lighting be enough as the tanks 100 long so only 10cm short?

[SteveA]

Work on a design with the sump only being 1/2 full in normal operation, or you will end up with wet feet during a power cut.

Steve

[Ira]

The way I see it is if you go with cheap equipment and you decide the hobby isn't for you, it has no resale value at all

Yup, much better to sell a skimmer you bought for $700 for $400 than throw a $50 skimmer in the trash...Err...wait...

[JoandWilly]

Lol i'd prefer to sell a $50 skimmer for $10 than sell a $700 one for $400... i think i'll go for the cheap jebo skimmer, not planning on having a very high bioload on it, just 3 or 4 fish and maybe the same with corals. Once im rich and rolling in it im gonna be building an 8 foot by 4 foot by 4 foot tank... lol well a few of them... one reef, one malawi, one south american, once discus lol man i better be rich.

[chimera]

agree, however you're less likely to stay in the hobby because of the frustrations you will have - and most likely due to a cheap skimmer (but of course you wouldnt know that unless you had a decent skimmer that did the job in the first place!) at the least pick something in the middle!

[petplanet]

Nice one Ira!

Dare I say it, you could go skimmerless to start with. I think good lights are more important than a good skimmer. That can be overcome with more frequent/larger water changes and phosphate absorbers.

Not everyone can afford to spend the big bucks. Sometimes the kids need shoes.

I would put the skimmer where the water is going into the sump that way the main part of your sump will be free of bubbles. You could also place the heaters in between your baffles. That way they get maximum water flow past them and the water level will not drop where they are.

The 3ft light will be fine. The edges will only be a little less bright.