Lurch Posted July 26, 2003 Report Share Posted July 26, 2003 I have been looking at a lot of reef tanks on the internet that are set up overseas and I am starting to think I could try and make one (long term goal). Is the stuff I'm seeing very availiable in New Zealand or are we limited in our selection and are the prices much different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 I'm new to marine but there is tons available... I have made do with a very small starter tank, and have now doubled it so i have 2 tanks connected with combined capacity of about 520 litres. I created mine on the cheap and it works fine. The trick is do everything slowly... I get a lot from the beach as well. You really need a skimmer, but apart from that... the rest is the same as tropical. Go for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted July 29, 2003 Report Share Posted July 29, 2003 there are lots of stock available, howver doing it on the cheap is not a option. there animals required very good quality water. before you start get a very good updated book and do things slowly. it is important that you get a very good skimmer and good lighting. cheap does not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 Bah.... cheap works for me so far..... I dont' have a pile of coral, clams, liverock or mushrooms, but I watch my kina sucking on the rocks, hermits, some anenomes and marine fish..... not a ton of stuff happening but not a ton of bucks spent either... and I am definately lovin it, its become my fav tank primarily because its all stuff I didn't have any idea how it worked until i took it home and watched it..... I have tons of bugs and stuff breeding in the water, and worms in the sand, its all free, and it's all interesting. some stuff doesn't work, but thats all good too, i think i've finally found a weed that survives in my tank (3 weeks now no rot), and my starfish rotted while still alive (don't want to do that again), but i'm learnin, for free.What makes the big bucks more important? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 peety what you have is not a reef tank. a reef tank has live corals and fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 You guys should get together and start a little club going. I'm sure you'd find quite a few people interested in sharing their ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis Posted July 31, 2003 Report Share Posted July 31, 2003 they got one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 1, 2003 Report Share Posted August 1, 2003 Sorry, didn't know they had a club Was reading this: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/sal ... mming.html about skimmers, which led me to this.. http://www.ffil.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7926 The first link is the article, the second one is the drawing of the skimmer in nice detail, which is all in English, but the text is in Arabic, so you will need to scroll down from the 'left' in order to see the drawings. Might be a cheap way out, not sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 Not being able to read arabic, do you reckon the middle piece of small tube has to be at the same level as the water inside the tank (or higher) or any incoming water would just exit via top holes (also that the unit can drain water faster than the pump can fill it??).... so in effect the bubbles lift the gooey stuff up the little pipe into the top area which dribbles out the top 3/8" pipe...?? Obviously couldn't glue it all up tight since you couldn't replace airstone etc.... but pipe endcaps might work and drainpipe would be cheap... still not sure of how much throughput it can take.. any idea of an english explanation? :oops: If thats all it is then I'll make one and give it a whirl..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 any idea of an english explanation?I didn't read either article, but just spotted them on my searching and thought of your posts. Can't help with the translation, but I understood the second article was a direct translation into Arabic from English... apart for the pics, which is why I referred the link to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 Yeah I agree with Peety to an extent, and with Reef, to an extent. Too many people are put off marines because of the cost, and this is not really the case. A reef tank has inverts, corals etc and more of a ballance than a traditional marine tank. Skimmer is a must, although there are moves away from skimming too (MUD systems). Lighting is NOT a must. Its a must for some corals. But not for fish. Not even for all inverts. If you want to keep many SPS/LPS corals, sure BIG MOTHER lights are a must, but some inverts and fish will be fine under fluros. Also there are overhang and cave tanks that use subdued lighting. Take it slowly, purchase good quality equipment, avoid the gimicks, pay more attention to your routine than the technology and you can do fine. You can upgrade you tanks lighting etc overtime as you learn and can afford it. Don't let the cost put you off, other than a skimmer there is little more to it than tropicals (for a basic tank anway). Me - Well I went down the full 'tech route', but I wanted corals from the start. YMMV. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted August 4, 2003 Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 Lurch if you had of joined about a year ago you could have gone to see Will or Shane @ Goldfish Galore.I think they were in H town or around there they were always pretty helpful and probably had the best marine shop in the Waikato region.They also had their own quarrantine.Unfortunately I think they`ve closed down I think they still import marines though.Could be worth a look if you can track them down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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