Your current Fish tank Setups!

If I had 5k, if have no trouble parting with it for an awesome marine setup. They are just magnificent showpieces and such fun to maintain and develop.
 
It was down to i always wanted a marine setup since the age of 13, i am now 42 and i thought if i really don't start now i never will and just got on with it, 5 grand is 5 grand but i have bought the gear bit by bit so not to look so heavy on the wallet in one big go, that's what i tell the Mrs anyhow ;)
 
Spook187 said:
How much is your budget, i am setting up a marine tank as we speak and i tell you it's not been cheap:(
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Well my plan is to buy a used setup, as a mature setup would be a good place to start. There are plenty of people looking to offload their tanks as they realise how much work/money is involved.
 
Brookert said:
what sort of equipment would you get for a basic setup?
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Tank - Bigger the better but well over 40L is a given.
Heater - Any will do providing it is appropriate for the tank
Protein Skimmer - Avoid the small ones because their generally rubbish. Something like a TMC is costly but well worth it regardless of tank size plus it sits on the outside saving space. (Its possible to do away with this but generally not advisable!)
Water - RO Unit or source from a local fish store.
Lights - LED rig preferable with timer for blues, ultra budget can get away with cathodes but will limit corals.
Circulation Pump -again rated by tank size, bigger tanks need 2+

If your tight on a budget maybe look at the Fluval Marine Range as they are always on ebay second hand and have everything you need.
But as you will hear many people say, dont go marine unless you have done tropical first. The experience is really needed as marine is very expensive.
 
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iamtheoneneo said:
Tank - Bigger the better but well over 40L is a given.
Heater - Any will do providing it is appropriate for the tank
Protein Skimmer - Avoid the small ones because their generally rubbish. Something like a TMC is costly but well worth it regardless of tank size plus it sits on the outside saving space. (Its possible to do away with this but generally not advisable!)
Water - RO Unit or source from a local fish store.
Lights - LED rig preferable with timer for blues, ultra budget can get away with cathodes but will limit corals.
Circulation Pump -again rated by tank size, bigger tanks need 2+

If your tight on a budget maybe look at the Fluval Marine Range as they are always on ebay second hand and have everything you need.
But as you will hear many people say, dont go marine unless you have done tropical first. The experience is really needed as marine is very expensive.
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Thanks for that. A protein skimmer seems a no brainer for me, why make life hard for yourself and the tank inhabitants. One thing I've learnt from a planted tank, get the basics right from the start!

maintenance wise, is it a case of a water change with RO water once a week, and dosing nutrients daily? do corals need a separate food supplement?
 
You have to top up evaporated water daily with RO, using an auto top up is best for this. You change 10% of the salted water weekly. You only need to dose if you are keeping the harder sps or lps corals. I would recommend a few soft corals at first and then if everything's going well look into which method you want to use for dosing.
 
Quick photo update :)
Done a complete clean yesterday, emptied 250ltrs, scrubbed glass, vacuumed the gravel, stripped and cleaned filter, added 100ltrs fresh RO and put in 150ltrs of previous water.

Discus have spawned again... see what happens this time round.

 
Beauties. :)



Does a spray bar have to be positioned above the water line, or is all that matters is that the surface is agitated?

For those that have looked into increasing the oxygenation of their tank, what measures have they taken? I've recently added an air stone, but the more knowledge / ways I can improve things, the better.

It would seem that between 8 - 11mg is ideal, with 6 - 8 being adequate, depending on tank inhabitants, of course.
 
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Despite not owning any snails....bearing in mind this is a new tank...I appear to have five snails in there.....

I also think the water kevels still aren't settling on this new tank :(
 
When I added a load of plants, within a few days I saw one lone snail scurrying across the sand. Now I have to battle them constantly as they breed like rabbits.

Do yourself a favour, if you don't want them, combat them now, with a combination of a snail trap and assassin snails. Believe me, they will run riot otherwise.
 
Added some Rio Atabapo whiptails and Nannostomus anduzei to the big tank.

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And started my first marine tank last week. ~40cm cube, gives about 63l useful volume.

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Only a few days in but levels have nearly settled and life is beginning to appear. Inevitably it isn't all desirable! I've been blowtorching these guys -

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And wondering if this might be a juvenile mantis shrimp?! Although the antennae don't look right.

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Office is filling up...

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whats humidity like in there? do you get a lot of water evaporation?

get shot of the Aiptasia as soon as you see it, if it spreads you will be combating it for a long time.
 
utajoker said:
whats humidity like in there? do you get a lot of water evaporation?

get shot of the Aiptasia as soon as you see it, if it spreads you will be combating it for a long time.
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Yeah I'm on it with the Aips. Evaporation has been a bit of an issue over winter - once the air temperature dropped I got a lot more evap and condensation and had to run a dehumidifier. In summer its OK because there's much less evap and I can leave the window open most of the time.
 
The LR was from the separate LR system. To be fair they are tiny... 3-5mm long tops. I'd never have spotted them in the shop. I've been killing them with fire (mini kitchen blowtorch), so fingers crossed.
 
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