Hi all, i've been contemplating setting up my 180L as a marine tank but a thought struck me...my 98L tank would do just fine along with a sump under the tank which my dad plans to build with acrylic...so the volume of the sump has yet to be determined...under this tank there is quite a large space so we should be able to have a 40 or 50L sump.

We will not be drilling the glass 98L tank so we'll have to make a weir out of the acrylic to allow water flow to the sump...probably will be tough to make but not impossible.

Should I be considering using 8 to 10kg of live rock?

Will a skimmer be required and if so, which companies should I be considering?

What strength powerheads will be needed...i'm sure i need 2?

What amount of substrate will I need?

How much does RO water cost and where can I buy containers big enough to fill this 100L+tank?

What pH is this RO water...neutral i suppose...7 or thereabouts??

These are very basic questions simply because I have yet to really put some work into researching this. We were going to set our 180L up for marine but building a sump was almost impossible for this tank due to a badly set up tank stand (thanks juwel!).

you will be very limited to what fish u can keep in a tank that small, even with the sump. bigger is always better if you can.
If you plan on using LR as your bio filter then yes 10-15kg should be fine.
you would get away without a skimmer if its a fish only system (maybe 1 or 2 easy corals) and you dont over stock/over feed.
2 x 1200 lpr pheads would do ya. i think they say 10-20 times the tanks volume.
substrate is up to you. bare bottom, 1-2inch, or more for a "deep sand bed" which is said to keep nitrates down (u could have a section of your sump with a dsb if you wanted one.
dont know about cost of ro water but it aint a must....of course its better but you'd get away without it.
ph is not important as the salt mix automatically brings the ph of tap or ro water to 8.2.

again, sumps are great but youd be fine without one. i have a 240 with no sump. more swimming space if you convert the 180!

get a couple of books to help you make better decisions. the conscientious marine aquarist is a great one , beginner to breeder is also highly reccommended but i havent read it.

Thanks for the reply lampeye, from what you've said and from what I've told dad about it over the past day....seems we will go with the 180 as the main display and the 100L as a Quarantine tank.

I'll get a book, read read read...and if I have any more questions...i'll be back!

I can help you out with RO water if you need it Scorph.
Just give me a shout.

Niall.

Why are you not getting the tank drilled?