Moving to the salty side?

Thanks for the reply's guys. I'm really torn between getting something like your M90 Sukahn or holding off for a bigger tank. Should i dip my toe into the salty water or dive in! lol The M90 is a real nice looking tank and tidy with the rear sump. However i have a feeling i would be wanting a bigger tank pretty soon! Sure PM me with a price for the M90 anyway.

Seahorse are still doing Red Sea Tanks. According to their web site the new Max E 260 LED with rear sump is 2100 euro and you can buy a optional sump conversion kit for 280 euro so 2380 all in.

They also do the reefer 250 for 1030 for euro it comes with a sump but no lighting, skimmer return pump etc.

Stephen.

did you ask Bart about making you a tank and sump including the cabinet , he resently made me a 350 litre tank plus 120 sump in a cabinet for cold water . fantastic job he did , highly recommend him . he is a member of the forum and has made a good amount of tanks for the lads . I have his number if you are interested . to me it dosent matter how big a tank you get you just want bigger and bigger .

There's probly about a grand or more in led s above the e series....so there's not too much difference in price really......

.....the reefer is a nice tank..

But personally I think it's well over priced........
think Bart can make some really nice tanks that beat the pants off a reefer

My vote for Bart, he is great, what am I saying great... fantastic!

He can build you a tank for a good price and then you can add whatever you need, like pumps, lights, etc etc.

I find it a better learning experience

Robert, did you put up pictures of your new tank?

no still waiting for my mate to do them ,their are some on my facebook page , Robert carter.

robert wrote:

no still waiting for my mate to do them ,their are some on my facebook page , Robert carter.

Dam can't look at fb ( ......some Indian trid to hack my fb account(why????I do not know)....face book have locked my account now

Get ya mate to stick sow pics up... .

The big thing about the M90 is that it gave the the knowledge of knowing about the salty side before going to a big tank. The smaller tank makes you get used to checking parameters all the time, also so u you how corals and fish react to the changes in water chemistry. Better learning on a smaller tank so when you move to the bigger the spikes in parameters happen alot faster in the larger due to bigger fish, more things happening at once.

Bart would do a great job building a larger tank for you, im already planning on using him when i upgrade my 3ft clearseal as i think it will only last me a year or so so im going to get him to build a tank sump and cabinet to fit in another corner of the room and then move things from one tank to another.

Changing from a smaller tank to a bigger tank is also great fun, takes time and patiance but is so worth it. Planning what fish your going to add, having all that extra room for corals. Great great times

I think i will get a price off Bart for a tank, sump, stand and then make a decision. I like the idea of researching lighting, skimmers, pumps etc and shopping around for them. It would be a good learning experience.

Are sumps a standard design or is there a 100 and 1 different possibility's? I know i want a quite running tank that's one of the reasons i liked the sound of the red sea tanks. I also really like the open top rimless design like the red sea tanks. I know fish can jump out but i think that mostly happens at night so i could get a cover for it and pop it on at night? Oh and can you use Optiwhite glass on Marine Aquariums?

@robert can you PM me Bart's number or email please?
@Sukahn thanks for the PM buddy i will get back to ya.

If i have time at the weekend i will pop my 250l tank up for sale, not sure what its worth. Id say the tank alone is worth about 200 - 250, also have the Co2 system and the 406 and a homemade led spot light setup. Don't really like selling stuff on adverts. I always seem to get weirdos or people wanting to swap for a mini moto bike or something silly like that!

Stephen.

will pm you Barts number ,if you want give me a call on 0872627945 and I can talk to you in a bit more detail about the brilliant job he did for me . with Bart you decide what size tank and sump you want depending on the space you have . it will take about a month for him to make up the tank mainly because 10mil glass tanks take a long time for the silicone to dry . certainly get him to make the front glass otiwhite it doesn't increase the cost . if you are based near tallaght you are very welcome to see the set up he made for me .

robert wrote:

will pm you Barts number ,if you want give me a call on 0872627945 and I can talk to you in a bit more detail about the brilliant job he did for me . with Bart you decide what size tank and sump you want depending on the space you have . it will take about a month for him to make up the tank mainly because 10mil glass tanks take a long time for the silicone to dry . certainly get him to make the front glass otiwhite it doesn't increase the cost . if you are based near tallaght you are very welcome to see the set up he made for me .

Thanks Robert, i will give him a ring at the weekend. I might just take you up on that invite. Will have to see what the missus has planed at the weekend and will get back to ya.

Stephen

It is a good learning experience indeed.

Sump and in general the same, 1 main compartment, one refugium, one return. some people put a small compartment before the main one to place some sort of filter media such as socks etc.

Bart can advice you as well.

The sump in the end will be made to fit your equipment, such as skimmer etc.

What are the disadvantages to using dead rock to set up a tank? How long dose it take to seed dead rock?

Thanks
Stephen

Usually if it's dead dry rock it'll take a few weeks to cycle on its own.

Stability is a great additive to help it cycle faster and can be constantly used to keep bacteria cycling and reduce the risk of crashing. I used it setting up my 5ft and it's currently fully stocked after using ro treated love rock.

I always use dead rock in my tanks. Its the only way to avoid getting "unwanted" hitchhikers. Said this some pets are really hard to avoid, specially since you will be adding corals at some stage and they tend to be full of them.

Curing and seeding dead rock is not hard, it just means it will take longer.

First thing to look for on new rock is, as it is full of dead organic matter, expect an ammonia spike within a day or two. After that phosphates will start leaching. The ammonia will go away within a few days and after a few water changes, phosphates will leach for months.

There are products out there that will help you remove phosphates but be aware you will need to use them regularly and in most cases they will not remove 100% of phosphates as some if not most of it will remain in the rock itseft.

The process of curing rock depends on what you have to work with, in america, they are "luckier" as they can get a hold of acid and bath the rocks in it, removing all organic matter which means that the rock will be ready for the aquarium after a bit of soaking.

We unfortunately can't get a hold of acid so people use a combination of methods, spraying the dead rock first to remove as much organics as possible, then quick 24 h bath in water and bleach, and then soaking for several days/weeks until phosphates start to come down doing regular water changes.

If you have a sump you can run a phosphate reactor which will help keeping the phosphates in check.

Once the leaching period is over everything will be back to normal.

You can also get cured live rock or cure dead rock or even reef rock from some retailers. This is rock that has been cured in a "secured" enviroment and it is 100% pest free guaranteed. Reef rock is just rock that has no organic matter therefore reef ready.

The amount of things that can come in the live rock you buy in your local fish store is unreal, some of them can be a real pain to get rid off and can wipe your entire aquarium!

Thanks guys, Holy crap didn't know a rock could be so interesting! So i take it dead rock is much cheaper then? Would adding live sand with the dead rock speed up thing or is there no point using live sand with dead rock? Will products like the ATM colony etc help or are they just snake oil?

Is there a web site "reef tanks for dummy's" with all the basics i can study or even a book i can get?

Thanks
Stephen.

Ill just add a little something to the whole "cured rock" idea.

I bought some cured rock when i was setting up my first tank and i must say it was very interesting.

I got a whole load of pests, or well other inhabitants, like bristle worms, asterina starfish, something i could never get id'd and then my lovely bobbit. So just cause they say its cured, dont believe it lol.

Here is a great link to a youtube channel that currently has a 52 weeks of reefing videos where it goes through kinda everything from setting up a tank to all the bits and bobs you can buy for them, including what lights to buy, skimmers etc.

www.youtube.com/user/BulkReefSupplyCom

Sukahn wrote:

Ill just add a little something to the whole "cured rock" idea.

I bought some cured rock when i was setting up my first tank and i must say it was very interesting.

I got a whole load of pests, or well other inhabitants, like bristle worms, asterina starfish, something i could never get id'd and then my lovely bobbit. So just cause they say its cured, dont believe it lol.

Here is a great link to a youtube channel that currently has a 52 weeks of reefing videos where it goes through kinda everything from setting up a tank to all the bits and bobs you can buy for them, including what lights to buy, skimmers etc.

www.youtube.com/user/BulkReefSupplyCom

Thanks for the link, just watched the first 5 parts! Very interesting stuff looking forward to watching the rest of it.

Stephen.

I have watched a good few of them now, great way to spend a few mins of downtime in work lol.

Anyone using a bubble magus skimmer? They get very good reviews and are well priced compared to other brands.

Stephen.

They are great skimmer, probably best quality/price, Coral Box are very good as well, I probably prefer them before the Bubble Magus but they are both very similar.

Before you buy a skimmer make sure you know which size aquarium you are getting, and if it will fit in the sump.

Skimmers will sit in the first compartment of the sump, measure it and then but a skimmer that will fit there. In regards turnover I always play safe, so if your aquarium is a 250 liters I would buy a skimmer rated for example 450-1000 l or something like that. Avoid hang on skimmers unless absolutely necessary.

For a tank of between 200-400 liters I would go for something like this

link

I will have a tunze 9211 for sale soon, very cheap, it is rated for up to 1100 l. Very small blueprint.

Here is a link

link
Good skimmer IMO, small and very effective.

Thanks for the info Bohrio. Will probably be getting a 4 foot tank around the 400l mark what lighting options do i have. Was looking at LED's but they are very expensive. How many watts per liter do i need for a reef tank?

Stephen

Heya

It will all depend on what you are planning on putting into the tank. Fish only, fish and corals etc.

If you are going for corals then it will depend if it is a mixed reef, SPS dominant, LPS dominant etc.

There is no rule as watts per litter. LEDs seems to be the preference for everyone. They are expensive enough but cheaper to run in the end and allows you for more tunning. Also setting them up is easier and you can change the spectrum to meet your needs.

On a 400 liters mixed you will probably need 2 LED units as they tend to cover a 2 x 2 ft area. Again, it really depends on what you are planning on growing.

LEDs such as the AI Hydras, Radeons etc cost around 500-600 euro per unit... not cheap. You can find cheaper LEDs in places such as Fish-street for around 300 euro.

T5s are good as well and much cheaper (for the most part), and you will only need 1 single unit that matches your aquarium length.

Most people start with T5s and then upgrade to LEDs. Some like myself have a hybrid of LEDs and T5s but mostly because I am planning on growing SPS in it.

Bit of an update guys. I resisted the urge to make an impulse buy and am going to wait till a good conduction second hand 4 or 5 foot tank becomes available. Myself and the missus were in seahorse a few weeks ago and i almost pulled the trigger on a Red Sea Reefer 425 XL but when i factored in the cost of led lighting, pumps and a skimmer it didn't seem to make sense.

Since then i have been reading and researching and reading some more and have found it really interesting. That Bulk Reef supply channel on youtube is really good.

Anyway i will start a new thread when i get the tank. Thanks for all your help.

Stephen

Have a look at the tank Jeff is selling on here!
If i was in a position to take it, I'd already have it at home!!! But other commitments take control here that are slightly more important!

Yeah seen it alright. I sent him a PM but no reply as yet.

Stephen.

Go for jeff, its a beautiful tank IMO, after seeing it got me to move from fresh to marine lol

Yeah looks like a nice tank in the ad alright. Still no reply maybe he is away for the weekend. Bohrio do you know what kinda overflow is on the tank?

Stephen.

Hi Stephen

I am pretty sure it is internal overflow (one side I believe) but I dont remember 100%

I think he is away, I will likely see him or talk to him tomorrow I will mention it to him if you like?

Yeah if ya see him mention it to him. Thanks.

Stephen.

He is selling the Seahorse custom built tank it has an internal overflow to the left side. I have the 5ft clearseal version of the same one with the double overflows. They are a fantansic tank mate, about 750L and i have set mine up a since april with no issues really, just plan the rest of your equipment better than me lol.