cant believe this ,third try again. Here we go as long as you have test kits for p.h, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate , there is no need to buy anymore. salifert is a brand name of the tests I use ,but as long as you are happy with the ones you have keep on using them.as for your lights, they should be ok for what you have in there . If you want your lights to be brighter ,buy reflectors put these behind your tubes and they will give you up to 50% more light ,hope this helps you grandad.

hi grandad, thanks once more, think the lights will be ok now, obvously my lfs didnt tell me anything like i needed to know, have the nitrite/nitrate test kits and ph which are all fine, but now although yesterday cleaned some of the ocean rock and turned the sand over its coming back with a vengeance, fish seem happy enough though , will visit my lfs friday and obviously be very busy on saturday, bit of a bummer when youre not given the correct information to begin with, so far cost me a fortune and for no reason by the look of it, at least could have save a oner or so lol
regards keith

your welcome. grandad .

hello hiawatha + welcome to the forum...sounds like youve been given some dodgy info from ya LFS regards setting up + the upkeep of marines...1st off no way should you have added fish as early as you did,most marine tanks take at least 6 weeks or so to mature + settle down,by maturing i mean getting the parameters stable...then after that is sorted you start off adding the CUC[clean up crew]ie hermits/snails/shrimp/starfish etc...normally after adding these youll notice more changes in ya params,algae + detritus will be eaten by the CUC...params will settle then you slowly start to add fish,not all at once mind you!you should have a thin layer of sand,appx50kg of live rock,a sump or lge external filter,heater,powerheads to move the water around[aim for appxx30 total water volume]a skimmer is essential in my mind,i went without for a while,then after adding one was amazed at just how much crap they take outta the water, and depending on what ya keeping good lights t8 will do for fish only + certain soft corals/t5 are what most salties use/or metal halides these are the best but are very expensive to buy + to run...if you can, buy a RO unit itll save ya a few quid after a while or buy ya RO from good LFS,i used tap as you do when i 1st started on marines but RO is best,also ya test kits tetra test? are these the ones for fresh + salt water? if so bin em + get marine only tests,salifert are best, but expensive, i use api reef master...as for ya algae prob's...this will be down to a mixture of the way youve started off ie going to fast/using tap water/+ possibly lighting...i have my lights on for 12 hrs 1st attinics for 4hrs, then attinics + whites, then whites off, with attinics on for a coupl hrs by thenselves then lights out...it may be worth taking some water along to a good LFS so they can test it for ya...as for anenomes...please wait for at least another year before adding one to the tank if at all personally i wouldnt add anything else to ya tank till youve sorted ya probs out,b umme r i know, but for the best in the long run...all the best terry

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WHO'S YA DADDY

hi terry, thanks for that, have taken all the advice onboard and now trying to get my head round it, but will spend a few quid and try again, just hope the fish i have at the mo will be ok, they are fine at the moment will let you know what happens when i start to sort things out next weekend
regards keith

Arghhhhh nightmare.

You have gotten away with murder so far not your fault fish shop seems to have given you some horrendous advice.

Basics for a marine tank as follows:

Tank obviously

Live rock equal to at least 1 kilo per 2 imperial gallons for your tank you are looking at about 50 kilos of live rock.

Lighting at 2 foot deep for fish only you will be fine with flourescent T8's but if you want any easy corals you will need a bank of about 4 T5's or you may wish to consider TMC's new aqua beam lighting range based on LED's these apparently sit between T5's and metal halides in terms of out put but are very efficient to run.

RO unit (www.ro-man.com) or a supply of RO water

Good quality synthetic salt for mixing replacement water for water changes plus 2 identical large buckets one is for mixing the new water the other for removing exactly the same amount as you add this prevent changes in salinity over time. Also get a sump pump to put in the bucket for mixing new salt water this can then be used to pump the new water in to the tank after the waste water has been removed.

A refractometer for accurately measuring water salinity these are not sensitive to temperature change hydrometers are useless.

Pumps to turn over the total tank volume at least 20 times per hour if not more you want stream pumps like the tunze there are cheaper available.

I'm trying not to give you overload with this above are the basics without even getting into the chemistry.

Points that concern me are the use of artificial filtration as well as the use of an under gravel filter on a marine tank this will clog over time and cause major problems.

I am also concerned about the fact you have a tang in there at the moment these fish are very susceptable to marine whitespot therefore I would suggest you get the largest UV sterilizer you can.

You also need a big protein skimmer.

Products to consider

TMC V2Skim
TMC V2UV sterilizer
SEIO Hydor Tunze circulation pumps

Wave equipment as sold by www.stm-shop.co.uk

Also go on the www.stm-shop.co.uk website and have a browse through the sort of equipment listed if you are anywhere near Sevenoaks I would seriously recommend you go on a shopping trip there with the complete breakdown of what you have got tank equipment wise. Explain what this other LFS has told you and ask for help. This shop is fantastic it is run by hobbyist for hobbyists.

Also subscribe to a fishkeeping magazine and go through the marine set ups that are virtually always featured and look at the tank breakdowns that will give you an indicator of what the current top spec tank are run on and I am afraid canisters and under gravel filters are a very rare sight if ever!

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Alan

Thweeerp!