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Viewed: 249 -- Replies: 8 | ||||||||
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| Posted | Thinking of having a change |
| 14-08-2006 08:32 by mickyblu |
Im thinking of having a change from freshwater crustacions (sory bad spelling) to marine ones. iv got a tropicqarium 88 (28 Gal) with a biolife filter. Just wondering if i can use this tank? and what i may additionally require to set up a tank with loads ahermits, shrimps, and maybe a goby and clown or two. Iv had a look on google.. and everyone sems to tell you what to do but not what i will need.
I know its cheeky but any specific sizes of things im gonna need for this tank would be fantastic. I dont wanna go buying something thats designed for a huge tank. Thanks |
| 14-08-2006 12:11 by PaddyD |
What you need:
A tank: yours is fine A filter: your biolife will do fine. Heater: with your filter Bits and pieces: Salt, Hydrometer, test kits. Sand. Rocks That is for the crustaceons, if you want to add fish you may wish to add a protein skimmer and extra bits. Light not needed unless you want to keep some light requiring inverts (like mushrooms) |
| 14-08-2006 13:20 by mickyblu |
Thats all i need? nothing more powerful pump wise?
i take it my sun glow light wouldnt really be any good... Spose the marines need marine glo or whiteglo id imagine. Do i really need sand or will the standard gravel iv got in there be any good? Iv seen on here people asking bout using play sand in tropical tanks... will that be ok in a marine? really appriciate your help  |
| 14-08-2006 14:01 by PaddyD |
If you are just keeping crustaceans. Then you do not need any light. I would switch to 2 marine tubes though, sunglo are nasty. You only need light for species that require it, of course a day night cycle will encourage natural behaviour.
I would use normal marine coral sand - a couple of bags would be enough. It will help keep your pH up and is a suitable size, so digging species can move it easily. it is cheap enough and will make a real difference. Regarding your pump size, it should be ok. but an extra pwerhead or internal filter would help to eliminate dead spots. If you dont ad fish you will find that most crustaceans do not produce a lot of waste, any waste products will depend on the ammount/type of food you add to the tank. Be very careful adding fish. 1 or two will be enough. |
| 14-08-2006 14:38 by nick |
adding a few bits of live rock will help with filtration, as paddy said be carful adding fish to a tank that size as they create a lot of waste |
| 14-08-2006 14:45 by mickyblu |
i have a fixation for crustaceans.. if i included coral, anenames and purhaps star fish instead of fish would they create any waste. More importantly would they live in a tank that small and would it over stock the tank? |
| 14-08-2006 15:16 by PaddyD |
Ahh - Now it gets a bit more complicated...
crustaceans comonly kept are pretty tough and easy. Kept by them selves they produce little waste and have few special requirements. Anenomes corals and starfish, again are not huge waste producers, but they have more specific requirements. Anenomes are generally considered very difficult to keep, they need A1 water quality and require very high levels of light. Starfish generally are difficult to feed - for example sand sifters need fish waste to feed on. And Blue linkia's diet is not really known, the are usually ok in established reef tanks. Corals vary widely but some quite hardy species you could go with that will be ok with two tubes (not over 6 months old) would be mushrooms, star polyps, button polyps, briarium, and xenia. Most other coral require better light or water conditions. The problem with your biolife is that while it will get rid of your ammonia and nitrite, it may not keep your nitrate low enough for more sensitive invertibrates. This is where live rock comes in! you could use some small bits of live rock with your filter, but it would be better to instead add about 10 kilos of live rock and take out your filter - replacing it with a couple of strong powerheads - the live rock will provide all the filteration you need. If you go for fish you might also want to use a protein skimmer - but they are tricky to add to tropiquariums. Regarding size - you can fit quite a few diferant species in as long as you allow for eventual size and place them in different levels in the tank. So in short your system will be ok as it is, for crustaceans.. And some other inverts like fan worms and mushrooms and a couple of small fish. But you may have problems with nitrates. (nitrates will cause problems with sensitive species and may cause algae promlems) Whatever you do, replace the light tubes If you add a protein skimmer, things get better, but may be tricky to fit. If you go for living rock (with powerheads) instead, with or without a skimmer you will have better filteration and less maitainance. |
| 14-08-2006 15:41 by mickyblu |
 ..well im shocked.. your a vat of knowledge my friend... You have opened my eyes to a great many possibilities... i love loads a height so live rock piled against the back would provide the filtration.. offer great places for coral etc... and look fab. Thanks for all your help..
Purhaps i can be cheeky and just ask bout the water itself.. would it be better to get it from the pet shop to do water changes or would it be better to use an RO unit and add salt? i suppose thats the trickiest part of marine tanks. |
| 14-08-2006 16:23 by PaddyD |
Yup. If you put good water in. It is easiest to maintain good water.
R/O works for me, Just find a shop that sells it and use it, for the amount you need for water changes it wont cost the earth. Also get a good salt, you wont need to buy thye cheapest as your tank is small. So my a good reef salt. There are so many ways to do a marine tank. It's just a case of knowing the requirements of what you want to keep and then finding some way to meet them that you can keep doing. But - seek diferent opinions, and you will find there are lots of them. Take you time and do some research first until you a fairly confident on what you intend to do. |
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