Setting up my 3ft marine tank.

[joshua02]

Originally Posted by Dreams

Can i have the link pls?

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/topi...and-liverocks/

[EvolutionZ]

glass acrylic mix tank at 8mm.. i would say you should really ditch the tank.. before that i think the cabinet cant hold.. now i think both the cabinet and tank cant hold. OTF is freshwater farm.. in order for you to be happy with ur purchase. of course they will tell you can hold marine. It might hold, it might not. But issit worth the risk? i would say take the FOC 4ft tank. its a great starter tank and will save you lots of money.

Originally Posted by EvolutionZ

glass acrylic mix tank at 8mm.. i would say you should really ditch the tank.. before that i think the cabinet cant hold.. now i think both the cabinet and tank cant hold. OTF is freshwater farm.. in order for you to be happy with ur purchase. of course they will tell you can hold marine. It might hold, it might not. But issit worth the risk? i would say take the FOC 4ft tank. its a great starter tank and will save you lots of money.

One guy from other forums said something when i told him the glass thickness is not good enough he said "8mm is definitely enough for a saltwater aquarium. In fact, 6mm is already sufficient. Even taking into account the presence of saltwater, the pressure at the bottom will increase by only 10% at the most if we assume a specific gravity of 1.1 is used. The pressure at the bottom of the tank will be the highest at around 4900Pa.Take a look around at all the aquariums, most of them are using 6mm glass only. 8mm is good enough, 10mm will be better, 12mm is an overkill. Do you just "feel" that it's too thin due to your own judgement or just for aesthetics reasons? As mentioned earlier, it doesn't make much of a difference if it's fresh or saltwater. Many people out there THINK that having saltwater in the tank does make a tremendous amount of difference to the forces encountered in the tank, well the truth is no! I was overestimating when i stated a SG of 1.1 for saltwater, let's take the high side of the norm that is 1.026, that will only work out to be 2.6% heavier than freshwater. Is that a big deal of weight, no. 8mm is definitely more than enough for a marine tank. Those 6mm glass tanks that i saw are mostly in SW LFS, so no dispute about that. Most of the time, however, the silicon seals tend to give way before the glass which largely depends on workmanship rather than glass thickness"

[KaLiB]

Not trying to discredit what the guy is saying, but there are more points to consider than just the weight of the saltwater on the base of the tank. It is just one factor to consider. We need to take into consideration other factors like thickness of the glass, depth of the tank, type of bracing used.

For example, my 4ft tank's sump(3x1.5x2) is only using 6mm glass because the glass partitions within the sump act as bracing to hold the tank together. I was advised to use minimum 12mm thick glass by the tank maker for my 4x2x2 main tank with eurobracing.

I can't see clearly the dimensions in the link provided. What is the exact dimensions of your tank including the height? This is a very important point to consider.

If you look at this link here on glass thickness for saltwater aquariums, it is recommended that 3ft tanks should use 9mm thick glass if the glass is of poorer quality(determined by the higher safety factor in the parenthesis below). I would er on the side of caution and use a higher safety factor.

The key issue I'm concerned about here isn't the amount of load on the base of the tank. What I am really concerned about is the pressure the saltwater is going to put on the sides of the tank. This is a weak point and this is where the tank can fail. It may just spring a small leak or the walls give way. As mentioned in my earlier post, from my personal experience, my 2x1x1 tank wall warped outwards because I was not using the right tank to setup a marine aquarium. It was at risk of either bursting or leaking.

Originally Posted by KaLiB

Not trying to discredit what the guy is saying, but there are more points to consider than just the weight of the saltwater on the base of the tank. It is just one factor to consider. We need to take into consideration other factors like thickness of the glass, depth of the tank, type of bracing used.

For example, my 4ft tank's sump(3x1.5x2) is only using 6mm glass because the glass partitions within the sump act as bracing to hold the tank together. I was advised to use minimum 12mm thick glass by the tank maker for my 4x2x2 main tank with eurobracing.

I can't see clearly the dimensions in the link provided. What is the exact dimensions of your tank including the height? This is a very important point to consider.

If you look at this link here on glass thickness for saltwater aquariums, it is recommended that 3ft tanks should use 9mm thick glass if the glass is of poorer quality(determined by the higher safety factor in the parenthesis below). I would er on the side of caution and use a higher safety factor.

The key issue I'm concerned about here isn't the amount of load on the base of the tank. What I am really concerned about is the pressure the saltwater is going to put on the sides of the tank. This is a weak point and this is where the tank can fail. It may just spring a small leak or the walls give way. As mentioned in my earlier post, from my personal experience, my 2x1x1 tank wall warped outwards because I was not using the right tank to setup a marine aquarium. It was at risk of either bursting or leaking.

My tank is 3ft x1.25 x1.25 , and the front and corners are curved. if im not wrong glass thickness is 8mm, cant measure it cos there's a wooden or plastic thing attached to it at the top for the header to be placed nicely onto it. If its unable to support that much weight, i can reduce the water and the amount of rocks and sand in the tank . Wouldn't that be better??

[EvolutionZ]

Originally Posted by Dreams

My tank is 3ft x1.25 x1.25 , and the front and corners are curved. if im not wrong glass thickness is 8mm, cant measure it cos there's a wooden or plastic thing attached to it at the top for the header to be placed nicely onto it. If its unable to support that much weight, i can reduce the water and the amount of rocks and sand in the tank . Wouldn't that be better??

If im not wrong, Curved glass are weaker than normal glass. More pressure will be on the 2 silicon joint.

[KaLiB]

8mm is slightly on the thin side and a little risky IMO for the given dimensions.

You can lower the water level to 1feet and use less sand and rocks in the tank to relieve pressure on the walls as well as on the cabinet. However, there is an important issue to consider when doing this. Most filter outlets are designed such that your tank is actually filled. You might need to modify the outlet so that the water returns into the tank gently and not splashing back inside. Splashing will cause salt spray and over time, you would find salt crystals forming on your lights, on the tank wall and possibly outside of your tank.

There is also the other issue of the hood. You would need to remove it if your plan is to keep LPS. T8s are not suitable for keeping LPS and you would need High output T5s at the very minimum.

Since it is unsafe to load it with too much sand and rocks, the next possible option is to use a canister filter. However, an issue with canister filters is that it has to be maintained on a regular basis otherwise it would choke up and contribute to the nitrate levels. It is advisable to look for a canister filter with surface skimmer attachment. The surface skimmer acts like an overflow box that will help to prevent the build up of organics on the water surface. Organics on the water surface will look like a layer of oil on the water.

Overall, IMO, this tank is not designed with marine aquarium in mind on the whole. I'm not trying to discourage you from joining the hobby but giving you some advise from my own experience in this hobby so that you can start off right and enjoy the hobby a lot more.

Originally Posted by KaLiB

8mm is slightly on the thin side and a little risky IMO for the given dimensions.

You can lower the water level to 1feet and use less sand and rocks in the tank to relieve pressure on the walls as well as on the cabinet. However, there is an important issue to consider when doing this. Most filter outlets are designed such that your tank is actually filled. You might need to modify the outlet so that the water returns into the tank gently and not splashing back inside. Splashing will cause salt spray and over time, you would find salt crystals forming on your lights, on the tank wall and possibly outside of your tank.

There is also the other issue of the hood. You would need to remove it if your plan is to keep LPS. T8s are not suitable for keeping LPS and you would need High output T5s at the very minimum.

Since it is unsafe to load it with too much sand and rocks, the next possible option is to use a canister filter. However, an issue with canister filters is that it has to be maintained on a regular basis otherwise it would choke up and contribute to the nitrate levels. It is advisable to look for a canister filter with surface skimmer attachment. The surface skimmer acts like an overflow box that will help to prevent the build up of organics on the water surface. Organics on the water surface will look like a layer of oil on the water.

Overall, IMO, this tank is not designed with marine aquarium in mind on the whole. I'm not trying to discourage you from joining the hobby but giving you some advise from my own experience in this hobby so that you can start off right and enjoy the hobby a lot more.

Thanks for the advice given. Is it possible if u tell me which model of canister filter and the skimmer works well together? I'm afraid ill gwt the wrong one again .

Aim and achieve.

[KaLiB]

My preference would always be Eheim canister filters as the inlet can be changed to one with a surface skimmer attachment. This is the surface skimmer attachment that you would need to pair with the canister filter.

There is another important issue that I forgot to mention in the earlier post, that is the filter inlet. Their also designed with a full tank in mind and not a partially filled tank. The intake pipe maybe too short if you lower the water level and I'm not sure if it can be extended. If it can't be extended, you will end up back at square one. You would face a similar problem when you decide to get a protein skimmer for the tank.

IMO, given circumstances, I feel that you would still be better off getting a tank that is designed for a marine aquarium as this tank is really not designed with marine aquaria in mind. You may still have to make further compromises and end up spending even more than necessary and enjoying this hobby a lot less.

Originally Posted by KaLiB

My preference would always be Eheim canister filters as the inlet can be changed to one with a surface skimmer attachment. This is the surface skimmer attachment that you would need to pair with the canister filter.

There is another important issue that I forgot to mention in the earlier post, that is the filter inlet. Their also designed with a full tank in mind and not a partially filled tank. The intake pipe maybe too short if you lower the water level and I'm not sure if it can be extended. If it can't be extended, you will end up back at square one. You would face a similar problem when you decide to get a protein skimmer for the tank.

IMO, given circumstances, I feel that you would still be better off getting a tank that is designed for a marine aquarium as this tank is really not designed with marine aquaria in mind. You may still have to make further compromises and end up spending even more than necessary and enjoying this hobby a lot less.

Alright thanks.May I know where can I buy the canister filter with the skimmer ? I'll go to those places to check if the pipe cn be extended or not..

Aim and achieve.