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Old 29-04-2004, 10:44 PM   #1
Dirtbiker
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Red face Need guides to setup my 1st (80x45x45)cm marine tank of my life

I have read many of the threads about marine fishes, water conditioning... etc
but i still don't have confidence in setting up the marine tank all by myself.
Hope u guys out there will be able to help me along throughout the whole process and i will keep u guys updated...

infomation of my current equitment:

1. Tank (80x45x45)cm with a sump (11x45x45) by the side of the tank
(is it useful?) Thickness: 5mm (able to withstand those heavy liverocks)
2. ViaAqua multi-skimmer II ($65) up to 80 gallons (suitable for my tank?)
3. a packet of 5kg corallife salt ($18)
(quite cheap and a bit worried abt it quality)
4. a hydrometer cum thermometer ($3) floating type (accuracy?)

i know i still need lots of stuffs like external filter, sand, water testing kits, etc... but i think with those things i will be able to start filing up the tank with water first and starts clearing chlorine and chloramine by letting the water over night (if i m not wrong) and also dissolving the salt to the required level (using the floating hydrometer).

Anything i missed at the start?
What are those important steps coming up next?
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Old 29-04-2004, 11:50 PM   #2
devilfire
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtbiker
I have read many of the threads about marine fishes, water conditioning... etc
but i still don't have confidence in setting up the marine tank all by myself.
Hope u guys out there will be able to help me along throughout the whole process and i will keep u guys updated...

infomation of my current equitment:

1. Tank (80x45x45)cm with a sump (11x45x45) by the side of the tank
(is it useful?) Thickness: 5mm (able to withstand those heavy liverocks)
2. ViaAqua multi-skimmer II ($65) up to 80 gallons (suitable for my tank?)
3. a packet of 5kg corallife salt ($18)
(quite cheap and a bit worried abt it quality)
4. a hydrometer cum thermometer ($3) floating type (accuracy?)

i know i still need lots of stuffs like external filter, sand, water testing kits, etc... but i think with those things i will be able to start filing up the tank with water first and starts clearing chlorine and chloramine by letting the water over night (if i m not wrong) and also dissolving the salt to the required level (using the floating hydrometer).

Anything i missed at the start?
What are those important steps coming up next?
well, here i am.
1) some reefers(thou minor) placed their sump above the main tk. as long as u hav the flow system done correctly, i dun c y not.
2)ur tk size is abt 48gal.. a bit oversize is ok but i think the 1 u using might b too big.(any reefer can help on tis?)
3) dun worry abt the quality. IMO, all r the same. some experience reefers i know use even cheaper types.
4) not sure abt the accuracy as i never use b 4 but i believe it's quite difficult 2 read off. make sure u handle wif care, u dun 1 the internal stuff 2 pollute ur tk. PS, dun always leave it in the tk
4 get abt the external filter since u already got a sump. go get a powerhead instead.
sand- up 2 ur preference. IMO, #0 n #1 look nice. u can oso do w/o it.
Test kits- thou not a must but they r something u as a beginner cant do without.
dun 4 get the supplements, calcium, strontium..............
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Old 29-04-2004, 11:57 PM   #3
devilfire
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1 more thing 2 add, u r on course. nothing much 4 u 2 do at tis stage. when u intro ur LR tat's where it begins. not 4 getting ur 1st 3 important test kits 2 put on standby.
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Old 29-04-2004, 11:59 PM   #4
Dirtbiker
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can i start the process now for the dissolving of salt and also for the evaporation of the chlorine and chloramine. usually how long is the process? 2 wks?

and i also don't have confidence using sump tank (mine only 11x45x45cm) so small. sure u think can go without external filter?

for sump tank
-wat are the layers? (pls state in order)
-wat do i need ?
-wat to maintain?
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Old 30-04-2004, 12:07 AM   #5
devilfire
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtbiker
can i start the process now for the dissolving of salt and also for the evaporation of the chlorine and chloramine. usually how long is the process? 2 wks?
yes u may. there is no hard n fast rule as in when is the proper time 2 add in the salt. some will tell u 1 2 2 days later, some will do it as soon as they add water in their tk n i am 1 of them. do it, it wont cause any harm.
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Old 30-04-2004, 12:32 AM   #6
devilfire
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usually abt 3 days after the salt water is created then u can start 2 intro ur LRs.

err think ur sump is a bit narrow.. a pic of it will help more.

if ur sump can work then no need 2 go 4 another external filter.

fr ur last question, i guess u r going 2 DIY ur sump.
a sump must hav at least 2 compartments-filter media n return pump. but many will hav 3 at least(another 4 skimmer). majority will hav 4(refugium)
hard 2 advise how many u shd hav as ur sump is too narrow. not 4 getting ur newly bought skimmer. how n where u gonna place it will oso determine ur sump layout. i would rather advise 2 u 2 spend some time 2 think abt it.
4 eg, u might 1 2 hang on ur skimmer 2 ur main tk. at a later stage u might purchase another n place it in ur sump. so think abt it.
a sump is suppose 2 b so called 'user friendly'. not much of a maintenance is required.
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Old 30-04-2004, 02:01 AM   #7
Dirtbiker
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What are all the things i need for the filtration?
Its the bio balls or something???
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Old 30-04-2004, 03:22 AM   #8
ReDDeviLs
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care to let us know what kind of livestock you want?
like fish only with liverock,than bioballs is good,
if you want corals.. remove the bioballs..as they might be no3 factory..
bioballs break down ammonia and no2 to no3.. and no3 is harmful to corals.
as for what you should have in your sump,like devilfire mentioned a picture of it will be good.
but i will give u an idea what you will be expecting to put in,
a ph4 removal like rowaphos,carbon e.g reeferz carbon plus.
i will stop here,if you are going to a reef tank,which is to have corals..than we will go into detail about what you need for a reef tank is that fine with you?
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Old 30-04-2004, 10:10 AM   #9
ykeng
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For a start, since you are still new to marine, I would urge u to go for a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rocks) setting.

I would try to advice you base on my own personal experience with a nano tank (2 ft).


What I did last time is to prepare the salt water first (make sure it is of the right salinity) in pails.

After that, pour the sand (grade 0) into the tank. Put a plate on top of the sand and pour the salt water u prepared earlier onto the plate. The water will than slowly flow down onto the sand and it will help in minimising 'sand storm' in your tank. After u got your tank (fill with salt water and sands) ready, On the filter and let it run. Put in your LRs within the next few days and wait for at least 30 days to finished the cycling process.

Do regular water parameters test (NH3, N02, N03) from the third week onwards to check for condition of the water before u introduce your first fish. (Pls do not use damsel fishs for cycling process as it is both cruel and not advisable anyway as they are very dominant and agressive once they establish themself in the tank).

During your 30 days 'waiting' period, You can take the time to plan what you want to introduce in your tank too. Read up more during this period to enhance your knowledge as well...esp bro deep_end sticky)

Start off with a FOWLR. I have seen fellow reefers FOWLR setup and by my words, they are absolutely 'visual pleasing' as well (It can be done).

However, if you wish to keep some corals, do it after another 2 to 3 months to let your tank further stabilise.


Anyway for your filtration query, personally, I am using both biohome and chemipure right now. I will be changing my chemipure to seachem seagel soon though.
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Old 30-04-2004, 11:28 AM   #10
KaLiB
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReDDeviLs
care to let us know what kind of livestock you want?
like fish only with liverock,than bioballs is good,
if you want corals.. remove the bioballs..as they might be no3 factory..
bioballs break down ammonia and no2 to no3.. and no3 is harmful to corals.
as for what you should have in your sump,like devilfire mentioned a picture of it will be good.
but i will give u an idea what you will be expecting to put in,
a ph4 removal like rowaphos,carbon e.g reeferz carbon plus.
i will stop here,if you are going to a reef tank,which is to have corals..than we will go into detail about what you need for a reef tank is that fine with you?
Its PO4, not PH4, aka phosphates.

I think if you can give us an idea on what you want, that'll be great and we would be in a better position to help out. Like you want fish only with liverocks or a reef tank.
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A fishtank is just like your computer. When your tank crash(OS crash), its time to cleanup(reformat hard drive) and setup(install OS) again and add new livestock(re-install software).
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