Newbies need advise

[ashkwek]

Hi all,

Trying to start a marine tank, never tried b4.

I'm using a 4x1.5x1.5 ft 6mm IOS tank.

Due to budget constriant, will only start up with sand and rock and some clown fishes probably.

Equipment:
1 x protein skimmer
1 x submisible pump

Will these equipment be enough?

How do i stop the sand from entering the filter compartment?

[sherman]

4 ft ,6 mm thickness is very dangerous.
Not advisable.

Regards

[ashkwek]

4 ft ,6 mm thickness is very dangerous.
Not advisable.

Regards
what about 3x1.5x1.5 ft 6mm?

[KaLiB]

Still risky. I would advise a min. of 8mm for 3' tank and 10mm for 4' tanks. Better to approach a tank maker to build a proper tank first. Its better to be safe than sorry.

For a start, you can find alot of basic information that you will need in the marine articles forum under deep_end's thread.

For the equipments you listed, you would need a little more like testkits, powerheads/wavemaker to circulate water and to aerate the water etc..

[ashkwek]

Thks for the info.

[nim75sg]

what about 3x1.5x1.5 ft 6mm?

It is okay as I am using this as well from leftover freshwater Cichlid tank ...

Just don't let the rocks lean against the sides and it should be okay as I am using 3'x1.5'x1.5' 6mm sides 8mm bottom a leftover tank from my freshwater cichlid tank.

Sandbed only about 1.5" with Grade 1 coral sand - leftover from previous freshwater setup.

Equipment:
1) 1 x Eheim 2028 with surface skimmer
2) 1 x Eheim 2026 for the Resun CL280
3) 1 x PhosBan FR for phosphate
4) 2 x T5 HO lighting
5) 1 x UVC-1250

Livestocks:
1) 2 x Purple Queen
2) 1 x Royal Gramma
3) 1 x Golden Angel
4) 1 x Chocolate Tank
5) 1 x Chevron Tang

Corals:
1) Green Mushrooms
2) Bicolor Yuma x 2
3) SeaFan x 1

Have fun ...

[ashkwek]

Thks for the reply.
Will try on the 3ft tank.
Btw, just rocks and fishes, normal lighting should do, right?

[nim75sg]

Yes ... normal lighting can. ;)

[ashkwek]

Thks. Just bought 4kg of marine salt and a tester. Will start to cycle the tank soon

[sherman]

Take your time to cycle a full cycle.
No LS till NH3,NO2 is zero.

Regards

[wlchew]

Take your time to cycle a full cycle.
No LS till NH3,NO2 is zero.

Regards

Ya.. this is a good advise..full run the cycle...no short-cut!! otherwise, it is a matter that it will BOMB in near future.. :p (I put in Snail to work on my tank now, seems like they are the only one of a kind can survive in this high NO2 environment)

[ashkwek]

Thks guys, read the articles, takes a month just to cycle the tank!!! Really have to wait.

[KaLiB]

Be patient, you will not regret waiting that 1month or so. Spend the time to readup more especially on livestock you want while waiting for the tank to be ready. ;)

[ashkwek]

Ya, i guess so. But due to budget constraint, probably just get a few clown fishes first.

[ashkwek]

Update.

Just started to cycle the tank 2 days ago. Salt content still not enough. Haiz....
Just bought another 4kg of salt.

My equipment so far;
3 x 1.5 x 1.5 ft tank
Some sand and rocks
Atman EF3 cannister filter
- sponge, ceramic rings and bio rings.
1 no of float on water tester
protein skimmer
powerhead with filter

[KaLiB]

For a 3' tank you could need around 8kg-10kg of salt to raise SG to around 1.023.

[ashkwek]

Ya , u r right.
Do i just throw a prawn inside and let it rot?
How long after that i start to test the water?

[KaLiB]

You can add in a prawn if there is very little die-offs from the LR.

Testing of water can be done 2days from now to see the ammonia nitrite level.Remember, once ammonia and nitrite are 0, the tank should be stocked up slowly and not buy all the livestock at 1 go.

[ashkwek]

You can add in a prawn if there is very little die-offs from the LR.

Testing of water can be done 2days from now to see the ammonia nitrite level.Remember, once ammonia and nitrite are 0, the tank should be stocked up slowly and not buy all the livestock at 1 go.

pardon for my ignorance, what is 'little die-offs from the LR'? i'm not sure should mine be classified as LR. They are just rocks bought from the LFS(dry).

[KaLiB]

Since they were bought dry, then these are dead rocks. There would be no die-offs and you would have to add in a market prawn to kickstart the cycling process.

LR is liverock, which means that the rock has living organisms on them. Most noticeable would be the common purple coralline algae on the rock. Apart from this, LR can have a host of lifeforms including small corals, sponges, beneficial bacteria, worms, pods etc.. depending on the rock.

what is 'little die-offs from the LR'?

When you purchase LR and add to your tank, chances are there will be some living organisms that don't make it and die. Once they die, they rot and produce ammonia which is necessary to kickstart the cycling process. So, the die-offs refers to the organisms that die after the LR is added to the tank.

Since you don't have LR, my recommendation would be to get some if budget allows. LR have a host of benefits and IMO they outweigh the disadvantages of having LR.

Here are some pros and cons that come to my mind.
Pros:
- Aid biological filtration, for large+dense rocks they aid in dentrification too
- Adds aesthetic value to the tank
- Introduces biodiversity
- Provide hiding places
- Living things on them can act as food for the livestock

Cons:
- May contain pests like mantis shrimps
- Bristleworms from the LR leave behind nasty spines that can prick you(Can be countered by wearing gloves)

[ashkwek]

Thks for yr explanation. Very informative.
I have quite a no of rocks in the tank liao, so i think will use a dead prawn first, once tank is cycled, then add LR with coral and LS.

[KaLiB]

If you do that, do it slowly, add in the LR, let the tank run for another 1-2weeks then add in coral and fish. Reason being, it is to let the biological filtration system in the tank adapt to the new load. If a new tank is stocked too quickly, the newly established system may not be able to handle the surge in bioload and this will cause an ammonia spike which could result in the death of the livestock.

[ashkwek]

K. Will do that.
Btw, what is the hardiest and cheapest marine fish to start with?
Damsel?

[KaLiB]

I would suggest chromis instead of damsels for starters.

Damsels though hardy and colourful but can get relatively aggressive. They can end up being a huge nuisance later on, like picking on new tank mates and killing them. To make matters worse, its not easy to net them due to their speed.

[sherman]

I would suggest chromis instead of damsels for starters.

Damsels though hardy and colourful but can get relatively aggressive. They can end up being a huge nuisance later on, like picking on new tank mates and killing them. To make matters worse, its not easy to net them due to their speed.
Bro,
I totally agree with Kalib.Aviod damsel.
They are very aggressive

Regards

[ashkwek]

Bro,
I totally agree with Kalib.Aviod damsel.
They are very aggressive

Regards
k, noted. what's the market price of a chromis? any lfs near amk area that i can source around ?

[KaLiB]

Chromis should cost around $1(At the very most $1.50, anything more its not worth paying) each. IMO you can buy a few chromis over a period of time to form a school. They do look nice in a small group IMO.

[bluezing]

i love green chromis :D

*sorry...out of point here

[monsterz1975]

i love green chromis :D

*sorry...out of point here
They are very hardy fish , and greedy too.:p

[ashkwek]

Guys, will those dry rocks that bought from LFS become LR after mixing with some LR after sometime?

[wil_lee76]

Guys, will those dry rocks that bought from LFS become LR after mixing with some LR after sometime?

yes, but it takes time and water parameters must maintain.

What i can suggest is that you must plan what types of corals and fishes you intend to keep. Don't follow others...
and some fellow bros mentioned abt "damsel" ..yes, dun buy that, they are agressive and smart! go for chromis, nice, cheap and greedy...never stop eating.

muz be hardworking and study more..dun be lazy...and check your liverocks are proper stack and sercure...dun let them topple down...(i kannan last time)

Check your electricity point...dun overheat!

and complete the cycle and wait for few more weeks...(kiasu)

[ashkwek]

Thks, i'm reading up, but a lots of things to learn at the same time. Siong ah...

[taylapong81]

Guys, will those dry rocks that bought from LFS become LR after mixing with some LR after sometime?

yes i believe they will, as long as your water parameters aren't bad... it also depends on how you define "liverock"... if all you need is for beneficial bacteria to grow, then it definitely will.. if you want all the coralline algae and organisms to inhabit it, i think it's possible, but it'll take some time..., for coralline algae growth, must have lighting, and i heard some friends say magnesium too :)