Marine Fishkeeping ?
Discussion
We are redoing our front room and am thinking I fancy going for a fish tank, I kept tropical fish a few years back and did ok at that so we are thinking that we may go for a marine setup, obviously we appreciate it is a bit more involved, just after your tips of what equipment to get, what fish and how to run it.
Not much goes on in here fish wise, perhaps posting in this forum may help?
http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/
Let us know how you get on
(I would love to do this, unfortunately work and home life dictates otherwise)
http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/
Let us know how you get on
(I would love to do this, unfortunately work and home life dictates otherwise)
Go as large as possible in terms of a tank.
You need a skimmer.
You need live rock - lots of it - this will be your filter.
You need to decide what the ONE thing you MUST Have in your tank is - be it a fish, invert or coral. Then your system is designed around it i.e. if you want some LPS coral then you need to ensure certain fish are not in the tank. If you want SPS then halides (lighting unit) is fundamental.
You need a skimmer.
You need live rock - lots of it - this will be your filter.
You need to decide what the ONE thing you MUST Have in your tank is - be it a fish, invert or coral. Then your system is designed around it i.e. if you want some LPS coral then you need to ensure certain fish are not in the tank. If you want SPS then halides (lighting unit) is fundamental.
Get yourself on www.ultimatereef.com there is a wealth of knowledge available.
You do need to consider what you want as mentioned above and the size of tank is important - a smaller tank is hard to look after as the water volume is smaller therefore the chance of the water quality deteriorating is greater.
happy to answer any questions you have.
Heres a crappy pic of my mixed Soft, LPS and a little SPS tank.
You do need to consider what you want as mentioned above and the size of tank is important - a smaller tank is hard to look after as the water volume is smaller therefore the chance of the water quality deteriorating is greater.
happy to answer any questions you have.
Heres a crappy pic of my mixed Soft, LPS and a little SPS tank.
Search for "bulk reef supplies" on YouTube. They have loads of good videos on how to start and maintain a marine system. They go over the equipment you'll need, tank position, lighting options, how to stock the tank, the different forms of filtration and lots more.
I've been hankering for a nice marine system but just haven't the coin to set one up and keep it running. Maybe in the future!
Good luck with it.
I've been hankering for a nice marine system but just haven't the coin to set one up and keep it running. Maybe in the future!
Good luck with it.
Expensive, yes, time consuming, doesn't have to be, when I stopped f
king around with my tank and kind of left it to get on with its self its been much happier. but then its also very lightly stocked. That's not the general opinion though so time consuming maybe.
As for lighting, metal halide isn't necessarily required for corals these days, but then the alternatives make halides look cheap in terms of start up costs, but led's don't have the £150 every 6mo for new bulbs, should last years, uses a fraction of the electricity and therefore runs cooler so less need for a chillier, just do your homework on them as they aren't all the same.
I'm pretty happy with my vertex imumina led light, and my corals seem pretty ok with it too. plus it has all the cool effects such as gradual sunrise/sunset rather than on/off, I can set the intensity to what ever I want during the day, so gradually build up the light to a peak then back down again, it has a cloud programme which will randomly vary the intensity and throw in the occasional lightning storm, it'll do a lunar cycle moon illumination which goes across the tank through the night and all this is set up from the sofa over Bluetooth from the laptop. Its a big up front cost though but then the big cost of halides is running them even if it seems like the cost of buying them at the time.
king around with my tank and kind of left it to get on with its self its been much happier. but then its also very lightly stocked. That's not the general opinion though so time consuming maybe. As for lighting, metal halide isn't necessarily required for corals these days, but then the alternatives make halides look cheap in terms of start up costs, but led's don't have the £150 every 6mo for new bulbs, should last years, uses a fraction of the electricity and therefore runs cooler so less need for a chillier, just do your homework on them as they aren't all the same.
I'm pretty happy with my vertex imumina led light, and my corals seem pretty ok with it too. plus it has all the cool effects such as gradual sunrise/sunset rather than on/off, I can set the intensity to what ever I want during the day, so gradually build up the light to a peak then back down again, it has a cloud programme which will randomly vary the intensity and throw in the occasional lightning storm, it'll do a lunar cycle moon illumination which goes across the tank through the night and all this is set up from the sofa over Bluetooth from the laptop. Its a big up front cost though but then the big cost of halides is running them even if it seems like the cost of buying them at the time.
As for equipment, you will be needing something like the following, and that doesn't include any supplements testing or feeding and I have probably missed out a few important things.
Tank+stand
Lights
Sump tank
protein skimmer
Heater
"chillier
Return pump
"Calcium reactor
lots of live rock
More live rock
Circulation pumps
Assorted hoses and fittings
Shallow covering of sand, or Deep sand bed if you want to go that filter route
Salt, the expensive kind not the stuff you put on your drive in winter, or even on your dinner table.
Reverse osmoses water filter
food grade 5 gal buckets, start with two and you can build up a collection of salt buckets over time.
Second heater for your water change water
"small pump to mix/aerate your water change water
Hydrometer
Thermometer
" you may be able to do without these marked items initially
Tank+stand
Lights
Sump tank
protein skimmer
Heater
"chillier
Return pump
"Calcium reactor
lots of live rock
More live rock
Circulation pumps
Assorted hoses and fittings
Shallow covering of sand, or Deep sand bed if you want to go that filter route
Salt, the expensive kind not the stuff you put on your drive in winter, or even on your dinner table.
Reverse osmoses water filter
food grade 5 gal buckets, start with two and you can build up a collection of salt buckets over time.
Second heater for your water change water
"small pump to mix/aerate your water change water
Hydrometer
Thermometer
" you may be able to do without these marked items initially
Edited by ViperDave on Monday 9th December 21:35
Get a drilled tank plumbed with a sump to start with, you can always use a sumped tank with tropical fish if the marines don't work out but a non-drilled tropical tank will be a pain for marine as you have to have the skimmer etc. in the display tank making it look rubbish and will be harder to maintain.
My father-in-law has made this mistake, bought a nice tropical tank 6 months ago but didn't set it up due to building an extension, MIL has decided she wants marines but doesn't really get that the tank won't really work for what she wants. It would be ok for a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) but she wants full on corals and inverts etc.
I've thought about setting up a marine tank, but for the money involved to set up a medium size marine tank I would rather just buy a huge (200+ gallon) tropical tank and have a nice shoal of big frontosa cichlids.
My father-in-law has made this mistake, bought a nice tropical tank 6 months ago but didn't set it up due to building an extension, MIL has decided she wants marines but doesn't really get that the tank won't really work for what she wants. It would be ok for a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) but she wants full on corals and inverts etc.
I've thought about setting up a marine tank, but for the money involved to set up a medium size marine tank I would rather just buy a huge (200+ gallon) tropical tank and have a nice shoal of big frontosa cichlids.
Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 10th December 10:34
Jasandjules said:
Turn7 said:
Lots of work and lots of money.
Do yourslef a favour and get a tank full of Rift valley Mbuna - twice as much fun for lots less, and just as much colour.
Not a lot is better than a few fish with some stunning corals IMHO. Especially LPS.Do yourslef a favour and get a tank full of Rift valley Mbuna - twice as much fun for lots less, and just as much colour.
And the set up costs are very high doing it right.
Ayahuasca said:
Why does everyone try to replicate the Caribbean in their lounge? Be original and go for the North Sea instead - just need some mud and a cod.
A guy I used to work with (sadly he passed away 2 years ago 
) used to do this- lived by the sea so used to just go down and get a couple of buckets of water every morning from the sea to do water changes with. Had a range of locally caught invertebrates and small fish, brilliant setup. Didn't have to worry about heating the tank either, just a couple of powerheads for circulation.Are you looking at quarter circle or ones that are like a square with a corner cut off? The curved ones make your fish look really weird from the optical distortion of the glass.
Juwel do a marine version of the Trigon tanks, but it's not a sumped tank it's just the tropical tank with a really crap protein skimmer siliconed in place inside the display tank. The collection cup sticks up out the top of the tank and looks rubbish.
They're a pain to aquascape due to the odd shape. If you go marine you'll end up with just a big pile of live rock in the middle as there's not enough length to do much else, which might not be the most interesting setup.
For lots of fish, good swimming length is needed, with a corner tank they have lots of water volume but are quite compact so not ideal for more active fish.
Juwel do a marine version of the Trigon tanks, but it's not a sumped tank it's just the tropical tank with a really crap protein skimmer siliconed in place inside the display tank. The collection cup sticks up out the top of the tank and looks rubbish.
They're a pain to aquascape due to the odd shape. If you go marine you'll end up with just a big pile of live rock in the middle as there's not enough length to do much else, which might not be the most interesting setup.
For lots of fish, good swimming length is needed, with a corner tank they have lots of water volume but are quite compact so not ideal for more active fish.
Bit late, but have you considered Malawi cichlids? I was very tempted to go for a marine set up after having a tropical tank for a while. However it did seem a minefield to me so I settled on the cichlids. The blues and yellows look stunning, they're easy to keep (after some research) and have a good personality. Worth checking out if you can't dedicate the time for marine.
Nick_MSM said:
Bit late, but have you considered Malawi cichlids? I was very tempted to go for a marine set up after having a tropical tank for a while. However it did seem a minefield to me so I settled on the cichlids. The blues and yellows look stunning, they're easy to keep (after some research) and have a good personality. Worth checking out if you can't dedicate the time for marine.
Would a tank like this be sufficient for Cichlids? http://www.completeaquatics.co.uk/store/product/20...I am keen to get a decent size aquarium, and really want fish with a tie to Africa. Just the additional work involved with Cichlids putting me off a bit. There doesn't seem to be a lot of expertise on them locally, so any advise on what rocks etc to include would be good, and also would it require a second filter?
Sorry for the thread hijack OP, hopefully the answer will help your choice if you haven't gone marine already.
Iklwa said:
Would a tank like this be sufficient for Cichlids? http://www.completeaquatics.co.uk/store/product/20...
I am keen to get a decent size aquarium, and really want fish with a tie to Africa. Just the additional work involved with Cichlids putting me off a bit. There doesn't seem to be a lot of expertise on them locally, so any advise on what rocks etc to include would be good, and also would it require a second filter?
Sorry for the thread hijack OP, hopefully the answer will help your choice if you haven't gone marine already.
I'd say that was on the small size for Malawi cichlids, a 200l would be minimum IMO. Not really any extra work with cichlids compared to other fish, regular water changes and you'll be fine. Always get a tank that's a bit bigger than you think you initially want, as otherwise, within months you'll be wanting a bigger one ;-)I am keen to get a decent size aquarium, and really want fish with a tie to Africa. Just the additional work involved with Cichlids putting me off a bit. There doesn't seem to be a lot of expertise on them locally, so any advise on what rocks etc to include would be good, and also would it require a second filter?
Sorry for the thread hijack OP, hopefully the answer will help your choice if you haven't gone marine already.
Limestone, slate, granite all fine to use. Malawis need lots of rockwork with lots of caves and hiding places as they can be a bit aggressive. with Malawi cichlids many people slightly overstock the tank to stop individual fish getting picked on but use extra filtration to cope with the excess waste. Be aware that Malawi cichlids are vegetarian and can get intestinal problems (bloat) if fed too much protein. On my cichlid tank (350l) I use two external filters which are rated for 350l per filter.
Rift lake cichlids need very hard alkaline water (pH8+) so unless you live in a hard water area I wouldn't bother. Whereabouts are you based?
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