Thinking of turning my 130L into marine...

[Istanbul_Kop]

I have a 130L tank which I'm using for Malawi Fry at the moment.

Tank is 2ft Long x 2ft Tall x 18" depth (I think). Anyway, it's 130L.

Current lighting is 2x T5 lights and current filter is built into the hood (like a trickle filter). It is powered by a 650L/H power head.

Now, questions I have:

1. I assume this tank is a nice size considering the plethora of nano tanks on the market?

2. Will the lighting NEED to be changed? It's an acrylic tank and I have been told Hallides could be dangerous to use on them?

3. How much Live Rock/ Live Sand will I need if that is going to be my main method of filtration?

4. Is it worth keeping the top filter running, do I need it with the Live Rock/Sand? Should I be filtering any other way?

5. Do I NEED a skimmer?

6. My LFS sells RO water, is 15% every two weeks enough? Sounds weird going from changing loads in my big Malawi tank every week.

7. Anything else I should know?

My stocking aim for this tank is to keep it simple. I'd like the 'aquascape' to be the main feature rather than the fish. For fish I'd like a Clown Fish (don't worry, I'm to old to be swayed by Nemo:, I just like 'em) and a clean up crew of some sort - something you can't get in a freshwater tank, you know.

So yeah, just thinking about it at this stage...

Cheers.

 

[greech]

1. Thank tank is perfectly fine for what you are looking to do. You could add a couple more fish as well if you want.

2. The lighting is fine for a fish only with live rock (FOWLR) tank and it will also grow some low light corals if you were planning on adding any. I have seen halides on acrylic tanks before.

3. There is a rule of thumb out there to add 1 pound of rock for each gallon but this is really dependent on what your livestock level is. I have found that less that a pound per gallon works just fine for me and the only form of filtration I have other than sand and LR is a simple HOB filter for filter floss and occassional media (carbon, etc.). This also seems to work for many others as well. Not to babble on but the pound per gallon rule usually results in a boring rock wall in smaller tanks. It sounds like aquascaping is importatnt to you (it is for me too!) so scape your tank how you want. If you are only going to have 1 fish, you could certainly get a way with 15 pounds or so. Here is a pic of my 45 gallon and I probably have 25 lbs of rock in there.

As far as sand goes, get enough to have about 1.5 to 2 inches. If you want a deep sand bed then you need to go all in (about 6 inches or so). Trying to go inbetween shallow and deep beds may cause you problems you don't want.

4. Having a hard time picturing your filter. Is this like a built in biowheel filter or more of a hang on back power filiter? If its the former, I probably wouldn't use it. You do not need a filter per say but they are nice to have for circulation and a place to add filter media when needed. If you want to keep it simple go with a HOB filter or you can go all out and add a sump, refugium, skimmer, media reactor...there are hundreds of options. What you do need is flow in a SW tank and some nice powerheads will give you that flow.

5. As with #4, the short answer is no. A lot of people run simple tanks with no sump, no skimmer, etc. I personally love the simplicity of my setup but again, decsions like these really need to be based on what your plans are for the tank and what livestock you plan to keep. Also, even in a low stocked tank, a skimmer will provide you with a buffer and increased nutrient removal.

6. RO water is a real must IMO. I do a 10% WC every week religiously. For a low stock tank, 15% every two weeks will probably work but you will get a better feel for that once you get started.

Other things to know:

- Don't blindly accept what your LFS or any one person tells you for that matter. Research things using multiple sources (sites like this are great for that) and form your OWN opinions based on that research.
- If you have ever used copper mediaction in the tank you are planning to us do not add corals or other inverts to the tank. They likely will not survive even if you clean it really well.
- Mix your own water
- Test your water regularly and buy a refractometer or make sure your hydrometer is accurate by checking it against a refractometer
- Find out what kind of pest are out there so you can identify/avoid them. Some are just unavoidable though.
- Don't slack on tank maintenance. Bad things happen quickly in this hobby when we get lazy.
- Don't make impulse buys or move to quickly with adding livestock. Nothing good happens quickly in this hobby (see the trend )
- Buy quality equipment the first time.
- Once you think you know how much you are going to spend on your tank go ahead and double it!
- Have fun and enjoy the hobby!!!

 

[Istanbul_Kop]

Thanks, that's a great reply, better than I could have hoped for!

Couple of things:

The filter is like this:

Basically, water is sucked up via the powerhead into the chamber, it then flows through the media and out a hole in the other side back into the tank. I have this setup too on my big Malawi tank, and have filled it with bio media as I heard that was best in these setups. But if the Live Rock is the primary bio filtration then this could be used for mechanical filtration?

HOWEVER....it poses problems for skimmers and the like as you can't really cut it away like a regular hood, so if I was to use this I could have nothing else.

Basically options here are:

1. Filter and no skimmer or other bits etc.
2 No Filter (then by a HOB or something if needed) but buy a skimmer or other bits (more expensive for me).

Good point about 'the wall', especially as my 130L tank is kind of tall for it's width. Wavemakers are really is to come by so this would be a must as well to increase flow.

What kind of light do anemones need? (thinking of the clownfish). Also, when you say 1 fish, does that include a 'clean up' crew as well? What would be the options in that area? AND...if I wished what would be a suitable tank mate/s for the clowfish considering size of tank and filtration etc. I don't even want to come close to fully stocking it to be honest. I've got more than enough fish in my Malawi tank :laugh: ALSO, are low light corals a general term (so I can find out what would be suitable)?

Thanks again, your tank is amazing, looks stunning.

It's all just fantasy at the moment, too many fry to sell on first in this tank, but it's good to get a grip on the options.

 

[greech]

ok, I see your filter now and have a better feel (I think). This looks like its an all-in-one type tank where there is a false wall that separates the main display from the filter area. If that is the case, you are in great shape for a SW/reef tank. But a couple of questions before I can give you any ideas (I have a few already).

- You say the water is sucked up via the PH and then ran through the chambers. Is there an overflow from the main display where the water in the display falls over the false wall via gravity and then pulled through the chambers by the PH and pushed back into the display on the other side?

- Are those individual "chambers" behind the false wall where you have bioballs, etc (its tough to tell because of the black foam)?

-Do these chambers essentially run the entire depth of the tank so that the water flows up and down over/under the individual chamber walls?

If so you basically have a mini sump which will be great. Do you have a front tank pic maybe? This will work, I just am having a hard time understanding the flow of this tank.

Nems are not something I would recommend for a beginner but if you do your research you could certainly do it. Nems really need an established/mature tank and what a lot of people don't realize is that they need to be fed and they also move. I completely understand you wanting to observe the symbiotic relationship but I would not get a nem right away (well you need to be patient with adding any livestock really but especilly something like an anemone). Clownfish are funny fish. They will take to a number of hosts. Mine have been hosted by a frogspawn coral (which is a soft, wavy coral) as well and my mag float! So you have other options until you and your tank is ready for a nem. Good mates for clowns include firefish, numerous gobies and blennys, jawfish, dwarf angels, and lots of others. Just google nano fish and you'll find what you're looking for.

No by 1 fish, I meant 1 fish. Snails, shrimp, crabs, corals don't really add to much to a tanks bioload. Fish are the main offender there. I think even with a simple setup you caould easily have 4 small fish in this tank along with the inverts you want.

There are a number of low light corals and some that require no light at all but the nonphotosynthetic ones are actually harder to keep because they need to be fed which can muck up your water even more. Also you can setup your rockwork so that you can put higher light demand corals up top. Frogspawns, torch and hammer, xenia, pipe organs, zonathids and variety of LPS (large polyp stiney corals) are candidates for your tank but further research would be needed before you buy!

Ckecout retail sites like liveaquaria.com, bluezooaquatics.com, vividaquarioums.com and others. They will give you some gerneral guidelines for the corals they sell. You can pretty much exclude SPS (small polyp stoney) corals and clams but you have some options. I warn you to hide your wallet before you get in too deep! Its not too late to walk away

 

[Istanbul_Kop]

Thanks for another great reply, answered all my questions. As I say, it's just fantasy at the moment, I need to grow my fry on first so we're talking months at this stage...IF EVER. Best thing to do will be to price it all up so I can get a better picture of what it will all cost and if I can afford it (which I probably won't be able to!).

With my tank full it's kind of hard to show you the filter setup but I can show you a 'similar' tank. There is no false wall, everything is in the hood. Basically the powerhead is attached to a filter uptake pipe. Then,a pipe goes from the top of the powerhead (ie the output) and pushes water though a long chamber (the length of the tank). This chamber can be filled with whatever you wish. The chambers are seperated but with a grate, so water flows 'through' the chamber and over the top of flow rate becomes low in the media.

See here, is the powerhead, the pipe goes up into the hood where the chamber rests:

You can see the type of setup again here (this is actually my Malawi Tank):

 

[greech]

Ok, got it. You can certainly do a SW/reef tank with that setup. The enclosed lid and limited space in your filter will provide some limitations but nothing that can't be overcome.

A lot of folks (myself included) run a very simple SW setup with great success. I think I mentioned this before but live rock and sand will provide the bulk of your biological filtration and the amount of livestock you want will dictate how much rock and sand you need. Besides that what you really need is good flow throughout the tank. This can be accomplished with some good wide flow powerheads such as Koralias or something like a Vortech MP 20 or 40 (again the livestock you keep will dictate what you need especially when it comes to coral selection).

Although mechanical filtration is not really necessary, I think most would agree that there should be some form of mechanical filtration used. Your filter chambers could fill this need well I think. I would think the first chamber would be great for housing filter floss to catch larger debris and the other chambers could be used for carbon, GFO or whatever media you might need. Additing a HOB filter looks like it might be a bit of a challenge due to your lid configuration but that is another option.

If you decide you want a protein skimmer, they make internal skimmers (Tunze 9002 is a popular one) but even those need some clearence for the skimmer cup. They also make HOB skimmers but again you have the lid to deal with.

One other thing is to add a sump to your tank. If your bottom glass is not tempered you can drill it and and an internal overflow. If you can't drill it you cold try and fit an overflow box on the tank but again I think the lid may be problematic. The sump would provide you with added water volume and a place to house all sorts of filtration equipment as well as a refugium for macroalgae. You cold also look into a canister filter but I would avoid that if you can.

The one thing that is missing is some form of surface skimmer (not a protein skimmer). SW tanks accumulate a scum on the surface water and you really need some kind of overflow to skim that off. Typically this is done through the "teeth" of an overflow box (internal or external) but there are internal surface skimmers/filters like my Aquaclear attachment (you can see it in the pic) or the Subcurrent filter by a company called Current. Tunze also make a nice filter box with a surface skimmer built in. I think that might be your best bet to keep it simple and costs down.

That's a sharp looking tank and I think you have a lot of options. Look forward to seeing it filled with a beautiful reef one day. Take you time and resrach anhything before you buy and ask as many questions as you need to.

 

[greech]

I just thought of a simple way to incorporate surface skimming in this tank. The intake at the bottom of the pipe below the powerhead could be modified to form a "U" and the intake of the "U" could be slotted to make teeth to achieve surface skimming. This would make it similar to my Aquaclear skimmer attachment you can kind of see in my tank. Google that attachment and you'll see what I am talking about. You may be able to connect that attachment as well which would be even better. Also, not sure what the flow rate is of that powerhead but it could probably be switched out with something like a Maxijet 1200 or higher to achieve a higher flow if needed and might make the "u" mod easier. Ok, I'm done