Marine Noob

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SpiderPig

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Hi there all...

I would just like to find out a quick question. I don't have any experience in marine tanks at all. But it looks really interesting, and it got my attention.
I currently have a 1.2m tank which I use for a Freshwater tank.
So my question is I'm deciding if I should rather convert my 1.2m tank into a marine tank or if I should rather just settle for a Boyu TL-550. I went to a petshop and the tank is R6999, so I was wondering if it would be better to take that money and convert my tank.

Thanks for all your help.
 
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SpiderPig said:
Hi there all...

I would just like to find out a quick question. I don't have any experience in marine tanks at all. But it looks really interesting, and it got my attention.
I currently have a 1.2m tank which I use for a Freshwater tank.
So my question is I'm deciding if I should rather convert my 1.2m tank into a marine tank or if I should rather just settle for a Boyu TL-550. I went to a petshop and the tank is R6999, so I was wondering if it would be better to take that money and convert my tank.

Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...

Each to his own. Use the MASA search engine top right and search under DIY tanks, all in one or AIO tanks. There are a few threads where this has been discussed. Then look at the TL-550 threads and see how long they lasted before the owners upgraded to a bigger DIY.

Size, aesthetics, budget, big sump vs no sump etc etc.

In my observations it seems most people with smaller AIO tanks upgrade to bigger DIY in a year or so.

There have been some killer full tank system sales on MASA recently. It may not be appealing to some other guy's tank and equipment but give it a clean and some love and your R7000 could buy you an awesome system for a vey sweet price.
 
Welcome! spider pig..spider pig..does what ever a spider pig does....can he swing from a web?.....no he cant, cause his a pig.....looo0k ouuut!!..here comes spider pig!!! Homer is king!!
 
Welcome to MASA. A lot of money can be saved by DIY methods. But be sure to research your options before you commit to anything.

For example some key factors to consider when converting, will you have your filtration in a sump or hang on back? what kind of overflow would you like. lighting, in tank flow, substrate, the list can become quite long.

Browse around the other member's tank threads. Ask questions, Even attend a reef meet or 2 before you commit to saltwater.
Once you know what you want and how you are going to do it, I say go for it! :thumbup: Good luck
 
I was thinking about running a second tank for the filter etc. The problem I have is that I stay in Vryheid KZN so there aren't anybody who I can go too to ask for advice etc. I have been to Northlands Pets in Springfield a few times with my trips down too Durban.
 
SpiderPig said:
I was thinking about running a second tank for the filter etc. The problem I have is that I stay in Vryheid KZN so there aren't anybody who I can go too to ask for advice etc. I have been to Northlands Pets in Springfield a few times with my trips down too Durban.
Click to expand...

Define your question(s).
Search and read around it on MASA or www
Start a thread with your question and state what you know so far.

You'll get lots of help and sometimes even more than you asked for. Everyone likes to help a person who helps themselves. :thumbup:
 
Are there any online shops where I can look on there website what I want then buy from there instead of taking a drive to Durban?
 
SpiderPig said:
Are there any online shops where I can look on there website what I want then buy from there instead of taking a drive to Durban?
Click to expand...

Go to the Forums tab top left, scroll down to the sponsor section. There are a lot of sponsors and some of them have up and running online shops.

The one's I have used is Jungle Aquatics, ReefAquatics and Wild on Pets. They had what I needed at the time. Some ship for free depending on how much you buy and a little bit of research into a product goes a long way.

Choose anything you are keen on using and do a search on google. i.e.. Blue Shallowpig XRT Skimmer and I promise you will find reviews on that product.

I find researching a product is one of the most exiting parts of the purchase. Unless of course I walk into the shop and impulse buy the first thing that has a Sale sign on it. The latter is almost always a mistake.
 
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ok fresh water tank conversion is a gmble. have you had it from new and if so have you medicated with any copper based meds for fish if the answer is yes then id say you either get a new tank or you will need to take the fresh water appart and re silicone it as i got a second hand 8ft tank before and everything constantly died (coral Life) later i learnt the silicone absorbes copper and leeches out into the tank over time making things dificult cost me a damn fortune before i figured out what was happening.
 
Yes I have had the tank since new. I have only used sea salt and water to wash the tank and ornaments and only thing I have ever added to my tank was AquaSafe by Tetra.

What size sump will be needed for my size tank? Want to look around for something secondhand or look at the prices of glass and build my own.
 
should be ok

should be ok then as for the sump i usually go with half the size of my main tank but depends on what you wanna run in the sump also space limitations because everything takes up space i usually get to DIY on sumps as usually getting it made costs a lot unless you can find one that is pre made to a set design that would work for you
 
Is a sump the cheapest way to go (I know it can be expensive)? I have watched all the episodes of Tanked (Series) and there they don't use a sump, but it looks better and cleaner.
 
Please dont take lessons from those TV shows
 
well some people get away with no sum but you got to be on the ball all the time no sump means no added water cleaning and if something goes wrong usually goes wrong on a large scale and also is allot harder to correct. if you not going with a sump id recommend coral only to start off and test the water frequantly to keep on top of the chemical changes with water changes. unfortunately marine tanks are a labour of love you got to be dedicated to it as its not the kinda thing you can just blow off cleaning when you not in the mood

nice show on you tube is "LA fish guy" some awesome stuff that guy dose
 
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I will definitely give that a watch.

Where can I get measurements/calculator for the size sump I need? I want to see how much glass I'm going to need so I can get prices.

One again thanks to everyone who has helped me thus far. :thumbup:
 
go for as big as you can dude bigger the sump the higher your water volume and the more stable the enviroment will be. you need to know what you wanna fit insuidfe the sump, type sump design into google and brows the images for ideas and look up the different filtration systems and see what takes your fancy there are so many different opinions and ideas out there its best to research all of them and get one you will be happy with because in the end you the one that has to clean the bad boy out.
 
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