Hey guys, I'm no stranger to the marine hobby... The last I had a saltwater tank was about 7 years ago and I had got a brand new Boyu 550 tank. after a year of reefing i, unfortunately, had to sell the tank as i could not keep up the costs of a nano marine tank, a huge 500liter freshwater predator tank, a big koi pond, dogs, budgies and a bearded dragon. i had a mini zoo on at my house and the saltwater tank was just the most pricey in terms of maintenance. I have recently got a better financial stance and wanting to start the hobby again. i dont wanna blow the budget on a brand new already built tank as i would then have the same problem as before. i even went to my local petshop and got quoted on the exact same boyu 550 tank with the necessary equipment and it was R16 000.... i was absolutely shocked as ik back then i payed no more than R8000 with red sea salt, refractometer and powerheads... i have looked around for a second-hand tank and the best i could find was a tank for 1500 but it was unfortunately sold. i have done more research and thought of actually just building up the tank myself... the price of a 90cm tank would be around R800 and thats more than ok with me... its just im scared to run a sump... i thought of adding an internal one to the tank but im scared that i may not seal it off properly as this would be my first time to do so... i still can have this made by my local shop and all in all i dont see it costing more than R1500 as it would be 1 black acrylic panel added to the back of the tank with 3 other dividers for the filtration... the tank according to the my pet shop is 115l , 91.5l x 33.5w x 38.0h. now i dont know how big my internal sump should be but i would like it to at least be able to handle 1/4 of the capacity of the tank. i was looking about 30l filtration size of the tank, so the size of the internal sump would be 91.5l x 8w x 38.0h.. this will run along the length of the tank. i would just like to get your guyses advice on a build of the tank and then the equipment..
as far as all the research and countless youtube videos i have watched i know i will need a:
-mechanical filter media(i have tons of sealed filter floss bags and sponges that i save for my freshwater so ill use the new bags of filter media for the saltwater
-biological and chemical filtration( my local petshop recommends ceramic and carbon bags.. ill just get enough and extra till the one chamber of filtration is full and i have also seen Chemi pure used in marine tanks, so ill also invest in that.
-protein skimmer, this is where i need help. i have no idea what to get. i heard that i should get 1 twice the size of my tank and i have watched how to "break in" your skimmer... so i am looking for a 200l protein skimmer... i will buy this later on in the months as im only spending R2000 a month building the tank up and i know skimmers start in the 1000s for big tanks but i dont know how much it would cost for my 115l tank.
-lighting ( i have seen the name Zet lighting a few times and i think as a beginner it would be a good place to start with as i dont have intentions to keep complicated corals, just your regular zoas, and hardy corals.
-i have seen RODI units start at R3000 at my shop but for me it will be cheaper to buy the water from my petshop at R3 a liter for weekly water changes. i will see in the future if i can pick up a second hand one for cheaper..
i understand the hobby of saltwater is a expensive one. there is no shortcut to it... It would be amazing to have a red sea aquarium one day but for now my budget holds me back... and my farm
But i have set aside R2000 for the next 3 months and dont wanna pass that limit... i still am on the lookout for a quarantine tank for this tank i wanna build now but i would rather start this build and then get that..
thanks for the help
as far as all the research and countless youtube videos i have watched i know i will need a:
-mechanical filter media(i have tons of sealed filter floss bags and sponges that i save for my freshwater so ill use the new bags of filter media for the saltwater
-biological and chemical filtration( my local petshop recommends ceramic and carbon bags.. ill just get enough and extra till the one chamber of filtration is full and i have also seen Chemi pure used in marine tanks, so ill also invest in that.
-protein skimmer, this is where i need help. i have no idea what to get. i heard that i should get 1 twice the size of my tank and i have watched how to "break in" your skimmer... so i am looking for a 200l protein skimmer... i will buy this later on in the months as im only spending R2000 a month building the tank up and i know skimmers start in the 1000s for big tanks but i dont know how much it would cost for my 115l tank.
-lighting ( i have seen the name Zet lighting a few times and i think as a beginner it would be a good place to start with as i dont have intentions to keep complicated corals, just your regular zoas, and hardy corals.
-i have seen RODI units start at R3000 at my shop but for me it will be cheaper to buy the water from my petshop at R3 a liter for weekly water changes. i will see in the future if i can pick up a second hand one for cheaper..
i understand the hobby of saltwater is a expensive one. there is no shortcut to it... It would be amazing to have a red sea aquarium one day but for now my budget holds me back... and my farm
But i have set aside R2000 for the next 3 months and dont wanna pass that limit... i still am on the lookout for a quarantine tank for this tank i wanna build now but i would rather start this build and then get that..
thanks for the help