New Tank - Advice Needed

Monde

Monde

Joined
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West Beach, Cape Town
Hi All,

Ok I was still doing research on my Marine tank and then got offered an oppurtunity that I could not say no to. Due to environmental factors I was able to "guilt" my parents into paying half for a Tank. I got the Oceanson 416L tank (960x510x850). Due to the fact that there was 20% off on tanks, I set up my parents tank for them and helped my sister out my parents paid for half the tank.

Now I have the tank (being delivered tomorrow) and since I have not finished my reading on Marines....which I doubt I never will as there is sooo much to read........I was going to get a Tropical going for a little while. Unfortunately when I unpacked my tropical gear it is all broken or damage in the multiple moves I did.

sooooo to my question.

Would it not be a good idea to get the basic gear and start the system running now? Then at least I can get the initial few weeks and eco system up and running.

I want a reef tank and that is my Goal.

So I would need to get:
  • Sump working
  • Protean Skimmer
  • Heater
  • RO Machine? - Yes No?
  • Test Kit
  • Thermometer
  • Return Pump.
What am I missing? Should I wait and Read more?
 
Welcome!!

Dont rush into things just becasue the tank is arriving. I know it will be tempting to fill with water, add fish etc in time fort Christmas..but rather read, read, read..read somemore, then be patient and take things slowly.
It will be a good idea to get the basics and start the tank cycling now. What do you plan to keep in the tank? I se the tank is rather deep, so you lneed to consider lighting.

In terms of what you need to get the tank cycling...id say
sump (are you going the DSB/macro algae route?)
heater
return pump
LIVE ROCK
protein skimmer
test kits
Having your own RO unit is a huge help.
 
459b said:
Welcome!!

Dont rush into things just becasue the tank is arriving. I know it will be tempting to fill with water, add fish etc in time fort Christmas..but rather read, read, read..read somemore, then be patient and take things slowly.
It will be a good idea to get the basics and start the tank cycling now. What do you plan to keep in the tank? I se the tank is rather deep, so you lneed to consider lighting.

In terms of what you need to get the tank cycling...id say
sump (are you going the DSB/macro algae route?)
heater
return pump
LIVE ROCK
protein skimmer
test kits
Having your own RO unit is a huge help.
Click to expand...

NNNooooo fish, for awhile until it is all good. I hate putting fish in before they are ready.

Live Rock already or wait until the system has been running for a bit?

I wanted to go DSB as the Sump is in the cabinet.

Picture of tank from their site
35614c73b17e8b504.jpg
 
459b said:
Live rock goes in straight away.
Click to expand...

As 459b said , but live rock first in the tank as this helps the cycling process.

If you can also add some live sand that will help with the good bacteria growth.

Also make sure you add all you're vitamins in the tank like calcium,mg and so forth so when you start adding fish and corral you're water will be cool for them.


Be patience as cycling can take a time to be done.

Worth it at the end.
 
first off welcome to MASA,

may i suggest a slower option, if you want to do this right then take things slowly

get the tank delivered and put it in the final spot.

Have a look on the forum for some second hand equipment like a skimmer.....

I would suggest looking onto the following
- a live rock stand (DIY) as that tank is very deep to pile rocks on top of each other and remember you dont want any against the glass
- An in tank dab MAY be a good idea as it will raise the reef higher in the tank!

The Key to marines is bacteria.... they convert "bad" stuff to "not so bad" stuff.... the bacteria lives in the Live rock, ...... if time is on your side i would invest in the following, and in this order.....

Sump
DSB
return pump
heater
salt water
Live rock

I would not bother with an RO unit yet as you should not have a large amount of evap with no lights so a few trips to the pet shop can move this expense out a month or two !

by buying the above, you will set up the right conditions for the bacteria to multiply (what we refer to as cycling) creating a stable environment later on........
 
Having taken the advice into account I went and got the following:
  • Return Pump
  • Sump
  • Sand for in tank DSB
  • Heater
  • Reeftek Skimmer
  • Water
  • heater
  • 10kg of Live rock
And a proffesional to help with the setup so I can learn the first time around.

The tank comes with a built in light which should be good enough for a little while.

Hope it works out. Figure it will ake 2 - 3 weeks before I need to do any proper water testing.

Edit: Oh tank arriving tomorrow for setup and Water and Rock arriving Sunday.
 
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Welcome to MASA, glad you joined us. Do yourself a favour and read the link in my signature on starting a marine tank, you'll definitely learn from it ;)
 
To be honest I did read it........but I am not a book learner. I am better at doing and asking as I go......after doing research of course.

My main reason for bouncing my ideas here is because of your signature "and because you are not sure yourself, you inevitably buy more equipment (usually also useless). " Never sure if what you learn from books or LFS's is what you need to know, out of date or you can go slower than they recommend.

Also made me ask more questions than it answered :p Like after the skimmer what is the biological filter?
 
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Here we go:

img3245w.jpg



And my sump:
img3246r.jpg



Now I need to figure out how to get the flitration working in the Siump. Is there a good URL that explains what is best to use? I have been looking and have found lots of explainations about how it works but nothing explain what and why.
 
Hi
Put your skimmer in the first chamber and play sand in second chamber 15cm deep, just wash your play sand till it's clean.
 
After reading and reading and reading I am not sure the DSB is the way to go. It was suggested sponges in the first chamber to catch the debris and then something in the third to keep the bacteria happy.

Oh and is it normal to stare at a tank with a little rock in it and come back regularly just to look at some rock, sand and water?
 
Ok Tank has been running for 15days now and still no Ammonia boost. I put in a shrimp (eating kind) and all that happened is that it went white and the Brown Algae started growing on the live rock close to it.

Ammonia is at 0.25 and Nitrite at 0. Still. But my salinity is 1.021.

Any ideas or does my LR not have enough on it to start the cycle?

Oh got about 20kg's of LR in at the moment.
 
If you have ammonia then your cycle has started. What test kits are you using? Also what are you using to test your salinity. Give it time, it may take 6 weeks for your ammonia to drop to 0.
 
My Tank has been on 0.25 ammonia since the 4th day. No change since then.

Using Salifert test kits.

Salinity I am using a Red Sea Hydrometer
 
xtreme said:
Hi
Put your skimmer in the first chamber and play sand in second chamber 15cm deep, just wash your play sand till it's clean.
Click to expand...

That chamber is too small for a proper DSB - won't get the full benefit of it. Rather use it for live rock or macro algae

Monde said:
After reading and reading and reading I am not sure the DSB is the way to go. It was suggested sponges in the first chamber to catch the debris and then something in the third to keep the bacteria happy.

I agree, put the skimmer in the first compartment and chaetomorpha algae with a light in the second, or live rock with a small flow pump to ensure good circulation around it. You can also put carbon in the sump.

Oh and is it normal to stare at a tank with a little rock in it and come back regularly just to look at some rock, sand and water?
Click to expand...

Yip, perfectly normal. See if you can borrow a piece of good quality live rock from a friend just too seed yours a bit more - for two weeks or so. Then you'll have more goggos and spend more time looking at them :p
 
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Unfortunately the Skimmer doesnt fit in the first compartment with the downflow pipe.

What I have done is add Ammonia and Carbon sponges to the first compartment and (blushing) rings in the third compartment with the return pump. I also added 2 pieces of LR but hasnt made much difference.

Maybe go buy more LR today
 
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