hi all, am a new member with a lot to learn but still very keen - have kept marines (fish only) for a total of 50 years with a few year breaks in between and am still learning! started in natal then joeys now capetown. have a monster of a tank approx 2000l with all sorts of gadgets to enable it to run in spite of eskom power failures and the poor quality of the local fw - really envy the reef tanks i have seen photos of and would like to look at changing mine over to that type - any suggestions most welkom note im a complete beginner re corals live rock etc etc cheers dave
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Kanga
Retired Moderator
DaveWow 50 years absolutely amazing, you have my respect
If you have any stories of previous tanks and equipment you had to make do with in the past please post here Aquarium and Reefkeeping History - Marine Aquariums of South Africa
I must say we are a picture loving crowd
so feel free to post pics, or mail them to me I will happily post them for you
What does your current system comprise of? What filtration lights etc?
We would love to help where we can with your move to the reef side of the hobby.
Again a very warm welcome we are honored to have you here and we hope you enjoy your stay.
Hermann
Mike
Retired Moderator
Hi Dave, welcome to MASA, sounds like you have plenty of room for some coral then, as for the corals, what fish do you have? some of them, notably Angels (but not exclusively) are known to eat our corals, so you will have to think about maybe selling on some fish before you can start with the reef set up.
Some pictures of your set up now would be appreciated too.
Some pictures of your set up now would be appreciated too.
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to run a sucesfull reef you will need to consider several things
are you wanting
sps (small polyp stoney coral)
lpa (long polyp stoney coral )
soft corals
of all of the above?
sps require a system with very low nutrients and extreem flow!
lps can handle higher nutrents but will require dayley feeding
soft corals thrive on high nutrients and dont require strong flow
sps require intense lighting sutch as metal hailide
lps will do fine under hailide and T5 globes
soft corals need less lighting
another very important aspect is fish stock
as a general rule most angels and butterflys are not reef safe as well as many puffers ,wrasses , gobys
a very good investment will be a RO (reverse osmosis) machine to purify your tap water . with out this as you add strong lighting you will have terrible algae blooms in response to your high nutrients
the best for of filteration is theberlin system! this system relys on the use of live rock ,deep sand beds and plants to filter your water as they would do in the wild
please do not hesitate to ask as many questions as you want
regards
calvin
are you wanting
sps (small polyp stoney coral)
lpa (long polyp stoney coral )
soft corals
of all of the above?
sps require a system with very low nutrients and extreem flow!
lps can handle higher nutrents but will require dayley feeding
soft corals thrive on high nutrients and dont require strong flow
sps require intense lighting sutch as metal hailide
lps will do fine under hailide and T5 globes
soft corals need less lighting
another very important aspect is fish stock
as a general rule most angels and butterflys are not reef safe as well as many puffers ,wrasses , gobys
a very good investment will be a RO (reverse osmosis) machine to purify your tap water . with out this as you add strong lighting you will have terrible algae blooms in response to your high nutrients
the best for of filteration is theberlin system! this system relys on the use of live rock ,deep sand beds and plants to filter your water as they would do in the wild
please do not hesitate to ask as many questions as you want
regards
calvin
welcome and so on so when are we seeing pictures of the tank ? and i wonder what will people say when i am 50 and i say to them oh i keep marine fish half of my friends that i go diving with is 50 or just under nothing strange about that
tank details
hi guys, ok herewith my tech details - 1000l tank coupled to a 1000l sump (but in a horizontal position) water flow between the two is approx 8000l per hour via submersed pump in the sump and gravity reversal from the tank - hope that makes sense? also another identical sub pump working the protein skimmer/fluidised sand filter and the wave action reservoir boxes, which discharge 30l and 45l automatically 24/7. design takes into account the usual eskom shutdowns. fw replacement of evaporation automatic drawing from a 300l drum of fw to allow for all chlorine evaporation (hopefully) main tank in sunlight sump in shade. ceramic heater keeps water between 23c / 26c during winter months - spots light tank during evening for viewing fish only 16 inhabitants, all gangsters no doubt if we are talking corals oldest fish 3yrs in tank youngest 2 months comments/suggestions appreciated cheers dave
hi guys, ok herewith my tech details - 1000l tank coupled to a 1000l sump (but in a horizontal position) water flow between the two is approx 8000l per hour via submersed pump in the sump and gravity reversal from the tank - hope that makes sense? also another identical sub pump working the protein skimmer/fluidised sand filter and the wave action reservoir boxes, which discharge 30l and 45l automatically 24/7. design takes into account the usual eskom shutdowns. fw replacement of evaporation automatic drawing from a 300l drum of fw to allow for all chlorine evaporation (hopefully) main tank in sunlight sump in shade. ceramic heater keeps water between 23c / 26c during winter months - spots light tank during evening for viewing fish only 16 inhabitants, all gangsters no doubt if we are talking corals oldest fish 3yrs in tank youngest 2 months comments/suggestions appreciated cheers dave
Mike
Retired Moderator
Do you use R/O water? doesn't sound like it, it really is a must for reef set ups, not using r/o could mean all the live rock you have will be saturated with all sorts of nasties, including phosphates/nitrates, possibly copper and whatever else crawls around in the fresh water.
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hi dave
sounds like a very nice syetem
however to convert to a reef system you will need to make a lot of changes!! first would be to start using reverse osmosis water !! very important in te elimination of phosphstes. also you will need to upgrade your lighting to T5's for soft coral and metal hailide for sps
how much live rock do you have?
has the system ever been treated with copper based medication?
what fish have you got?
kind regards
calvin
sounds like a very nice syetem
however to convert to a reef system you will need to make a lot of changes!! first would be to start using reverse osmosis water !! very important in te elimination of phosphstes. also you will need to upgrade your lighting to T5's for soft coral and metal hailide for sps
how much live rock do you have?
has the system ever been treated with copper based medication?
what fish have you got?
kind regards
calvin
Kanga
Retired Moderator
Koi is it something like this?
HI thanks for your reply i know what R/O water is and i know how expensive it is as well - plse note my tank setup condemns me to a high evaporation rate which during hot weather has hit 10 - 15 litres per 24 hrs - combined surface area of my main tank and sump tank nearly 2 square metres both outside both exposed to the usual cape winds/sunshine also my wave action setup allows for the water to trickle into the drums from the tops and this also promotes evaporation loss ( but also helps water aeration ) so if the use of R/O water is mandatory for reefkeeping i have to admit my setup is not viable ?
What about making your own RO water. RO units are made exactly for this purpose.
Kanga
Retired Moderator
Morning Dave, I agree with Warr a good R/O unit is not that expensive (certainly cheaper than buying 15 liters a day.
A basic R/O from Eco Aquatics went for R1100 over Xmas and makes 190L p/day
Marine Aquariums of South Africa
A basic R/O from Eco Aquatics went for R1100 over Xmas and makes 190L p/day
Marine Aquariums of South Africa
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dave
a high evaporation rate is actually a very good though!! if you can purchase a RO machine around R1000 you can run a auto top up with RO water through your kalkwasser reactor hence the higher the evaporation the more saturated calcium is entering your system
a high evaporation rate is actually a very good though!! if you can purchase a RO machine around R1000 you can run a auto top up with RO water through your kalkwasser reactor hence the higher the evaporation the more saturated calcium is entering your system
yes it is, just the distance and water levels between the two tanks-this to accommodate my space outside and to allow for the many power shutdowns eskom regularly amuses/challenges us with - have proved that a difference of 200-250cm in water levels is adequate, also both pumps are submerged in the sump box and provide power to move the water for the main flow,protein skimmer,fluidised sand filter,and wave action boxes - oh am i correct in assuming that an R/O unit will require about three litres of mains water to produce 500ml of R/O water? if so sounds like i could be a very valuble customer of the cape town water board who incidently combine home water use with sewerage charges based on water use - my current costs are around R20 per kl of water use. (also run a 8000l koi pond) am a little nervous if i also need kalkwasser drips et al??Koi is it something like this?