Wannabe

Joined
7 Jun 2008
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Location
Cape Town (Durbanville)
Morning all.:wave2:
Registered on MASA last night.
I kept tropical fish for about 8 years before moving to CPT from JHB June last year :thumbup: at which time I gave all my fish and plants away.

I want to start a marine set-up now. Wanted to do this for a loooong time now.
Obviously I want to go big but I will probably end up settling for the TL-550 as I do like the cleanliness of the set-up i.e. no sumps and skimmers to be hidden away etc. It just seems a bit small though.

I still have a lot to learn as I will only start out soon but I will keep to the following rules:
1. never purchase any fish or coral "sommer maar net" on impulse
2. Plan ahead and introduce fish and coral 1 at a time over an extended period.

Later :yeahdude:
Oh...excellent forum this, you guys are doing a brilliant job to say the least!!
 
Welcome to MASA wvanzyl, glad you wanna start the right way. Just remember to ask as many question as you want, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. There are a lot of helpful guys here with a lot of experience.

Doesn't matter what tank you buy, cycle your new setup at least for a month or two and test water regularly before introducing livestock. ;)
 
Welcome to MASA, glad you found us, keep us posted as to your progress
 
Welcome to the most addictive hobby ever wvanzyl.
Some valuable advise you offer; that i have often neglected, and have later learn 't at
THE SCHOOL.... of Hard Knocks. This is a private school, hellish expensive, and you get punished every time you do not listen. Like Boys Town really:) ....But when you eventually graduate, the rewards are priceless:clap:
 
Welcome to MASA :)
 
Hi WVanZyl! A very warm WELCOME to MASA man! Thanks for the compliments.

Pleae have a look around our "New Members" section - you should be able to find MANY questions already asked, and also already answered.

Also have a look at the following link:
Starting with Marines - Marine Aquariums of South Africa - wiki
 
welcome, great to see more bathwater converts:) looking forward to watching your tanks progress.....and as rory missed it..."we love pics":) so snap away and post for us ok:)
 
Thank you for the warm welcome. I have been spending a lot of time on the forum since Saturday. Decided on the following (will most probably take the plunge tomorrow):
Boyo TL-550
Boyo WM-2 Wave Maker
Seachem Aragonite (no idea what this is yet but will find out)
Seachem Stability
Hydrometer
Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kit(s)
Filter floss
Charcoal
Phoshate remover
Purigen (no idea what this is either)
The last 4 items will be used to improve the filter system. I will also, before stetting up the tank seal each of the compartments on the sides as I read somewhere that they leak?
Then on Wednesday I will get the RO water + Marine salt + LR for the tank as well as some smaller pieces for the filtration system. I will then put it all together and wait 6 weeks.......6 weeks of drooling over every one elses tanks :)
 
Dude, you've done some damn good reading - well done!

A few minor comments:

1. Get for a refractometer rather than a hydrometer if you can afford it (only a couple of hundred bucks difference). It's muuuch more accurate and also easier to use.

2. Aragonite is essentially calcium carbonate sand produced through erosion of dead coral skeletons. It's what many coral beaches are composed of. Aragonite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Caribsea is one of the more expensive brands - they have some interesting info (a.k.a. sales schmooz) on their web site caribsea your aragonite source and more!

3. Get a phonsphate test kit if possible (not for the cycle, but you'll need it soon thereafter). Most brands seem to be rather inaccurate - the best I've found is the Seachem one. Similarly, at some stage soon after your cycle you'll probably want to start measuring pH, Alkalinity (KH) and Calcium.

4. I'm no Purigen expert, but I'd imagine you could go without both carbon and purigen, at least initially. If you do go for Carbon, consider getting maxizorb (it's relatively cheap and good). Many of the other ones contain harmful levels of phosphates, apparently.

5. Real Ocean salt is one of the more popular brands around here, and greeat value for money. You can also just use water from the Two Oceans aquarium (in case anyone thinks you can't keep a good tank on NSW, check this one out - it's 2OC water
1_New_DSC03036.jpg


6. I'd get about 15kg of rock if you're going for Kenyan. Less if you go for the less dense (and more expensive) stuff (like Fiji, Tonga etc). Adding it later can be a bit of a pain if you get too little initially.

7. You'd do well to get yourself a small power head for mixing and aerating your salt mix (if you decide to go salt rather than NSW). One with a venturi air inlet is a good idea for aeration.

OK, I'll shuddup now ;-)
 
Chuckle chuckle i know the feeling. Constantly sticking a sock in my mouth. But nevertheless some great info.
 
Thank you for the warm welcome. I have been spending a lot of time on the forum since Saturday. Decided on the following (will most probably take the plunge tomorrow):
Boyo TL-550
Boyo WM-2 Wave Maker
Seachem Aragonite (no idea what this is yet but will find out)
Seachem Stability
Hydrometer
Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kit(s)
Filter floss
Charcoal
Phoshate remover
Purigen (no idea what this is either)
The last 4 items will be used to improve the filter system. I will also, before stetting up the tank seal each of the compartments on the sides as I read somewhere that they leak?
Then on Wednesday I will get the RO water + Marine salt + LR for the tank as well as some smaller pieces for the filtration system. I will then put it all together and wait 6 weeks.......6 weeks of drooling over every one elses tanks :)

Welcome Van Zyl!!

I'm a newbie myself but this a great place to be with many guys more than willing to assist you in any queries. It's like having an online directory at your disposal, i'm loving it!!. Just a thought, you might want to go check out Panorama Petshop in Parow as I bought exactly the same equipment as you listed and I found that their prices are the BEST!! I saved at leat R1400 for all the same equipment from anyone else.

Ciao,
J.
 
I am setting up a new nano, you can have a look at my thread, i am trying to do it as cheap as possible.
 
Thank you for all the info Quinton, I will make a couple of notes before heading out on the BIG shopping spree :)
Jaak, I fully agree with you. These guys are doing a great job. Great to have all the old hands assisting us new guys. A lot to learn from them.
I have also decided to do my hardware shopping at Panorama, prices are good.
Cheers and thanks again guys.
 
Van Zyl,

I was at Panorama this morning and they only have 1 Moyu TL550 left at R1995-00. Nico said after this tank the next batch will be more expensive. Maybe a good idea to swing by there asap and at least pick the tank up? He doesn't have any stands left for this tank at the old prices, I took the last one...

Later,
J.
 
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