advise needed for 5ft tank

[SPSP]

hi, my uncle has recently wanted me to help him setup his 5ft marine tank for fish LR and abit of coral(previously freshwater tank) therefore, i need help from u guys.. (i have a 2ft marine tank for 2 year liao.) but dun have experience in 5ft!!!

1) tank size 5x2x2. thickness 10mm. can it ta han?
2) no sump setup. any other filtration method? what about canister?
3) protein skimmer. what model and brand is recommended for 5ft?
4) live rock. estimated how many kg and where to get the best offer?
5) sand. course size 0 and 1, ok? 4cm thick ok?

thank you for your kind inputs and advices..

[BFG]

1) Get a thicker glass eg 12mm. Base of the tank must be thicker. Which glass is your uncle going to choose? Starphire is clearer but expensive. If you want to use it, you could use 1 starphire glass pane for the front of the tank.

2) Canister filter would be a nitrate factory as the waste is not taken out regularly. When I mean regularly, it is twice or thrice a week. A sump is the best filtration method. You can divide the sump for refugium compartment and a compartment to house the skimmer. Another compartment to house fresh water for top off reservoir. There's simply a lot of method you can use for the sump.

3) This would be a huge debate in itself. There's a lot of methodology involved for Protein Skimmer. There's Beckett skimming, where the height of the skimmer can be taller than you( there's some smaller model though ), Needlewheel skimming where's the wheel that has needle on them spin at a rate that the air that is introduced into it is broken into very small bubbles, Spray injector skimmer and many more.

Choosing a skimmer depend on the bioload of the tank. If you are planning to keep alot of fish and corals, you need to get a skimmer that is rated for heavy bioload for the size of your tank. If the heavy bioload rating is exactly the same as your tank water volume, choose a model that is a step up from the previous model.

4) This also depend on what you may be keeping in the tank. You may need to start somewhere near the 100kg for coral placement. Best offer I do not know where but in the market it cost from $6-$16 per kg depending on the location of the harvest of the live rock.

5) If you want to go for DSB (Deep Sand Bed) the depth should start from 4-6 inches.

If you need more info, you could go to-
www.sgreefclub.com/ -local forum
www.reefcentral.com/ -overseas forum
www.ultimatereef.net/ -overseas forum

My advise is to plan thoroughly and take things slow. In the forums that I have mention, they do have section where members post their setup. You can take your time to view all the pictures and read how and why they set their tank and the equipment they use. There's also a fact section that you need to read in order to have an understanding for the upkeeping of marine livestock.

Welcome to the Dark Side!

[gsander]

Go with a skimmer and forget the canister filter. Get a skimmer that is a little larger than recommended for the gallon tank that you have. Get a hang on the back if you don't plan on having a sump. Depending on what type of fish you plan on keeping will depend on what depth sand etc and kind of sand you purchase. I would recommend a mixture of oolitic sand with some crushed shell, but more sand than shell. If you plan on keeping jawfish or gobies with shrimp you will want a deeper sand bed 3-4".

The LR you purchase will help seed the substrate with all kinds of critters. Wait for several month before placing wrasse in your tank as you want these critters to mulitply, as wrasse will forage for them. I'm not sure where you live, but I would suggest that you purchase a detritivore kit from Inland Aquatics in Terre Haute, IN if you live in the States. Inland is a mariculture facility. They have some great stuff and will not steer you wrong. Ask for Mike Aimes. Check out Inlandaquatics.com

Do your research on fish and corals you plan on keeping. Fish dietary concerns. Some eat corals. Corals/lighting issues. Take your time and plan ahead and don't rush. I suggest you register at Reef central and begin surfing this site. Good luck.

[kelstorm]

3) protein skimmer. what model and brand is recommended for 5ft?
4) live rock. estimated how many kg and where to get the best offer?

To add on,

3) Depending on ur budget, preference and wat u wanna keep. For 5ft, some of the beckett skimmers that u can consider are those with 32" in height or those like EV240 or EV400. These are huge skimmers with reasonable prices. Alternatively, u can consider Deltec like AP902 but they cost almost $1800 but will clean ur tank beautifully.. This equipment is one that u cannot save on.. u pay peanuts, u get monkeys.

4) I'm starting on my 5ft tank design as well.. the total weight depends on what u plan to do. 2 pinnicles? a swim thru? 1 pinnicle? as BFG had mentioned, u might need over 100kg.. to save on LR, u can construct racks (using PVC pipings) to stack ur racks.. this also allow lots of hidding places for ur fishes.

u can try www.sgreefing.com(another local forum) to get more info.

[kelstorm]

hi, my uncle has recently wanted me to help him setup his 5ft marine tank for fish LR and abit of coral(previously freshwater tank)

When u say add a bit of corals, wat do u have in mind? in layman's terms, u wanna keep soft corals or hard corals? Hard corals require more equipment like Calcium reactor + media, CO2 cannister, dosing pumps, Fluidised reactor

Soft corals, depending on the amt, u might be able to make do with just supplements and dosing of kalkwassers.

[piglet]

tank size 5x2x2. thickness 10mm. can it ta han? >> 10mm !!!! at least 12mm for a 5 footer marine tank with full euro-bracing.

agreed with kelstorm.. equip spec will depend on your budget.

if budget is high.. go for deltec AP902 skimmer-needle wheel (some of the reefer may even find that it is not strong enough-depend on the bio-load etc , if not.. go for diy beckett skimmers- but high watt running cost. ~ these are two diff class of skimmer.

are you going for BB(bare bottom) marine tank or DSB (deep sand bed) marine tank?

[BFG]

Or maybe this skimmer might what you be looking for.

http://english.royal-exclusiv.de/Roy...nufacturer.htm

Hope this helps!

[Narf]

Basically for a 5 ft tank, be ready to spend $$. If you think you can save some money re-using a freshwater tank, i would say not much compared to wat you are going to spend on other stuff.....

Still if you want to re-use, its possible. 10mm is ok but the safety factor is on the low side. You should have euro-bracing, if not get it done as it should not cost much. If you do not want to use a sump, fill the tank with live rocks with under gravel and get a huge skimmer. You can consider doing a partition in your tank to get the water to overflow and into the skimmer. Still a tank that size, sump would be better. You can hook up an external overflow to avoid drilling holes. There is not much difference regarding the diff grade of sand since your not doing deep sand bed. Advice is get a course one to prevent sand storm. Good Luck!!!

[Goondoo]

Or maybe this skimmer might what you be looking for.

http://english.royal-exclusiv.de/Roy...nufacturer.htm

Hope this helps!

I attended the recent seminar by Anthony Calfos, he recommended using 2 smaller size skimmers instead of one big one....

[kelstorm]

I attended the recent seminar by Anthony Calfos, he recommended using 2 smaller size skimmers instead of one big one....

and the reason being??? i did not attend the seminar.. maybe u would like to share what was spoken??? wat do u mean by using 2 smaller size skimmers to replace a huge one?

Are u talking abt for instance, if we use AP1006 to skim my tank, i should just replace it with 2 x AP902?