setting up my tank. need help

[jovian]

hi

just setup a new 2ft tank.saltwater is abt 1 week old. but I m still using undergraval filter. my tank still empty. just 10 kg sand thatz all

1. havent bought a new filter yet. today went to hong leong. i ask for a eheim canister filter for 2ft tank, n total cost abt $160? so ex meh . i really on budget loh . i hope u guy can intro me some gd and worth buying filter. any model/band shld i get. Compare overflow sump and canister types. which 1 is on lower budget.

2.can i add any liverock now?. how much shld i get. 2 to 3 kg?

3. i comfirm cannot afford to get a chiller. i hear from my uncle, he got a
stick heater for his luohan tank. just $25. can adjust temperature from 25-32 degree. can i use that for my marine tank? so i dunneed to use any avfan.

4. "The dead prawn that is usually mentioned is to activate bacterial growth."my water already 1 week old. shld i add any deadprawn?

5. abt NO2 NO3 level. when shld i test it. 2 weeks later? what rating shld it be?. how often shld i test it. i m blurr n newbiz with all this test. i hope some1 can guide me with that.

Tml i m goin to petmart to get my ORCA skimmer.
any lfs shld i go to get my liverock?.
can intro my some reliable lfs. [address]
by the way i m staying in west area. btbatok.

i hope u guys can help me .. thanx
jovian

[jovian]

hi guyz

at this period of time ... any places selling liverock below $10/kg. i m staying in west [btbatok]... hongleong now have stock?... hope u guys can intro me some lfs.

ya ... any expert here to ans my first question on top ...

hope to cya soon
i really need u guys help

[Mez]

I will try to reply to as much as this as i can...

1. havent bought a new filter yet. today went to hong leong. i ask for a eheim canister filter for 2ft tank, n total cost abt $160? so ex meh . i really on budget loh . i hope u guy can intro me some gd and worth buying filter. any model/band shld i get. Compare overflow sump and canister types. which 1 is on lower budget.
Try one of the fluvals. Infact, if you are going to stock the tank LIGHTLY, and have lots of live rock, you dun *really* need a filter as long as you do water changes when you need to. i know ppl who havent got a filter, just lots and lots of live rock, and havnet done a water change in about 6 months.

2.can i add any liverock now?. how much shld i get. 2 to 3 kg?
add as much LR as you can afford and fit in the tank! add it before you add your fish and/or corals.

3. i comfirm cannot afford to get a chiller. i hear from my uncle, he got a
stick heater for his luohan tank. just $25. can adjust temperature from 25-32 degree. can i use that for my marine tank? so i dunneed to use any avfan.
Try and look for a cheap second hand one?

4. "The dead prawn that is usually mentioned is to activate bacterial growth."my water already 1 week old. shld i add any deadprawn?
Yes. Just because your water has been sat there, it still has not cycled.

5. abt NO2 NO3 level. when shld i test it. 2 weeks later? what rating shld it be?. how often shld i test it. i m blurr n newbiz with all this test. i hope some1 can guide me with that.
Test it throughout the cycle, and then every week or so when the cycle is over.

Tml i m goin to petmart to get my ORCA skimmer.
any lfs shld i go to get my liverock?.
can intro my some reliable lfs. [address]
by the way i m staying in west area. btbatok.
As i do not live in Singapore, i cannot tell you addresses etc, but "Pac Marine" is talked about often. Dunno abt their prices tho. best ask ard.

[narkosis]

Jovian,

>1. havent bought a new filter yet. today went to hong leong. i ask for a >eheim canister filter for 2ft tank, n total cost abt $160? so ex meh . i
Should be able to find it cheaper somewhere else. Here in Malaysia, they're going for about S$130. Shop around (S'pore is duty free!!)

>really on budget loh . i hope u guy can intro me some gd and worth buying >filter. any model/band shld i get. Compare overflow sump and canister types. >which 1 is on lower budget.
For $160, I would rather get an overflow sump system, if it's within the price range. Only problem with a sump system, if that you'll need a reasonably large water pump to return the water to the tank. This pump will add to the heat in the tank. Other than this, there's a lot more you can do in a sump. BTW, a sump is nothing more than another 2' tank with partitions, so it shouldn't cost too much.

>2.can i add any liverock now?. how much shld i get. 2 to 3 kg?
Definitely add it now. For a 15G 2', probably more like 8kg. If you cannot afford to get 8kg now, get 2 kg first. Then every week, get another 2 kg until you reach the total. This is also a good way to force yourself to cycle the tank.

>stick heater for his luohan tank. just $25. can adjust temperature from 25->32 degree. can i use that for my marine tank? so i dunneed to use any avfan.
Heaters come on when the temp. is cooler than the preset temp., then they HEAT up the water. They do NOT work on the reverse concept. That's what chillers do. Looks like you WILL have to stick to AC fans then.

>4. "The dead prawn that is usually mentioned is to activate bacterial >growth."my water already 1 week old. shld i add any deadprawn?
If you're using LR, you don't have to bother with the prawn. Just eat it !!! There'll be enough organic waste from the LR to cycle the tank.

>5. abt NO2 NO3 level. when shld i test it. 2 weeks later? what rating shld >it be?. how often shld i test it. i m blurr n newbiz with all this test. i >hope some1 can guide me with that.
During cycling, it helps to test it weekly. Then you can tell what your cycling trend is like. If possible, also the ammonia (NH3) level. Remember that NH3 is the #1 killer of livestock, and not NO2, which is #2. NO3 is not a killer at all, but stunts growth, and promotes many types of BADDDDD algae.
After it's been cycled and during the subsequent months, you should still do tests just before you add any livestock, just to confirm that all is OK.

[Phang]

Hey Jovian,

Narkosis right...
Go for a sump... You have more options and space ....
Not also to mention a larger water volume... makes your reef system more forgiving to errors....also much more stability....

Most canisters or atandard filters dun really create the type of volume flow and water exchange rate required for reef/marine......

[greenhorn]

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On 11/28/2002 3:05:39 AM

3. i comfirm cannot afford to get a chiller. i hear from my uncle, he got a
stick heater for his luohan tank. just $25. can adjust temperature from 25-32 degree. can i use that for my marine tank? so i dunneed to use any avfan.


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I never use a stick heater before. Can a stick heater lower the temperature to 25 ? If yes...I think I gonna get one.

Please reply. Thanks in advance.

[Spiff]

er i dun think a heater can lower temp.....fans can lower the temp abt 2deg. down side is the evaporation

[greenhorn]

Thanks spiff.

[kelstorm]

1. havent bought a new filter yet. today went to hong leong. i ask for a eheim canister filter for 2ft tank, n total cost abt $160? so ex meh . i really on budget loh . i hope u guy can intro me some gd and worth buying filter. any model/band shld i get. Compare overflow sump and canister types. which 1 is on lower budget.
if u want to get a good canister, i recommend getting a 2227 or 2229.. but it is ard $350+++. anyway, throw away that UGF(undergravel filter). what is your budget for canister. remember this, the filtration here is the heart of the system, the heart fails, the system collapse.. simple as that.. so, i rather u pay more for the more reliable filter brand, if not, go for overflow.. but for a 2ft, it might be a problem. also, take note of the maintenance work.. coz for 2ft, it is more volatile than say, a 3x2x2 or bigger.

2.can i add any liverock now?. how much shld i get. 2 to 3 kg?
to kick off cycling the tank, just get some LR, i dun really adhere to the no. of kg per gallon of tank, coz it dun make sense in a way. for example, let say you have 20 gallons of water and ratio is 1 kg per gallon of water, u gonna just get exactly 20kg? well, that is not possible, coz LR also include those that come from the corals that are attached to some rocks. also, u might get less than 20kg coz of the shape of LRs available..IMO, get what is nice and have a rough plan of how u gonna stack your LR or reef... it will help u in selecting the LR

3. i comfirm cannot afford to get a chiller. i hear from my uncle, he got a
stick heater for his luohan tank. just $25. can adjust temperature from 25-32 degree. can i use that for my marine tank? so i dunneed to use any avfan.
that is no such thing as using a heater to serve the function of bringing down the water temp. since u dun wanna use AV fans, perhaps u can consider placing it near the window, bad thing is, the amt of sunlight that is shone on the tank will create a algae bloom but u also solve the problem of lightings.. i have seen tanks outside the houses in australia.. nice but i guess lots of work..

4. "The dead prawn that is usually mentioned is to activate bacterial growth."my water already 1 week old. shld i add any deadprawn?
well... with LR, u get the necessary bacteria to help to kick off the cycling. but placing a dead prawn will incease the bio-load and force the bacteria to multiply faster so that it can cope with all the bio-load that is coming into the tank. but simply having a dead prawn inside is gonna take some time in breaking down the waste.. as it needs to start having the necessary bacteria to work first. but it is a start.. my recommendation, get some LR, then dump in a small piece of prawn after a few days.. coz with the LR, ammonia is already being introduced to your tank.. and need to monitor closely to prevent it from collapsing

5. abt NO2 NO3 level. when shld i test it. 2 weeks later? what rating shld it be?. how often shld i test it. i m blurr n newbiz with all this test. i hope some1 can guide me with that.
well, abt 2 weeks is fine, need to keep track of the readings.. once the NO2 readings is going down, the NO3 readings will start to go up. i recommend that once the NO3 readings is up and rising, i recommend that u do some changes in water b4 adding in livestock. and i dun advocate adding any livestock till ard the 4th week.

[hugo]

Hi greenhorn,

you may like to check out iceprobe. type in iceprobe under google and it will lead you to the website. it is a "cold finger" something the opposite of a heater.


As for filter depending on how much bio-load you are putting in the two feet tank you can consider a overhang filter like those from ehiem.


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[greenhorn]

Thanks hugo..Saw the pic...Where can I get it ?[]

[eprouve]

Hey Jovian,

If you're looking for a budget filter, I have a used Eheim 2003 (hangon type) of filter that cycles at 420 litres per hour. Its still being used by my 2 ft tank (in excellent condition) and was bought over as a whole set from previous owner (LRs, fish and filter). According to him, its enough for a 2 foot tank. I believe its selling at about $50 at the LFS but you can have it for $20 if you want, cos I was thinking of changing to overflow sump.

As for the skimmer for your 2 feet tank, space is a concern, so I would recommend getting a Sanders instead? It costs $35 at Petmart. Small and efficient.

LRs, I heard Reborn (Paya Lebar) has them at $5 to $11 per kg, depending on type and amount of CalAlgae growth on them.