Dino,
A setup of marine tank for 2 ft.. can just be a couple of hundred of dollars..
They can be customised at closed to $1,000 with the works i think.. L/O aka Lionel, had something similar done in his house.. i think he got it done at ReefWorld.. i'm not too sure.. Lionel.. where u get your tank done?
However, if u decided to DIY.. this is the list. As i always advocate.. this is a very expensive setup when compared with FW.. so go simple and upgrade all the way..
1. 2ft Tank with cabinet (glass thickness minimum 10-12mm)
2. Filter or Sump (Sump have to be customised, Filter; can get Ehiem 2227, 2229. Price, sorry,i dun know[
])
3. Protein Skimmer (Budget constraint? can get ORCA.. cheap and good.. but need an air pump to go along) less than $50. Me using That!!! it should be the cheapest in the market.
4. Artificial Sea salt..there are many brands out there.. u choose.. corallife is good.. dun get red sea.. lousy.)Me using corallife. some ppl might use others.. depends on choice.
5. Hydrometer.. to test the salinty level of the water. get the floating type cost less than $3. Me using that!
6. New tank setup; test kits. Get Ammonia, nitrate and nitrite test kits. $13.50 for sera brand each..might be cheaper depending on the place u get it... try petmart
7. Live rocks average cost might be $4-6 per kg.. so.. u have to estimate how much rocks u want..dun forget that some corals u get, come with rocks.. factor this in..
8. Fishes and corals are variables already.
9. coral sand if u like..
10. Chiller.. like i mentioned.. go simple.. for 2ft tank, dun bother abt chiller.. u probably gonna freeze your livestock.. get an AC fan.. they will do the trick..
11. Lightings.. depends on what u want to keep.. fishes, FL will do just fine.. but might not be strong enuff for corals. Best if u can get MH..
Other items like denitrator, ozone, UV, ionized canister etc etc.. wait till u have more $$$ or more experience then consider them.. enjoy the hobby first then try to look at how to beautify it or bring it to the next level desired. It is also to prevent u from getting frustrated in having to observe so much stuff and gettin put off..
Do take note that the bacteria(nitrogen cycle) cultivation process can take up to 3 weeks or longer.. and during this time.. dun expect to have any live stock inside.. coz it will die on u.. there are shorter process to this and that is to 'seed' your tank from other's matured tanks.. u need help, let me know.. u can get a small packet of coral sand and exchange it with me.. hehehe.. or can collect some of the filter wood from us.. we will be glad to help.
Maintenance wise, as the one we talking abt is 2ft.. i would advice u to change no more than 10-20% of the water each time... this is to prevent the fluctuation in water quality parameter.. in marine.. the bigger the tank.. the more allowance for error (personal feeling) as compared with 2ft as a yardstick in this topic. As such, i can say that the bigger the tank, the lesser the maintenance(again, personal feeling).. others might differ on the statement.
Maintenance wise also have to look at what kind of tank u looking at.. Reef or fish or both.. each of them have to take note of different issues..
my suggestion is that.. b4 u decided to plunge straight into the hobby, go and get a book on marine aquarium keeping and read abt it first.. that way, if u dun like it.. the most u lose is the cost of the book and not the $1,000(just a rough number) and complain that the hobby is impossible or difficult..
Eg of the books are like:
1. The new saltwater aquarium handbook by Geroge C. Blasiola II. Publisher: Barrons
2. The marine aquarium by Nick Dakin (available in Kino, Taka)
3. The complete Idiot's guide to saltwater aquariums. (Me using the book too.. hey.. we learn something new everyday).
If u need help..just post your queries.. we will be glad to help u out.. all u have to do is just ask..
hope that this has been helpful.
Kelvin
Let us work together to preserve the world for our children to inherit by being responsible to our surroundings. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, bubbles and memories.
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