newbiz in marine. pls help....

[jazzben81]

hi everyone. im new to marine set up. Did my home work. read the FAQs . However i have a few qns to ask u pros. hope u can help out.

Tank:

i am pondering over 3' x2' x2' 10 mm tank with cabinet, sump and open hood. However i would like to ask u guys whether a 3'(l) x 3'(w) 2' (h) is 10 mm also sufficent? or should i go for the 12mm. i also would like to know the price range for the above tanks and any contacts you guys can help me out....

Lights:

Currently i have a 3 ft, 2 x 74 w 6500k MH light and a 2 ft PL lightings.
was wondering whether is it sufficent for LR and corals? If yes is it only sufficent for hardy corals e.g. mushroom coral? If no, can u guess suggest what must i do? btw, any sites to check up the details of corals e.g light requirements , food etc...

Substrate:

is 6 inch thick enough for the tank consisting of 60 % #0 below and 40 % #1 on top?

Filter:

was thinking of using a 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 sump + eheim 2260 filter .
is it sufficent? would the water affect the motors? Is the filter media the same type as in FW? e.g cotton wool, bio balls, ceramic rings, sponge.

Refugium:

wats a refugium?

Misc Equipments:

What are the necessary equipments for keeping corals?
is calcium reactor a must have? how much is cost and where to get it?
chiller a must have for corals?(room temp at 27 ~ 28 with fans on , on hot sunny afternoon. tested on FW.)
any recommendations for corals tt do not need chillers? was thinking of using 1 x AC fan and 1 x large room fan.
do i need to get supplements for corals?

hydrometer

Protein skimmer

thermometer

Water:

i know abt first adding in tap water than genesis solution and salt to specific gravity in first starting out. however i would like to noe is R/o or DI units a must have in water conditions for corals?
will tapwater do ?

Water changes:

water changes at once a week 20 % .
is it like adding genesis and salt to specific gravity in a pail and then pour it into the tank?

List of marine LFS :

hope u guys can tell me more on which shop got the most variety of fish/ equipments, inverts, etc....(cheapest)...
hehehe


Thanks for the help in advance guys!!!

[bwilly]

Tank:

3ft at least 8mm, 4ft 10mm. if u going for 10mm 3ft. good enough.

Lights:

depends on what u are keeping. 74watt? hmm.. 6500K MH is kind
of yellowish. oki with u? U may need to supplement with blue actinic
PL. I got two MH bulbs of 6500K if u want to buy.. $50 sell u. hehe..
LR - no need light. just need good water (air) circulation for the bacteria
to "breathe". Hardy coral not = hard coral meh? hehe.. oki if u talking
abt mushroom, they dun need much light. 74W is good enough for them.


Substrate:

I use abit only. so can't advise u on this.

Filter:

if your sump is working good, then u dun need a canister filter.

Refugium:

Suppose for u to cultivate some marine weeds n also absorb the
alage food. with it, you won't get much alage.

Misc Equipments:

Calcium reactor not necessary. buy a test kit, add calcium hydroxide.
then measure the calcium level in water. one week measure again.
see how much as drop. push it up again to abt 500ppm. repeat n repeat.
then u will know how much to add each week. (after absorb by hard corals)

Corals need good environment parameters. NO3 try to maintain below 50ppm.
chiller not necessary. but for corals to thrive, its a must. (thrive =
blooming big..!) else fan is good enough.
Most soft corals can do with higher temperature up to 30c. Hard coral
(those with hard base) need cooler temp. ask the LFS owners, they will
be able to advise which is which.

Corals supplement u may need - calcium, iodide, stronium.

hydrometer - ??

Protein skimmer - make sure skim wear, kopi-O comes out.

thermometer- 28c

Water:

ah? dunno wat u meant. anyway RO unit is for those hardcore.
u will just reduce the alage "food" n some impurities from the chemical
tap water. More for ppl who have problem with alage in their tank.
no need for not hardcore. hehe..


Water changes:

I do weekly 10% water change so far so good.
not much alage outbreak. ah yes, measure everything nicely
in a pail, next time follow.

Do top up if necessary. (just plain water with anti-cholrine added)

Anything email me [email protected] if I can help.

List of marine LFS : everywhere I go in Singapore.. dunno how to say..so many.

[kelstorm]

tank:

i am pondering over 3' x2' x2' 10 mm tank with cabinet, sump and open hood. However i would like to ask u guys whether a 3'(l) x 3'(w) 2' (h) is 10 mm also sufficent? or should i go for the 12mm. i also would like to know the price range for the above tanks and any contacts you guys can help me out....
the dimension and thickness is fine.. no worries, mate. price range.. u might want to check ard.. should not be too ex..i guess it should be ard $300 - 400
Lights:

Currently i have a 3 ft, 2 x 74 w 6500k MH light and a 2 ft PL lightings.
was wondering whether is it sufficent for LR and corals? If yes is it only sufficent for hardy corals e.g. mushroom coral? If no, can u guess suggest what must i do? btw, any sites to check up the details of corals e.g light requirements , food etc...
yoru lights are sufficient for the corals that u want to keep. but like mentioned, it is slightly yellowish, can add actinic lights to offset it. For food for corals, u might want to check out www.reefcentral.com

Substrate:

is 6 inch thick enough for the tank consisting of 60 % #0 below and 40 % #1 on top?
do away with the #0 if u can, too fine and if your fishes disturb it.. it will cloud the tank.. not worth it.. unless u keeping only corals... go for #1 sand if possible. 6' is fine.

Filter:

was thinking of using a 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 sump + eheim 2260 filter .
is it sufficent? would the water affect the motors? Is the filter media the same type as in FW? e.g cotton wool, bio balls, ceramic rings, sponge.
with sump, u can do away with the 2260..your sump should not be less than half the tank size to be efficient. in that area, u dun have to worry. filter media is the same but not the bacteria.. cannot just transfer from FW and expect it to work. try not to use ceramic rings coz they clog up very fast, rendering it useless

Refugium:

wats a refugium?
where u put macroalgae inside to help to reduce the amt of nitrates.

Misc Equipments:

What are the necessary equipments for keeping corals?
most impt thing is lights, supplements and temperature
is calcium reactor a must have? how much is cost and where to get it?
calcium reactor is good for hard corals. cost wise, varies.
chiller a must have for corals?(room temp at 27 ~ 28 with fans on , on hot sunny afternoon. tested on FW.)
preferably. coz u dun want it to be subjected to drastic temp changes
any recommendations for corals tt do not need chillers? was thinking of using 1 x AC fan and 1 x large room fan.
u can try mushrooms, button polyps etc.. but they still need relatively cool temp..
do i need to get supplements for corals?
yes.. u do..

hydrometer

Protein skimmer

thermometer

Water:

i know abt first adding in tap water than genesis solution and salt to specific gravity in first starting out. however i would like to noe is R/o or DI units a must have in water conditions for corals?
will tapwater do ?
i uses tapwater to change as well.. unless u wan to control the chemicals and amt of nitrate in the change of water, u should get it. To me, IMO, it is optional

Water changes:

water changes at once a week 20 % .
is it like adding genesis and salt to specific gravity in a pail and then pour it into the tank?
let it cool for a while coz the temp of the water will rise slightly with the dissolving of the salt

[jazzben81]

thanks for the great replies kel.
im doing up a huge refugium using a 6mm sides and 10 mm base 4' x 18" x 18". was wondering the tank can tahan the DSB a not so need some advice here abt how thick of DSB can i put ....also if possible i put 6 " of substrate in the refuge and 3 " of substrate in the main tank... maybe more in the refuge...
btw the lights are not 2 x 70 its 2 x 150 mh plus 72 w pl thinking of adding actinic 4 ft lights. is it worth it? any lobangs? hehe

anyway next month im hoping to hop on a ride to those farms to get some live rock or do any1 noe of shops tt sell good quality live rock plus base rock at normal price?

kindly help me out...
thanks a lot...

[kelstorm]

thanks for the great replies kel.
im doing up a huge refugium using a 6mm sides and 10 mm base 4' x 18" x 18".
that is quite a big refugium... try 8mm sides to be safe
was wondering the tank can tahan the DSB a not so need some advice here abt how thick of DSB can i put ....also if possible i put 6 " of substrate in the refuge and 3 " of substrate in the main tank... maybe more in the refuge...
why not try 6" for both?
btw the lights are not 2 x 70 its 2 x 150 mh plus 72 w pl thinking of adding actinic 4 ft lights. is it worth it? any lobangs? hehe
u can never get the type of intensity as compared to those from the sun.. u can go ahead. only problem is the heat generated and your electrical bills.