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by **vauno** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:01 pm

Hi been offered a new tank, 40"x19"x19" with heater, tube lights and 2 filters in the hood, the lights are 30watt each, would this be ok for a fish only or a reef tank?

Do i need;
1. a sump?
2. a protein skimmer?
3. special filter?
4. anything for water movenment?

I would like as much info as pos as the tank is basically going for nothing its 6months old but due to neighbour moving to australia they dont want it, already got a planted tank and always wanted marine

Thanks jason

by **blueshoes2208** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:33 pm

im glad im the first to post on this one, been a while since i did the talking on here... first of all i have no earthly clue how many gallons a 40x19x19 tank is, but explain your "filters in the hood", FIRST ) water movement is key to the survival of a tank, plus its cool, so yes a powerhead is highly reccommended. next, the old rule of thumb suggests that for a reef i wouldnt go with less than 5 watts per gallon depending on what kind of corals you were wanting to invest in down the road. Now i believe people are more focused on what type of light you have more than how many watts per gallon. For instance my 70 gallon reef has 2- 65 watt pc actinics and one 250 watt metal halide, so like 5.5 watts per gallon. Yes a protein skimmer is mandatory, ask fihsboy why on that one lol. A sump is reccommended to help with your nitates and stuff of that sort. Not mandatory though, i dont have one, although id like to. Ask other people on here what they would do about the filter, i bought the fluvall fx5, which is retailing at i believe 200$ now, i hate it thought so id go with a different filter, and definately not a cannister filter because those are nitrate factories, literally. lol but im tired of typing for now so post some more stuff and we will help you out, PS this foroum has slowed down alot

by **newbie916** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:54 pm

Definitely do your research and Blue is correct with all of his suggestions. It's a very expensive and time consuming hobby, but it's awesome.

Lighting, water movement, and filtration is key. You'll also want to have 1-2lbs of live rock per gallon. That could be a little pricey, but look on craigslist for good deals. Usually $3 lb vs. $5-$8 lb at LFS. However, make sure that the rock isn't covered with pest anenomes and green hair algae.

I would start off with a FOWLR tank and then gradually get into reefing. Reefing is much more expensive due to the lighting and the demand of high water quality. However, I have two reef tanks a 95 gallon with a 35 gallon refugium and a 24 gallon. Both have Metal Halides and house thousands of dollars in livestock and equipment. I just setup a quarantine 12 gallon for my son's snowflake eel. Anyways, good luck and welcome to the hobby.

by **blueshoes2208** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:51 pm

yes, if you look at my profile, i havent updated a picture in quite a few months but it shows how gradual i set up my tank, from the first picture on there to the last is about 5 months.

by **fihsboy** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:43 pm

If your going for a reef tank....or Fish only....I would seariously look into buying Marco Rocks dry rock. You will save a small fortune(literally). Its awesome rock and with a few lbs of primo live rock your tank will be completly live in a few months. its worth the wait. :) You want a great skimmer......great skimmers allow great mistakes. haha. I used to praise the AquaC remora......and its a great skimmer. But now ive seen the Octopus skimmers, and they are even better. The pump that Octopus uses pulls around 50scfh of air.........which is insane for a HOB skimmer. (Hang On Back) The better the protein skimmer.....the more room for error in feeding.......and being your juts starting out with marine, its good to have room for error. And down the road.....it would be enough to run SPS tank, which is extremely difficult without the proper filtration. :) Theres plenty of people here that will help you out, just post your questions and everyone will chime in.

by **fihsboy** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:45 pm

BTW, the octopus skimmer I would recomend for a HOB skimmer....
This thing pulls out some SEARIOUS fish poo.

http://www.saltysupply.com/Reef-Octopus ... oc6119.htm

by **puffedupseagull** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:57 am

I got one if you want to pay for postage to USA from DOWN UNDER

by **blueshoes2208** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:47 pm

lol....... so far over there they prolly teleport things across the pacific

by **vauno** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:10 pm

hi this is the tank i was on about the lights are on there wrong they are 2x 30 w

http://www.rocketaquatics.co.uk/fish-fr ... p-311.html

the tank is in silver

would it be ok for either reef or fowlr tank

by **vauno** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:32 pm

i was thinking of having a fowlr tank to start off, will everything be ok for that if i get a protein skimmer i was thinking of a TMC V2 400 or a TMC v2 600 skimmer

New to this

10 posts

New to this

New to this

10 posts