# Need a wee bit of advice with setup (nano reef)



## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

After some chatting on here and in a few shops we finally took the plunge today with a 95L all in one, it looks very nice.

So as per advice, Ive added water, conditioner and the salt (not enough yet, will top up when temps rise and I can get a good reading). 


now, the tank came with zero instuction as to the protein skimmer . . the thing sits in a recess at the 1st of 3 back sections. On the skimmer there is a small tube coming off it with a head on it, looks like a micraphone according to mrs Craig. If i dont submerge it the skimmer makes all sorta wierd bubbles and noised so its submerged for now, is this correct? 

Tank is on to get the water circulating and the heater is on. The water was tap water so cold, this heaters going to take forever to heat up 95L of water! I have it in the main body of water but should this be in the filter side? last chamber with the water pump? 



Still trying to get all the salt to dissolve (2.2kg as yet) but its taking its sweet time :Na_Na_Na_Na: 

In the morning if all the salts gone and ph is correct ill be adding live sand. 


Any advice for the upcoming days/weeks? 


Thanks loads  
Craig


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Extra - 

The tank surfaces are covered in little bubbles, glass, plastic, heater, all bubbles.

Any advice on that?


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Right, first things first, get that water out asap, tap water is the worst thing for marine tanks and should never be used. Once the water is out, the whole thing should be rinsed with RO water that you buy from your local fish shop, then filled with the same RO water, you can buy it pre salted which is way easier than mixing. 
Anything you add to the water as it is now will die, this includes your live sand. I can not stress this point enough.
Skimmer should be off for now, until you have rock in at least, but yes, bubbles are how it works, the bubbles grab the impurities in the water and deposit them in the cup.


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Tap water bad? Then why do they sell the conditioner for tap water to make it suitable?


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Conditioners can be used for coldwater or tropical freshwater, not fantastic but is fine. Marine is a completely different kettle of fish. 
Ammonia, phosphates, and silicates are in high concentrations, it is also likely to contain copper and iron which is instantly lethal to marine life.
You need your levels to be spot on with this.
Here's a good little list for you - dos and donts for Beginners
Read this and follow it - How to set up a nano tank


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Lot too read thanks, just getting a coffee to wade through it all


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Good stuff. That guide is the best I've read, loads of useful info!
Good luck! :2thumb:


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## MSRS (Sep 14, 2008)

Devi said:


> Right, first things first, get that water out asap, tap water is the worst thing for marine tanks and should never be used. Once the water is out, the whole thing should be rinsed with RO water that you buy from your local fish shop, then filled with the same RO water, you can buy it pre salted which is way easier than mixing.
> Anything you add to the water as it is now will die, this includes your live sand. I can not stress this point enough.
> Skimmer should be off for now, until you have rock in at least, but yes, bubbles are how it works, the bubbles grab the impurities in the water and deposit them in the cup.


I agree with Devi, tap water is no good to mix with salt. However I notice that you said that you had all included when you brought your tank, so I suppose you have a light? If so don't turn it on until you have some rock. Once you have live rock I would advise you to leave the light switched off for at least two weeks. This will allow the tank to pass through the ammonia cycle, however at the end of the first week of having live rock (if *mature rock*) you can add some invertebrates to start cleaning and depositing some organic matter on the water, in order to speed up the ammonia cycle.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Sounds like a Boyu tank yus? Devi has given me some amazing info during my nano adventure - pics and more pics of your set up and good luck  i just upgraded been gripped by the salty bug  xx


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

I have a thread going on a reef forum  Pictures and seeking advice. Nothing against here, just busier forum traffic over there when I panic later on  

Our first marine tank 90L Betta Lifespace - UltimateReef.com 


Suggestions as to the skimmer/bubbles problem most appreciated. Although it seems to be with the water level in the skimmer . . no idea how to adjust that tho, hoping somoene will be able to help


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

This is how my filter is setup - appreciate comments


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

Devi said:


> Conditioners can be used for coldwater or tropical freshwater, not fantastic but is fine. Marine is a completely different kettle of fish.
> Ammonia, phosphates, and silicates are in high concentrations, it is also likely to contain copper and iron which is instantly lethal to marine life.
> You need your levels to be spot on with this.
> Here's a good little list for you - dos and donts for Beginners
> Read this and follow it - How to set up a nano tank


 

mmm! you are aware that their are marine water conditioners to make tape water safe for fish i now because i had to get one when my local ro suplyer had a problem with their ro unite 

i wasnt happy about using it but it fully states on the bottle ****Makes tape water safe for marine life**** any way i used it and it done no harm and realy if it states ****makes tape water safe for marine life**** realy what serious harm can it do. 

If any of yous are having a hard time beliving me ill take a pic of the bottle for you :whistling2:


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

berry1 said:


> mmm! you are aware that their are marine water conditioners to make tape water safe for fish i now because i had to get one when my local ro suplyer had a problem with their ro unite
> 
> i wasnt happy about using it but it fully states on the bottle ****Makes tape water safe for marine life**** any way i used it and it done no harm and realy if it states ****makes tape water safe for marine life**** realy what serious harm can it do.
> 
> If any of yous are having a hard time beliving me ill take a pic of the bottle for you :whistling2:


Seriously? You again? Right, tap water is never ok for marines, there may be such a conditioner, though I'm finding it hard to believe a word you say, but it can not magically remove ammonia or copper from the water, that is chemically impossible. As you'd know, since apparently you've kept hundreds of marines in your short years, even a trace of copper will kill corals and inverts. 
Lots of products are sold by shops looking for cash, but are not good to use.


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

Devi said:


> Seriously? You again? Right, tap water is never ok for marines, there may be such a conditioner, though I'm finding it hard to believe a word you say, but it can not magically remove ammonia or copper from the water, that is chemically impossible. As you'd know, since apparently you've kept hundreds of marines in your short years, even a trace of copper will kill corals and inverts.
> Lots of products are sold by shops looking for cash, but are not good to use.


 
Devil as i read it you have only 111 posts and you are new to the forum so using the attitude *you agen* just doesnt sound right and considering you now me so well and i dont now you at all i find it quite amusing how you can now me so well.

I didnt say it was good or mag... removes copper or ammonia did i now i didnt i said i used it once because i had no choice because my local ro suply was broke.

I also said it done my fish no harm and it didnt.

What i find hard to belive is that top marine makers will make a product that will kill marine life. 

And now when did i say i had kept 100s of different species of corals as i havent kept many corals but yea your right on one thing i have kept a large amount of fish species : victory:

Now how about you explane why you have come onto a forum and spoke to me publicaly with such a rediculous attitude.


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Now now gentlemen . .


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Berry, first, learn to spell my name or maybe just learn to spell, secondly, you are giving bad advice to everyone who comes here and don't seem to realise that you are causing a lot of damage to actual live fish. 
I said nothing about you keeping corals, I said you claimed to have kept hundreds of marines, in what world does that translate to corals?
There is no evidence anywhere to support water conditioners and thankfully the OP is now using a marine forum that will give him good advice. The use of RO water in marines is not because we have too much cash to spend and fancy some pricey water, it is from years of research from people much more experienced than most people here.


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

Devi said:


> Berry, first, learn to spell my name or maybe just learn to spell, secondly, you are giving bad advice to everyone who comes here and don't seem to realise that you are causing a lot of damage to actual live fish.
> I said nothing about you keeping corals, I said you claimed to have kept hundreds of marines, in what world does that translate to corals?
> There is no evidence anywhere to support water conditioners and thankfully the OP is now using a marine forum that will give him good advice. The use of RO water in marines is not because we have too much cash to spend and fancy some pricey water, it is from years of research from people much more experienced than most people here.


 

HAHAHAhahaha! ive done serious harm to live fish you prove one case where somebody has lost a fish because of my advice because i now you cant.

By the way the dood that set up the 10g on MKF purely with my information only is doing great the fish and inverts are thriving so is the anemone so pls if you have proof of me harming any fish i will apolagise and sort my advice but i dont think i need to. 

dont just blab about this and that like spelling as it realy is pethetic SHOW SOME EVIDANCE.

And i realy have to say yes i have spelling issues but not all of us where school nerds so not all of us done as well as the typical school nerds.

All your post indicated you where taking the pee about me and my experience and your posts give off vibes of coral.

And are you shore you can read!!! i said my only local suply of RO had a broken filter so i couldnt get any ro so using the conditioner was my only option


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

berry1 said:


> HAHAHAhahaha! ive done serious harm to live fish you prove one case where somebody has lost a fish because of my advice because i now you cant.
> 
> By the way the dood that set up the 10g on MKF purely with my information only is doing great the fish and inverts are thriving so is the anemone so pls if you have proof of me harming any fish i will apolagise and sort my advice but i dont think i need to.
> 
> ...


Nothing to do with the original post, but being able to spell does not make you a school nerd!

It is basic English and Grammar that every child should be taught at the start of their school career.


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## Berber King (Dec 29, 2007)

Berry1,with every post you make,you become more of an idiot.Ive seen you appear on various forums-your a tool on them all.Crawl back under your stone and do everyone a favour with your bad attitude,and even worse advice.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

I recently looked a lot into tap and bottled water vs RO water - for me it would have been a God send for someone to say it was an easy fix as I have to do near 100 mile round trip for RO water and with the cost of fuel going up and up that ain't cheap i a 3.2 litre !!

Berry - for someone experienced observing the problems that come from using tap water and conditioners LONG TERM and the impact it can have on the stability of a reef system then i can get why Devi and others never condone theusing of such water in the tanks.

For a newcomer to the hobby to even attempt to understand the biological differences to a tank setup using the correct methods and a tank set up using short cuts is just madness.

Please don't teach people the ways that appear to have worked for you when they go against 99.9% of what every other keeper knows to be a proven successful way of starting up a reef system.

I get that there are conditioners out there etc but lets face it, they make all kinds of things that shouldnever be needed if you do it properly - I am still sparkly new to marines but have yet to use a single chemical in my tanks ( and never do aside form dechlorinator in my other tanks ). That is because i do things the right way - slowly slowly catchy monkey and all that! xx


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Looks like all I came on here to say has been said by others, so I'll just leave this for OP and others who want to know more about water chemistry -

Tap Water and Marines


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## spidersteve (Jan 25, 2010)

*water quality*

Tap water is not safe for salt water aquariums. RO water should be used as tap water is a nightmare for nitrates and phosphates which will give you awful algae blooms that will be nigh on impossible to iradicate, plus the fish and inverts wont like it much either as youre wallet will soon find out. Strip the tank as said before and start new with RO, you also have you're protein skimmer in the wrong compartment it was designed to sit in as the correct compartment has a sluice to help regulate water flow into the skimmer. I think you should have really researched salt water aquaria before taking the plunge, too many retailers will sell the gear knowing that a lot of fatalities will occur hence "selling more stock". I would start by understanding water chemistry before getting set up as its not really the fish you are caring for its the water, if the water is spot on then the animals will thrive. I guess you have to look at saltwater in a diferent perspective to succeed. Get rid of most of the filter media and fill the spaces in the back with live rock instead, on top of what should be in the tank already. In your case at least 10kg. Best of luck with the tank, my advice is read as much as possible, get talking to experienced marine aquarists and don't rush anything as this is a big killer in marine aquariums. Do you plan on keeping inverts aswell?


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

Ok so nerd was the rong werd but shorely yous get what i mean i didnt do well in school end of story = im not a good speller. But lets face it spelling doesnt make you a better fishkeeper.

Realy i think some of yous have blown this way way out of propursion. all i said was that i had used the marine conditioner once when RO was impossible to get and it done no harm i didnt say it was good as the only suply of water but i said i didnt think it would do loads of harm as a one off thing.

And agen i have been greatly sucessful with fish keeping and i rarely loose a fish actualy the last fish i lost was 2 months ago a 12" tiger oscar because he got hole in the head but before that i have not lost anything for around 2 years so come on i must be doing something right.

And how do i go against 99.9% of fish rules ??? but you shouldnt forget theirs more than 1 way to do things theirs no set in stone guide.


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## spidersteve (Jan 25, 2010)

How on earth can you kill an oscar? they are bulletproof and bombproof. Hole in the head it is a stress related infection caused by being exposed to very poor water quality over a long period of time.


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

Yes come and join us over at The Nano Reef - Welcome to The Nano Reef its an amazing salty forum and the owners a realy good guy. No rediculous mods looking for reasons to ban people. Because some forums like the salty box the admin states that he must ban atleast 10 spamers a day. Which i think is rediculous.

Any way looking foreward to seeing you.


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

spidersteve said:


> How on earth can you kill an oscar? they are bulletproof and bombproof. Hole in the head it is a stress related infection caused by being exposed to very poor water quality over a long period of time.


 
Yes it is but because hes a tiger and he lived in a 100g with no light because he lived with a RTxTSN so it worked alot better with out the light he still got a good blast of natural day light but because of his colour i couldnt see the hole in the head so i was unable to treat it i originaly thought it was a dose of swim bladder because he kept floating down and had swimming problems. But any way it was too late and he died over night.

As far as i now the waters in fab condition i check it every week and its perfect no ammonia no nit...s all good but on the other side he was a rescue he had been living in a 20g for a year so i assume that caused some stress problems.


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## spidersteve (Jan 25, 2010)

You don't make any sense at all!


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

I am not particularly bothered by your spelling Berry - it doesn't affect how I read your replies in any way, i get the general gist of what you are saying.

sorry about your oscar too - i have 4 oscars here, 1 from a 2 fot tank ( come on he is 10" ), a pair from a keeper who was leaving the country and had the 2 in a 3 foot tank ( breeding pair of 10" tigers ) and a gorgeous red who lived in a massive panoramic tank with other catfish.

None of mine thankfully have had HOTH - I thought that was commonly caused by poor water quality? xx


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Must say I am with Devi 100% on this, RO all the way. 

Brittone: if you're struggling to cart RO water round, I bought an RO filter from ebay for around £30, and it did me proud. Low outout (like 2 litres an hour or something), but all you do is leave the end in a bucket overnight and you're away. : victory:


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

thanks Ash  I am looking for an RO unit at the moment having just sold my Boyu 550 tank i can get a decent one now - is 3 stage or 4 stage better? 

Plan is to set up a frag table, RO unit and a coral grow on tank in the garage x


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## berry1 (Sep 25, 2010)

brittone05 said:


> I am not particularly bothered by your spelling Berry - it doesn't affect how I read your replies in any way, i get the general gist of what you are saying.
> 
> sorry about your oscar too - i have 4 oscars here, 1 from a 2 fot tank ( come on he is 10" ), a pair from a keeper who was leaving the country and had the 2 in a 3 foot tank ( breeding pair of 10" tigers ) and a gorgeous red who lived in a massive panoramic tank with other catfish.
> 
> None of mine thankfully have had HOTH - I thought that was commonly caused by poor water quality? xx


 

Thank you i apriceate your post. Yes its always a sad moment when you loose a fish but i assume he already had hole in the head when i got him off the guy.

As an oscar that big in a tiny tank for a year shorely the water wouldnt have been good.

Yes its commonly caused by poor water quality but it can also be caused by many of things that stress the fish.


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

spidersteve said:


> you also have you're protein skimmer in the wrong compartment it was designed to sit in as the correct compartment has a sluice to help regulate water flow into the skimmer.


Just an FYI, new model, new places for skimmer. Had to confirm it with LFS and everyone else with one had it in 3rd compartment. 

All is going well now after alot of advice and guidance from people on UR. 

PH 8.2 
SG 1.025 
Temp 26
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
nitrate 5 

Currently have 3 turbos and 2 cleaner shrimp cleaning away. Took a few hours aclimitisng them but seems to be the correct method rather than just plonking them in. 

I have 10kg of mature LR and about 3/4kg of LR rubble in the filter syster along with ceramic rings, activated carbon and filter floss. LR was from a mature system (3+ years). Filter media that came with the system was binned. 

Skimmer is still being a bit crazy, im waiting on valve to regulate the air intake arriving, hopefully be there when i get home. 

Alot of diatoms popped up on Monday, scared me a little but my snails are slowly munching through it. 

Few more snails and some red legged hermits are planned for the weekend. 


Been good so far, fascinating thing to be doing. 


Fish planned in a few weeks are 2 clowns and royal gramma.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Pics?

I have a false gramma in my tank he is great real entertaining 

Do you plan on adding corals along the way too? xx


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Ill get some better photos tonight when im back from work. 

Corals are one of those things that done particularly interest me but ill put some in . . so expect some of the hardier ones will make an appearance just to brighten the place up.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

i really like corals lol Have zoas mainly and mushies and a new sun coral ( pics of her somewhere here )


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## spidersteve (Jan 25, 2010)

CraigofScotland said:


> Just an FYI, new model, new places for skimmer. Had to confirm it with LFS and everyone else with one had it in 3rd compartment.
> 
> All is going well now after alot of advice and guidance from people on UR.
> 
> ...


So you have the kent marine bio reef? Thats the new one or the only kent marine bio reef which is just an upgraded river reef. forgot to mention I work with these and specialise in marines. PFK april addition Hinksey review!


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Where are you getting kent from?? Its a betta lifespace nano


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## spidersteve (Jan 25, 2010)

CraigofScotland said:


> Where are you getting kent from?? Its a betta lifespace nano


From the triple filter compartment it looked similar to the kent marine tank, they are all pretty alike from what we get through our doors. Tank seems to be doing well also, best of luck with it.


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Thanks  

Its going well. Alot of diatoms are on the rocks at the moment but CuC and munching through it. Jacqueline is picking up a few more turbos and the red leg hermits today so giving a week or two they will hopefully rip through it. 


Pictures tonight, was in uni till 10 last night so didnt have time when I got home.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

look forward to pics - i just rescaped today and am awaiting the arrival of some zoas - orange, steel blue, ice blue and a few others ( can you tell i like zoas haha )

I had this rock to choose from to add to my tank and wanted no more than a 50% change to stop my levels jumping through the roof ( done at same time as water change too )










used the sky zapper piece, the very white ledge and one of the smaller pieces along with my own LR.

Gonna possibly sell the rest off as I don't need it any more lol


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Thats a hefty piece the remotes on!!! 

Have 10kg, seems to be the right amount. Was great as it came teaming with life (and a snail) . . straight out of a very large 7ft established tank. 


Only problem with tank is night time lighting, only has 3 blue led's built in which doesnt shine much past top rocks. Would a blue led strip attached to the lid suffice you reckon? Can pick them up cheap of fleabay


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

I would say so yes - you can also get cheap underwater LED's off eBay too 

I currently have blue and white running on my light unit but hope to add some blue underwater LED's and want to try to get colour change ones so that i can choose between off, blue and red for night time sneak peek viewing 

the rock is stunning up close - realy intricate and will be a heaven place for life once it seeds. I got all that rock ( there os well over 30kg there ), a 4 foot tank, 3 foot sump, filters, halide light unit, loads of sump pipework and a hefty bag of sand for £100!!!!


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## CraigofScotland (May 18, 2010)

Now thats a bargin!!


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Indeedy it is - means I get to revamp my tank, have spare equipment to hand and can sell on some of it to recoup my cash lol xx


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