# Marine tank #3 - ongoing creation



## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

Hi there

I recently purchased a new glass tank, measuring 10x10x12 inches ( l*w*h ),
and have decided to going back into keeping marines.
It'll be a coral tank mainly and maybe some sexy or fire shrimp or something along those lines.

I will be posting pics as I go and trying to keep things as up to date as possible,
at the mo I haven't taken any pics, but I only literally have a tank.

Work so far, other than finding the tank, I've cut the glass straps out that would've supported the lid on the tank and cleaned the glass up.

I'm going use an over tank light on it, similar to an arcadia pod, but I have one of those from my previous nano and would like something that sits a little higher above the tank, any ideas welcome on that one. I also have a strip of LEDs that I'll be using as my moonlight, just as i did with my last tank.

as for the working equipment, I've got a piece of perforated plastic that I'm going to silicone in the tank to hide everything. I say everything, but it'll only be hiding a heater and some filtration. But before that goes in, I'm going to drill the holes slightly larger to allow water to pass through it more easily, and silicone ceramic media ( like the biorb stuff ) to it to 'hide' the plastic and I may put it in a friends tank to grow some bacteria and help speed up the process.

Any thoughts are welcome,
as is constructive criticism, as long as you dont make me feel bad lol

Will post as soon as I can find the camera and once I have done some more work

Daz


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

nice to see someone else on this forum with reef tanks, you know there are alot of marine tank forums. i am a member of reeffrontiers.com and reefsancuary.com.

what kind of lighting are you using? if your planning on any coral i would suggest at least power compact for softies and for lps maybe t5's but any sps or clams either led's or halides but halides would probably fry that tank so your most likely stuck with led's. i have a panorama module on my 5 gallon sps nano and it works great. i would suggest this for your tank as it looks great and they also can come with remotes to change the light to any color you like. they are also fairly cheap. 

Panorama Modules - Aquarium LED Lights

or you could go with a par38 bulb. i use one of those too. 

LED PAR38 Lights - Aquarium LED Lights


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

i'm looking to use pls bulbs on the tank,
i'll prob have a blue and white bulb in there, just as my last tank
but ill have to look about at other lighting, even if its just to broaden my horizons lol

i'm a member on reefsafe.com, and it's very quiet on there

i'll check out those other ones when i get a chance, see if i can pinch any ideas off of there


Daz


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

i am not familiar with that type of lighting? do you have a link to where you got the info about them?


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

i just did a quick google search and saw that they are power compact lights basically. that will be great for some nice corals. including mushrooms, kenya trees, star polyps and many other softcoral. stay away from any hard coral or clam with those though lps and sps. just not enough light output to support them.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi

i thought they were quite popular the pls bulbs,
they come in the arcadia pod.

i used two 11w ones of those bulbs on one of me first tanks,
i had hammer coral, a few buttons and yellow polyps in that one

the last one i had two 18w ones on it and that had hammer, favia, buttons, xenia and corkscrew coral in it

Daz


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

watts per gallon is not very accurate nowadays but it does give a good guideline. with those types of bulbs your gonna want at least 4-5 watts per gallon to grow hard coral. of course with led's you can grow stony coral with 19 watt lights. for that small a tank i highly reccoment a panorama module or a par38. they are a little more expensive but the light looks great, it kind of shimmers like the real sun and it can grow anything.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

Change of plan, and I aint even started lol

Rather than make the porous divider and cover it in little rocks, I'm going to leave the plastic as it is, but I'm going to make an 'L' shape with it so I can put it in the corner of the tank, effectively looking like a weir in a sumped tank.

The reason i've changed my mind is I that I think the rock will slow the water up too much, especially as it get dirt and algae stuck in and on it, I may change my mind again though, because I believe I've seen something similar here already, and want to see if I can find it and ask the person some questions.

still no pics as yet, mainly because I haven't done anything worth taking pics of yet


Daz


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## davesbray (Feb 12, 2011)

lighting wise i am eventually going down the par38 route for both my marine tanks, they come highly recommended


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

yes even for larger tanks they can work. i put 5 over my 40 gallon tank and it was better than any halides ive ever had.


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## burnseyenknight (Oct 6, 2011)

theres a forum called ultimate reef look up ocean corals he gets sum stunning stock in


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

This guy on the PFK did what you are thinking of doing with the liverock rubble/stones type thing... only his tank is 6ft and FOWLR.

Starting out...
Badgers 72x24x28 fowlr tank - Page 9 - Practical Fishkeeping Forum


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

i really dont like that look at all, there are some awesome minimalist scapes on google. just type in minimalist reef tank and youll get some amazing results.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi everyone

havent been on for a while
busy with xmas and stuff lol

done some work and took pics as i went
so here we go
started by siliconing in 2 pieces plasic grid in as an 'L' shape, i'm going to hide the heater and filter in there.









then went about covering up the filter cover
i took another piece of the same plastic grid and started siliconing some biorb ceramic media to it, that took me about half hour









then the filling in bit took me an hour and ten minutes









heres a pic with it in the tank









and then a pic of the leds i have for night time










Daz


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## chelseagrin (Nov 26, 2011)

looks great so far, however the led's may be a little bright for moonlights. 

that is also a very strange overflow? does it not overflow over the top but goes through the ceramic rings? that is a good idea!however nitrates may build up there. but i wouldnt worry unless you start having problems. 

does it have a sump? do you plan on adding a fuge or just the sump? also i wouldnt suggest adding a skimmer because recently it has been found they tend to do more harm and good. and i wouldnt want that if i was paying a couple hundred dollars for a piece of equpment.


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Ooh, liking those rocks, if you get a few small pieces of xenia or daisy coral and add them there then you could probably get them to spread over it and it'd look even better.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

Devi said:


> Ooh, liking those rocks, if you get a few small pieces of xenia or daisy coral and add them there then you could probably get them to spread over it and it'd look even better.


thanks, it took me long enough to do lol

as for the coral idea, its a very good idea, but i made the rock wall removable so i can take it out to clean it, and i dont thin the coral would like it.

i am thinking about sticking lots of the biorb or similar ceramic stuff together to make some 'branches' to give a bit more depth to the tank, so may attach some xenia to that

Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

any one got any ideas on a filter lol

i'm toying with using an external to give me some water movement, but cant find anything below 500 lph, and i think its a bit much, any thoughts?

other than that its use an internal with a large cage on it to put some LR rubble in it, and put the other medias in the corner part with the internal.

i may also get a little hang on refugium if i find one that looks nice enough, and thats not too big incase it topples the tank lol


Daz


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Take a look at the JBL internal filters  best internals anyone has made i think! It is basically an external filter that sits inside with trays thay all slot together and you can fill it with whatever you need!


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

Moogloo said:


> Take a look at the JBL internal filters  best internals anyone has made i think! It is basically an external filter that sits inside with trays thay all slot together and you can fill it with whatever you need!


i like those filters, i've only got 10 inches which the water will be in, and not alot of room in the other dimensions, i may have to borrow one from work to test the size

Daz


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Loving watchnig the updates... keep us posted!

Where do you work btw? Handy isnt it! LOL


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

Moogloo said:


> Loving watchnig the updates... keep us posted!
> 
> Where do you work btw? Handy isnt it! LOL


very handy

pick of the crop, so to speak
get to see lists of loads of fish, then the reptile list

loads of places i can order dry stuff, its quite good

work in essex, address in my sig, used to be purely aquatic, then the owner moved stuff around and got pet stuff in ( dint advertise it and its not really worth it ) and last year the marine and discus system came out and reptiles went in, sad day for the marines, i loved working on them.
but i now work on the reptiles, so not all bad

only problem now is i have to go else where for marine livestock, but luckily a friend works at a different shop that does marine and i get a good price

Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

*Xmas bump*

hi there

merry xmas, happy holidays and anything else relating to it


Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

no updates as yet

just a quick question really.

i know hermit crabs can climb wires and rocks in the aquarium, even seen some climb up the silicone, my question is this, would they be silly enough to climb out the top of an open tank?


Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

*Bump*

hi there

No updated photo's yet, i.ve taken some but not uploaded them yet.

I.ve found my old arcadia arc pod 11w light, i just need a new bulb and it'll be on there, i may get another on the same or the 9w version.

I've also got more biorb ceramic media and some larger alfa-grog and i.m going to try and make some 'branches' for the tank. They'll either be siliconed together or i.ve got some d&d epoxy to use

Daz


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## byglady (Jun 9, 2007)

Sounds really good


Get your finger out and finish it so we can see the pics.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

change of plan

i've decided against using 2 arc's with blue and white compacts in them
planning now on getting an Aquael unit, the one that comes with their nano reefs.
they have seperate blue and white bulbs on different plugs, so i can blue on, white on, then at night white off and then blue off.

but most of all, i'll be happier with the asthetics with the one unit, rather than 2 hang on units.

@ byglady, thank you
and i'll get set up and more pics once i've moved some furniture about

Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

ordered the light from work today
it'll be there on thursday, so i'm hoping to collect in on friday

also found some of my old marine stuff while tidying/re-arranging yesterday
found my hydrometer, coral syringes, and best of all a heater which i thought
i would have to buy.

went homebase on the way home today and bought some paint for the back of the tank, will post pics as soon as i'm done

thanks for your comments
Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

put a few coats of paint on the tank









this isnt the light that i'm using, i just used it for illumination for the photo

what do we think of the colour?
hopefully the new lighting will make it look better

Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

prob bit late for an update, but i'm here, so what the hell

new light came in yesterday, picked up today along with a small 'can'
of RO, new light is on, tank is half full, cant turn and pumps or heater on till i get more water tomorrow

new light pics

white bulb only









blue bulb only









blue and white bulbs









will get more water for the tank tomorrow ( later today really ) and then switch stuff on, get up to temp then add some salt

Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

woo hoo

up and running

topped up with water, filters on, heater on and its not too loud
dint get salt though, so that'll be a job for tomorrow.

anyone know any tips for quieting a fluval edge filter?
i've taken the lid off to stop the rattling vibration noise, but the
pump is still quite loud

Daz


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

dazdaraz said:


> anyone know any tips for quieting a fluval edge filter?
> i've taken the lid off to stop the rattling vibration noise, but the
> pump is still quite loud
> 
> Daz


Is it filled past the top? You need to fill past the box and into the small neck part, also ensure the filter is fully filled, otherwise it makes a horrible noise. If you fill it up all the way it should be near silent. We had this problem when we set ours up.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

i have salt in the tank, but only enough for 10 litres, need to get another packet tomorrow 

as for the edge filter, the water level is about an inch below the outlet of the filter.
its not the trickling noise thats the problem, the filter is working fine, just the pump is noisy.

its not too much of a problem now anyway, i'm gonna get an external filter to replace both the internal ones. just need to repair it lol


Daz


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

dazdaraz said:


> hi there
> 
> i have salt in the tank, but only enough for 10 litres, need to get another packet tomorrow
> 
> ...


That's a bit low really, just measured ours and it's about half an inch. It's not the trickle but if the water level is too low then the filter takes on air which causes a sort of clattering noise. Try raising the level and make sure the filter is filled with water too and it should go.


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## rhys_1992 (May 29, 2011)

I like the idea of shrimp in tanks with just corals. I like spa and lps tanks with no fish as well? How long you kept marine. Will you be upgrading etc.


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

started keeping the marines at work about 5 years ago,
i had tanks at home on and off, but eventually sold all my stuff
so i couldnt go back to it at home.

we took the marines out at work last year to make way for the reptiles,
which i also keep, but it was sad day for the marines but i was happy because i can now get most of the things i need for my animals from work rather than going elsewhere

i saw a tank in a shop, and asked how much, got told five pound, so i said yes
wasnt sure what to do with it at first, but marines have crept their way in lol

as for the upgrade, i've only just got it up to salt!
but i'm already thinking about the upgrade or another tank as well 


Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

took both of the filters of i was using because they made too much noise lol
i had the edge filter on a timer so that i came on when i werent there haha

and the other filter was a bit buzzy, i could;ve lived with it, but chose to swap them out for a small external canister.
Its a little eden 501 filter, roughly 300l/h, its quite similar to the Zoo Med turtle filter, actually googling it for a picture its exactly the same, they probably belong to eden and ZM put their sticker on it.

took the bio rings out of it because i dint think they looked very porous, and put some eheim substrat pro in instead, i now have some Seachem De-nitrate and Seagel in there and will add some Purigen in few weeks.

was hoping to get some live rock today, but i had to add more water because of the filter and need to check my salinity again. so probably wont get any until i'm off next on thursday 

its alot clearer already, will post pics up when i can

Daz


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

started using the D&D epoxy today, attaching rocks to each other. 

i have for 'pieces' that i've already made, just waiting for them to harden
properly and then i'll stick some of these together to make some crazy outcrops

pics next time hopefully

Daz


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## rhys_1992 (May 29, 2011)

I done the same thing lol. Got offered a tank for a tense and it weren't big enuf. It don't take long for them to take over lol


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

i have live rock in me tank  yay

the scaping is a bit pants so i may wait till i get some CUC in there to take pics of
also have sand in the tank too, and its lovely and clear in there


Daz


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