# Marine Tanks



## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Are they as hard as people say to set up and maintain? I would like to get one set up but dont want to spend alot of time and effort on something that can go belly up at the first mistake. Any helpful input much appreciated!:smile:


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## emma1974 (Jul 3, 2007)

go here and have a good read loads of info and just for the record they aint that bad to look after. 

UltimateReef.com - Powered by vBulletin


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Wow looks pretty complicated to me! :grin1:


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

The bigger you go the easier it is to maintain, my local fish shop does a complete marine fish tank for £130, comes with everything inc uv steriliser and protien skimmer, 90l so its a healthy size too. The only thing putting me off at the moment is that its made of acrylic rather than glass.

Index - Reef Safe


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

£130 seems pretty cheap. I have been reading up and the info is starting to make sense it just seems to be really really complicated. Do they make much noise?


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

They should be silent, if your running a sump then you need a submerged wier or you get a gurgling sound. But they are mostly silent : victory:

Reefsafe do what they call "raids" its where they all meet up and go round the shops, they shops lay on food and a discount etc, i went on one yesterday, we visited 5 shops and people bought corals for £10 which would of normally cost £35 and what not. You can also post details of a product you want in the sponsor request forum and they all fight for your business by finding the lowest price for you. I think reefsuk do a similar thing : victory: Ideal for setting up on the cheap.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Sounds good thanks for your help! I just need to figure out what I actually need then...:lol2:


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

You have to do it the other way round mate, work out what you want to keep then see if you can afford it/want the gear. Some corals and inverts need metal hallide lights others dont, those are very expensive lights!!


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

I am gonna get my head in the books I bought and come back with a list of things I would like to keep!:smile:


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## Penny (Dec 12, 2006)

WeThePeople said:


> The bigger you go the easier it is to maintain, my local fish shop does a complete marine fish tank for £130, comes with everything inc uv steriliser and protien skimmer, 90l so its a healthy size too. The only thing putting me off at the moment is that its made of acrylic rather than glass.
> 
> Index - Reef Safe


Cant be that good then if its only that price lol
and the bigger you go doesnt mean the easier it is to maintain, as ive kept marine also.


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Penny said:


> Cant be that good then if its only that price lol
> and the bigger you go doesnt mean the easier it is to maintain, as ive kept marine also.


Why not? All the marine fans are going mad for them, i got mine today they had 3 delivered and were all sold as they came off the lorry. It really is a cracking bit of kit for the money. Nano tanks need a lot of maintenence compared to larger tanks, go on any reef forum and ask if they are beginner friendly and see what they say. A mate has to replace 1litre of water per day ontop of routine maintenence.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

I have been looking into the nano tanks and most people say they aren't as forgiving as a larger tank. I have been looking at this> JUWEL 4' MARINE FISH AQUARIUM TANK SET UP INC DELIVERY on eBay Lighting, Fish, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (item 330158491589 end time 01-Sep-07 13:36:47 BST)

wouldnt have a clue if this is a good price though.


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Looks like a bargain mate, its only 240 litres though but still a nice size. My 4 foot tank is 400l and a 4x2x2 is over 500l so thats on the skinny side for a footer.

It does look like a bargain though, the only thing id do is change the T8 lights for T5 bulbs, you have the fittings and everything so you just need two light tubes for about £20 the pair. Having only T5's will be why he hasnt filled it with coral or the coral has died off.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

I like the idea of him coming to set it up too! I wouldnt mind a bigger tank though maybe 4x2x2 that one is a bit smaller.

The small ones still look good though>D&D JBJ 24 gallon Nano Reef Fully Stocked, Marine tank on eBay Aquariums Bowls Tanks, Fish, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (item 230166200855 end time 31-Aug-07 16:52:49 BST)


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Thats a very nice tank for sale, i know people who have seen it in person and say its bob on, he's one of the owners of reefsafe.co.uk :Na_Na_Na_Na:

You will get more satisfaction from setting up your own tbh, you can waterscape it and put the stock in you like.

This is the one i have, people are going mad for them at the moment.

Charterhouse Aquatics: Orca TL450 Jumbo Nano Reef Aquarium

Just stick in your RO salty water and away you go, it comes with everything you need.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Looks nice which is bigger out of that and the nano on ebay? i.ewhich would hold more fish etc?


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

The one i posted a link to is twice the size iirc. So that will hold the most fish, but tbh you dont get that many fish in marine tanks, its all about the coral and inverts - you can pack it full with those.


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## Penny (Dec 12, 2006)

andy if i were you id do alot of research first and get as much info as you can before setting up as it costs a lot to start up and you never really stop buying lol
ask t-bo for some tips as hes got a marine tank now im sure he'll give you a few tips


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Are these any good? Saw one today looked pretty smart. Not sure on the £700 price tag though.

Red Sea Max Aquarium Complete Reef System


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Very expensive mate, you sure its not cheaper elsewhere? Mine is £125 and has pertty much the same gear but is 90l instead of 110l.

The best Nano is one by a company called D&D. Not sure how much they are but they are less than £150 inc all equiptment iirc.

View topic - Si's wee beastie!! - Reef Safe

View topic - Mrs Ronnie's Nano - Reef Safe

Those are 90l/24g which is what most Nano tanks are.


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## pinko (Jul 5, 2007)

when me and the o/h get a house we are thinking of a marine tank
have seen some of those nano reefs and they look quite cute
have heard/read you can only keep 1 maybe 2 fish in them tho?if so maybe we're best off sticking to tropical!i like fish  although would love a lil blue lobster....


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

It all depends on what fish you pick and how much your willing to put in, more fish is going to require more frequent water changes and more filtration so your gunna have to stick more live rock in too.

Here's mine ive got 4kg of live rock and expect to keep 2 clownfish, 1 royal grammer, 1 manderine fish and something else. Invert wise im having turbo snails, hermit crabs, a starfish and blood ship plus i can pile in as much corals as i want because they dont polute the water like fish do.


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

we had a 5ft set up and it was a pain to keep would never do another one the halides was at the right height but caused no end of probs we got rid of all the equipment and its now a tropical tank.
the question is do you have time to spend on it we spent at least 20 mins a day plus more at the weekend with water changes and getting the water spot on and doing all the tests fetching RO water each week,the cost of setting up and the live stock is high to.
another question is what happens when you buy a 50.00 fish and a week later it dies ?this happend to us even though it looked fine and the water was spot on,its one thing to lose a few neon tetras but when you lose one or two fish at that price its gutting


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

WeThePeople said:


> i can pile in as much corals as i want because they dont polute the water like fish do.


remember some can and will sting and fight for space: victory:


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## gsxrnutter (Apr 9, 2007)

2 clownfish is about the max in there mate or you will get probs i have done both, go bigger if you can nanos are hard work :lol2: dont forget always use r/o water will post a pic of my 6x2x2 if you want :lol2:


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Yeah post pics mate, ive got a 4x2x2 im thinking of stocking with marines but i think ill just go for a few nano's as they are more of a challange.

Ill have no problems with getting in more fish mate, it just means more frequent water changes :no1: ive already beefed up the filtration system so i should be ok with 4 or 5 small fish.

I only use RO water mate, even for my tropicals and i even give it to my reptiles, been known to drink it myself from time to time too : victory:


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## gsxrnutter (Apr 9, 2007)

this is when it was 1st set up will take some new ones tomorrow as its changed so much :lol2:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Excellent mate looks ace! How much looking after does a tank that size require? Do you have to spend much per month on upkeep?


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Very nice tank mate, id want to hide the shelves if it were mine though.

Andy very expensive and takes up a lot of time, he will be checking water parameters every day, feeding a couple of times a day, topping up the water/salt mix weekly and a water change weekly too.

Price wise again very expensive, the skimmer is £250 easy, the hallide lights probably £500 easy, there will be a sump underneath full of expensive stuff too.

Love the flame angel, bet that was £80 alone!! wouldnt suprise me if there is £3.5-4k in that picture, including livestock.


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## Penny (Dec 12, 2006)

WeThePeople said:


> Here's mine ive got 4kg of live rock and expect to keep 2 clownfish, 1 royal grammer, 1 manderine fish and something else. Invert wise im having turbo snails, hermit crabs, a starfish and blood ship plus i can pile in as much corals as i want because they dont polute the water like fish do.


How long as your tank been up and running? because a manderine fish can only go in a mature tank otherwise you will end up killing it within days,
just a heads up for ya: victory:


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## WeThePeople (Jul 8, 2007)

Manderine will be last in, hoping for early next year but it wont be going in till i know it will be fine, im in no rush to stock it at all. Chucked in the clean up crew today, blue leg hermit crabs and turbo snails got a pair of clowns to go in after my next water change too :no1:


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## maybrick (May 20, 2005)

My understanding of mandarins is that they need HUGE amounts of live rock, as they graze for pods pretty much all day.

In the wild they have a fairly large territory (a couple of square meters of rock at the least...think of the amount of rock that represents).

I have also read that they can starve to death in a very short amount of time.

I would want a large tank with a whole shitload of live rock before i even considered keeping a mandarin.

And i really want one.

I smell a new tank coming...


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