Marine Fish keeping
 

Who else has a tank?

I have just got one of these going through QT at the moment -
http://www.thetropicalfishplace.com/...nt-foxface.jpg

It is a really cool fish, very friendly, just got to be careful he doesnt sting me!

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/...ps530289ba.jpg


http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8ca62405.jpg

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/...psa4a63ac2.jpg


And while the CUC were doing their thing a few corals -

Euphyllia Torch, Striped Mushrooms and Pulsing Xenia, also have a Euphyllia Ancora and Cycloseris spp

http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/...psfd21bf55.jpg



Tank is 420ltrs DT and a 100ltr sump with all the equipment in.

I have never kept fish before, but the range of creatures that you can have in a marine tank is astounding, and the colours are like nothing you have seen before. Definitely not something you can have with tropical! I have 1 Red hermit, 3 Algea hermits, 7 turbo snails, 2 stomatella snails, 1 cleaner shrimp, feather duster worms, spaghetti worms, 2 clown fish, 1 magnificent fox face, unfortunately i lost the Tang and blenny due to an illness

I know MartynJ is a fish keeper but I am unsure what type?

Who else?!

Yh I keep marines, if your new to it, dont overload to start off. Stability is the key. As you have LPS keep an eye on your parameters. As they take elements out of the water. Keep up with water changes with a good salt and you will be fine. The foxface can get aggressive, especially to newly added fish.

I've got a 5ft aqua oak approx 500 litres with sump. They are hard to look after as there r a lot of things to check, need regular water changes with ro water and salt. Have a look on ultimate reef forum

I dont do water changes, havent done one for 6 months so far, just dose the elements required :) Got my own ROmachine.

Get some pics up of your tanks

Thanks for making this thread! I was thinking of starting one as a result of that other thread where I found out you kept marine fish :lol1:

As I mentioned, I'm hopefully getting one at the end of summer once I know for sure if I have the time and money to properly get started. I don't want to skimp on things and want to do everything properly. I'm moving house in the summer you see so it'll be a great time to start, but have other priorities such as house furniture that needs to come first :lol1:

I've done a lot of research and my first choice was a new Redsea Max C-250 tank but I've started to sway more towards a TMC Signature 900 series with a proper sump and Razor LED lights. Both tanks look beautiful and some of the builds on Ultimate Reef are stunning. I really just want to get stuck in.

This is the list I made for the equipment I'd like to have/need to have for a Signature 900:

Tank- TMC Signature 900 Tank
TMC V2 Power Pump 1500
X Aqua Overflow to replace stock
Lighting- Maxspect Razor 160W 16000k
Skimmer- Bubble Magus Curve 5
TMC Auto Top-up
Wave maker- Vortech MP10
D&D Phosphate Reactor, Pump and 100ml Rowaphos
STC1000 temperature controller
200W Heater

Or I could take it easy and get the RSM C250 for a little cheaper but the standard equipment wouldn't be half as good.... Undecided to be honest but I still have time!

To be honest, would a custom built one not be cheaper? If you are going to modify all the stuff in it anyway, just get one built to your specs?

I do like the signature tanks, I want a shallow open braceless one at some point in the future.

Pump I would look at the Jebao DC ones, they have very good reviews

X aqua, spot on

Lighting, I would seriously consider the new TMC Ilumenaire too, they are getting very good reviews.

Skimmer, yep BM is the way forward.

Auto top up I have heard of the TMC ones gettting stuck, so get the dual float version

Wavemaker, dont waste vast money on a vortech, get a Jebao WP10, again getting very good reviews.

I use a bubble magus mini 100 reactor for my media as it is an all in one unit, no need for pipework and pumps etc.

I would also suggest a UV unit (properly sized with the correct pump, there is a calculation for it to get the correct contact time etc)

I actually find time wise, it doesnt impact on my time too much, this is why I have a massive tank, the larger the volume of water, the easier it is to maintain. I probably spend a couple of hours a week dealing with tank stuff. This is for both, not just the one. I personally do not do water changes, I just dose the elements that are required as and when.

Not sure if I can be bothered with the hassle and bother with a custom build. I'm hopping I can sort out some sort of bundle/deal for the things I want if I order all the kit from one of the forum sponsors. Cockfields do a bundle for the Signature 900 and they say that if you want to swap anything out to change something, then they are happy to help.

For the ATO, the TMC dual float was the one I meant :)

I've not looked at the bubble magus mini 100 but after doing a quick bit of research it does look good. I'd probably get that one actually as it seems that a lot of people go for that. The reactor's for media filtration is the thing I've looked at least to be honest with you.

I want to stick with the Razor lights and Vortech... both expensive I know but there's hardly any bad reviews about them and I know they will just work well with no hassle.

What's a UV unit for pump?

This is the best set up!

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ps109f026f.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ps0683c22e.jpg

Miss them like mad, but a 1,000 watt and a ton of Massivore each week was getting a bit too pricey.

The BM mini 100 is definitely a brilliant bit of kit :)

All I can say with the Vortechs, is they arent as reliable as you see, look at all the second hand ones, every single one will have replacement bearings and wet/dry sides and all sorts been done to them, it is alot of money and they seem to all need work on. I would go for the cheaper Jebao ones because they do exactly the same thing, spares are cheaper, and you can repair your jebao alot of times and still have money left over from what you would have spent on a vortech.

The Razor are good lights, personally I have T5s and would change them for anything anyway, but the TMC Ilumenaire is definitely a good alternative.

A UV steriliser, this helps keep parasites etc at bay, but to work properly you need a small pump and an accurately measured flow through it for it to be effective.

The single most important thing in my eyes for your tank is another Quarantine tank. You should always quarantine all fish for a minimum of a month IMO. It is just not worth the stress hassle and heartache of trying to catch a fish in a display tank because you have brought whitespot in on a fish.

I speak from experience.

If you do bring in a parasite like that, you have to act quickly, and quite often by the time you have set up a QT and bought all the stuff etc, it is too late. It doesnt have to be anything special, my QT tank (100ltrs) just has 3 lumps of live rock in 2 internal power filters and an air pump and heater. You keep the levels in check by doing water changes every week and you can then prophylactically treat all new fish to ensure the safety of all your stock.

I cannot stress this highly enough