Setting up a successful marine aquarium.

Maxx

Well-Known Member
We get lots of people visiting the board and wanting to know how to start up a Marine aquarium. Many have either already purchased a set up at the LFS or just came back from visiting one and were mesmerized by what they saw. I thought this would be a great way to start up a thread in the beginners forum sorta detailing what is needed to start a successful reef tank.
I'm talking about all aspects here...lighting, water quality, water flow, equipment purchases, live stock, (compatability and requirements), the whole deal.
There are many ways to start up a reef tank, and many different methods of reaching whatever particular goals you might have for reefkeeping. What I'm wanting here is for everyone to contribute their input on what they've found to useful, good to know, and what to avoid like the plague.

I feel that the first step is to decide what exactly you want to keep. Love the look of stoney corals?

Photo by Greg Rothschild
110reef1b_std-med.jpg


Prefer the wild shapes and movement of soft corals?

Photographer unknown
110cpfarm1.jpg





Or do you want just a fish only tank to keep all those really cool "personality fish" which would eat everything inside a reef tank?

Photo by o2manyfish

1104304fishjan18_full-med.jpg


The point is:
There are many ways to go about doing this. There is no one right or wrong way. What I'm hoping to accomplish here is give a sort of tutorial of how these goals can be accomplished by breaking it down into a couple of major focus points. We'll do this by focussing on what it takes to set up each one of these type of tanks successfully, so that someone new to the hobby has an idea of what they are getting into and what to look for. Please join in and help out.
Nick
 

Maxx

Well-Known Member
I'm going to start with the easiest of the three to start with, and what most of us here began with originally, the Fish Only aquarium.

What does it take to keep a FO/ FOWLR tank successfully in your opinion. What do you successful FO/FOWLR keepers do to make sure your tank is happy and healthy? What do you keep in it? Show us some pics!!! I know there have to be some better pics of FO tanks than the one I found. Why is this considered an "easier" tank to set up as opposed to other types of tanks?
Nick
 
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mps9506

Well-Known Member
Allright, here is my advice, hope Melev doesn't mind me posting a link to this. I have these printed up in my store, I give them to all potential new SW customers in addition to selling them a book like Fenner's Cons. Marine Aq.
click here
Mike
 

Maxx

Well-Known Member
Wow....I had no idea he had that on his site....good thorough information there. That covers quite abit of ground with that. And you bring up a good point about books to read. Buying some good books is invaluable to helping out. You can buy several really good ones here.
Two things I noticed that were not mentioned in Melev's great primer on marine aquarium set up were acclimation and the fact that marine fish will not grow to fit their home aquarium.

How do you acclimate your new additions to your tank Mike?What sort of precautions do you take?
Nick
 

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Acclimation process for me depends on what I am acclimating :)
Most people are interested in fish. Well for These guys for the most part I setup a Quarantine tank before adding them to my established system, I can cover that in another post.
I have a specimen container that I got from the store, the kind the employees put the fish in when they catch them. I put the fish and the water from the bag into that. I add usually a squirt of water from my tank with a turkey baster into the specimen cup. I also like to hang the specimen cup insdie the tank so the temperature acclimates also. Every 3-5 minutes I squirt some water in there. After about 45 minutes I realease the fish. Bigger fish like tangs I prefer to do in a bucket. some fish are more sensitive than other. Do your research and acclimate accordingly.
To acclimate corals, well, honestly, I don't acclimate corals:tongue: (maybe not the best advice in the world) I let them sit in the bag to let the temperature adjust. Then I pull them out of the bag, and in the case of soft corals and sps corals I just plop em in. I've honestly never had a problem doing it this way. LPS corals I am more careful about, They are quite fleshy and I do tend to use the turkey baster to acclimate while pour off water until I replace all the water in the container then I slowly put the coral into the tank while allowing it to stay submerged. This prevents any tissue tearing and possible infections. I also tend to slowly acclimate Xenia, sometimes (as hardy and fast growing as it is) does ship or acclimate to new tank conditions very well.
All snails, hermit crabs, starfish and most other mobile invertabrates get the turkey basting acclimation, but typically I do it more slowly with these guys than with the fish.
I have a lot of other little tricks I do here and there also deoending on what I'm getting. I've learned a lot through trial and error working in a store on fish acclimation. Some may or may not be considered "proper," but I do what has worked for me in the past, although I'm always willing to learn new things :)
Mike
 

strat

Member
awesome thread maxx. my big issue when i finally get to start my tank up is algae. i hate it, having once had a saltwater tank (FO), that was overrun with it. so in my research i have learned alot, and ive decided not to do a tank until i have all the right equipment etc, to start off right. anyways, this is what i have come up with to avoid algae
1. Use RO/DI water to fill tank and for all topoffs and WCs.
2. Soak fresh seafood in RO/DI water before feeding to tank so as to asborb algae causing things :D
3. Do not overfeed.
4. Depending on tank size, include fish/snails/other that eat algae.
5. Use correct spectrum lighting and replace bulbs at their recommended intervals. (before spectrum shift)
6. Have tonnes of water movement.
7. Get a big skimmer.
8. Avoid DSB's (might get some flack for that one :D )


Thats all i can think of for now, but its a good start.

-kris
 

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
I started out many moons ago with a FO system. IME looking back, I think some of the best lessons learned were:

1) Do not use crushed coral as a substrate (unless you really, REALLY enjoy vacuuming it a LOT. ;) It will trap diterus very, very quickly.

2) Do not skimp on a skimmer; get the biggest/best you can possible afford...even if it means waiting and doing extra water changes in the interim.

3) Do not overfeed!!!!

4) Use quality food... I highly recommend making a homemade mush. There are many great recipes for making it.

5) Do not overstock the aquarium and keep in mind the ADULT size of the fish... they will grow!!

6) Add the aggressive fish last... RESEARCH the type of fish BEFORE buying them to make sure they'll get along.

That's all I can think of right now.....
 

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by strat
5. Use correct spectrum lighting and replace bulbs at their recommended intervals. (before spectrum shift)

Kris,
I'm gonna give you flak for this one :)
I am not a scientist, but I do believe that light spectrum has almost nothing to do with excess algae growth.
As long as you have clean water with minimal buildup of nutrients you will not have an algae problem, not matter what spectrum your lights are peaking at or how old they are.
Granted corals may not be growing as well with old bulbs, but I don't think it has anything to do with excess algae.


But you are on the right track. I just wanted to take the oppurtunity to point out one of the great old LFS myths.
Mike
 

strat

Member
item 8, avoid DSB.... i almost went as far as saying that it will melt and add phospates but..i knew you guys would chime in :D

and thanks mike for that info. but, i thought that if one were to have a FOWLR say, with just regular spectrum NO bulbs that might cause algae growth?? i really dont know but if you do lemme know.

thanks again guys

im going to bed

kris
 

strat

Member
oh yeah, just remembered kalkwasser should help as well. one of the reasons is promoting coralline growth which may compete with the HA. but im real tired and just thinking out loud. i dunno

gnight :D
 

Maxx

Well-Known Member
Wow, I'm gone for a few hours and the thread explodes with info...AWESOME!!!
Okay, I'm going to back track here and try and steer this back to FO set ups for the moment. I'm definately planning on moving towards the reef tanks here in just a bit, but I want to bounce a couple of things off the more experianced members here.

FO set ups are popular for a number of reasons:
Fish are hardier than most invertebrates.
FO systems are generally less expensive than reef set ups.
And FO set ups are generally less complicated than reef systems.


When I say fish are hardier than most invertebrates, thats a pretty generalized statement, but not an unfair one. Most fish are more tolerant of fluctuations in water parameters than inverts, especially corals. They can handle nitrates much higher than inverts, and phosphate levels dont really bother them too much.
Phosphates and nitrates are basically algae fertilizer. If you dont believe me, go to your local HD or Lowes and check out the fertilizers they sell....if you look at the active ingredients the majority of them will be phosphates and nitrates. So when mps9506 says that the lights dont matter, its the nutrients in the water, he's correct. It wont matter what bulbs you have over the tank, if there is no food for the algae, it wont grow. That simple.
So how do we limit the phosphates and nitrates?
Volumes of material have been written, argued over and discussed on this subject....so I'm not going there. I'm just going to state simply, that the easiest way to reduce your phosphates is by using Reverse Osmosis/ DeIonized , (RO/DI) water. For smaller systems you can just buy the water. For larger systems, buy an RO/DI unit. You would be amazed at the difference it will make. I bought mine from www.airwaterice.com , but there are many manufacturers. Find one thats right for you and buy it.
Another common theme mentioned by everyone is buy the biggest and best skimmer you can. I cannot emphasize how important I feel this particular piece of equipment is for the success of your tank. There are many out there....they will all work to some degree, (with the exception of the skilter, I dont care what the LFS says, its crap. Dont buy it, nuff said.) Skimmers are like everything else in the world, you will get what you pay for. I dont feel that its possible to overskim a tank. I do feel that manufacturers have a tendancy ( and I have no freakin idea why they do this), to over rate their skimmers. IE if a skimmer says its rated for a 100 gallon...I'm only gonna use it for a 50 gallon tank. What you are really looking for in a skimmer is turnover. How many times an hour will your skimmer process, (turnover) your entire systems volume? Ideally you want 3-4 times an hour. This removes the most of the crap from your tank possible. Obviously, you can go higher on that number as well.
Heres something many people dont think about...skimmers dont wear out. They dont have any moving parts. They might need cleaning, and pumps might give out, but the skimmer will never go bad. So if you see a good deal on a skimmer and your a little leary of buying a second hand skimmer...keep that in mind.
The main theme here: BUY THE BIGGEST AND BEST SKIMMER YOU CAN. IT WILL ONLY BENEFIT YOUR TANK!

FO systems are less expensive than reef systems because your not concerned with lighting, (the fish arent photosysnthetic and dont need expensive lighting that is required for corals etc) and fish dont require the same degree of pristine water conditions that reef tanks require.
These same things make an FO system less complicated.
Nick
 

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Strat,
Maxx basically answered it.
As far as the coralline and kalk. There is no real reason to drip the stuff in a fish only or even fowler system. Coralline grows in condtitions with low nitrates, low phosphates etc. Conditions that typically don't favor hair algae anyways.
So basically you won't be seeing any coralline growth until you get rid of the conditions that get rid of the hair algae, perhaps onee of the reasons it is thought that coralline outcompetes hair algae. It really doesn't, it just grows better in an environment that doesn't favor hair algae growth, an enivronemtn that is better for your stonet coral growth anyways.
HTH
Mike
 

strat

Member
cool, thanks guys. that clarifys things. Is there something that should be done to LR that has macroalgae growth on it, ie cualerpa, before using to start a tank? ( if this is going off topic ignore it) but i was thinking about the cooking method, or at least 4-6 weeks of no light...

-kris
 

Maxx

Well-Known Member
If you have any undesireable algae growth on a rock, save the water you pull out of the tank on your next water change. Put the rock in a bucket with some old tank water, (just changed out) and scrub it with an old toothbrush or a new scuzz brush (that hasnt been exposed to any chemicals), in the bucket of old water. Caulerpa will release toxins when broken or torn, so you definately want to do this outside of the tank. Then you can "cook" the rock if you like.
Nick
 

Maxx

Well-Known Member
I know that FO set ups are what got us all started here, and are kinda viewed as starter set ups, (depending on whats being kept) but I view them as the easiest to get going and maintain so its a natural starting point for this thread. So a quick recap before moving towards soft coral tanks.
1...FO tanks are less expensive to start, (dont require expensive lights, supplements, or random and chaotic water movement that reef tanks do), less complicated, and less maintenance than reef tanks.
2... A skimmer is very important. If your going to spend money, this should definately be the item to spend it on. If you THINK you might eventually upgrade to a reef tank someday, buy the biggest and best skimmer you can afford. Better skimmer = better water quality, (and everything in your tank will thank you for it.)
3... Use RO or RO/DI water for your tank, preferably, buy a RO/DI unit. This removes most of the elements in the water that will aid undesireable algae in running rampant in your tank, and making everything look furry.
4... Research every animal you want to put in the tank. Make sure you know its maximum size, what it eats, whether or not it will eat, how aggressive it is, and whether or not you stand a chance at keeping it alive more than a few weeks.
5... Patience and stability are two keys to marine aquarium success. Remember, nothing good happens fast in a marine aquarium. The more stable your tanks parameter's are, (temperature, PH, salinity, nitrate levels, how often/regularly you do water changes etc), the more successful your tank will be. Be patient enough to take time with this and let your tank mature, before running out and buying every cool fish in the world to stuff in your tank.

Okay, all of this is a building block or stepping stone (pick your metaphor of choice) towards reef keeping. Because everything mentioned above is necessary for keeping the more delicate invertebrates alive also. But there is more to keep track of in a reef tank.
The next step up is a soft coral tank.
What requirements do soft corals have. How is a soft coral reef tank different than an FO tank?
Nick
 

ScottT1980

Well-Known Member
Soft Corals:

Making generalizations about a soft coral setup are quite difficult. Just some notes and considerations.

1) The watts/gallon method is old, but does have some applicability when considering a soft coral setup. I would reccommend approximatly 5 watts/gallon. With shrooms and some button polyps, you can get away with less (some don't require it at all), but for the most part, 5 wpg is a good target

2) This is personal opinion, and we all have them, but with strictly a softy tank, you can get away with "dirtier" water, and in fact, you might be more succesful with this. So, while skimming and water changes are all neccesary, they perhaps aren't as neccesary as in an SPS tank. However, recognize that algae blooms can occur in such conditions if it is outcompeting the soft corals for the nutrients, so it can become a Catch-22.

3) One of the biggest reasons for poor softy growth, IME, is an incorrect balance in your Alk/Ca. So many people claim a softy is doing poor, and when you ask them to test Alk/Ca, this turns out to be the culprit. The problem is that most don't equate softy success wit these two parameters.

4) Flow is important, but not as neccesary as in an SPS system. I like high flow, but corals like mushrooms do not. You have to use some discretion with placement.

5) PC and VHO setups are sufficient for softy tanks unless the tank is VERY deep, and there, penetration, not total wattages, is your concern.

6) Softy setups generally consist of a variety of corals, each with a variety of needs. Therefore, placement considerations is important (dependent upon flow, height, etc...)

7) Softies are known for what is called "chemical warfare" and this can really inhibit growth of neighboring softies. I have found the sinularia species to be especially guilty of this, and so understanding this potential is also something to consider with coral placement.

8) Softies, in general, are hardy and are often good "indicator corals" if something is askew in the water column.

With all this said, I would still use your RO/DI water, do your water changes, utilize a skimmer, and feed your fish sparingly, at least initially. Once you get a feel for your coral's specific requirements in your tank, then you can make adjustments accordingly. It is better to ere on the side of caution.

I apologize in advance for the many typos that I am sure are in the post, I did this in a hurry...

Take er aesy
Scott T.
 
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