Newbie questions!

[White Pointer]

Hi Guys, I am currently into tropical freshwater fish and would love to upgrade to marine! I know nothing about what is required when compared to freshwater setup. I have a 4' tank with a fluval 305 canister filter! What else would i need to get started? I have heard of the protein skimmer, but i have no clue what that is!
Is this going to be much harder than freshwater to maintain? Any help would be much appreciated.

[joz]

Although I have never kept marine at all.
I dare say it will cost you plenty more.
Especially if you get into corals.

The water parameters aren't as flexible with marine as they are with fresh water tanks either.So you'll need to be ontop of your game with them.

[Dan]

Marine fish need much more space than freshwater fish and are much more sensitive to water conditions and parameters than freshwater ones and would be much more expensive to care for especially with corals. Most marines are also unsuitable for cycling a tank.

Extra things you need for a marine tank from a freshwater:

A few things to consider if keeping marines is whether a tank is suitable for holding saltwater in the first place and if the lighting is appropriate for corals(if keeping them). A good marine dealer can advise you.

You would also need marine synthetic salt for the fill in and also water changes and a hydrometer. It would also be good to have test kits with you. You will also need coral sand and tufa rock for a marine set-up.
Protein skimmers, ph adjusters, condesation trays and many other marine equipment stuff that I don't even know are also recommended and are optional.

Keep conditions at: temperature 24-26C; ph 8.3-8.4; SG 1.023-1.027

Unless you only plan to keep one or two marine fish, the minimum recommended size marine tank would be 3ft or more. As a rule of thumb, marines need about 4 times more space then freshwater fish. A good rule is 1cm of marine fish per 120cm square but some fish would require more
depending on behavioral characteristics or if they are 'fat' or 'tall' fish. Always do plenty of research about a particular fish before buying.

Also remember when topping up your water from evaporation, always use treated freshwater instead of saltwater since when evaporation occurs, it only takes away the water but not the salt, causing the water to be more saline.

If topping up with freshwater is not done, the water will become more saline as you do your water changes as pure saltwater will displace the evaporated freshwater. Also, no freshwater comes in to the system so the salinity will be higher than usual over time. Remember to check your water's specific gravity with a hydrometer frequently.

Time, patience and plenty of research regarding maintenance, care and compatibility of marine fish in the aquarium are the key factors if you want to keep marines in any degree of success.

[cichlidboy]

mate, saltwater costs a little bit more to set up. and for a beginner, it might seem very daunting. however as time passes and you read a bit more. saltwater is just about as easy as keeping an oscar. its just so damn FUN!

[Dan]

mate, saltwater costs a little bit more to set up. and for a beginner, it might seem very daunting. however as time passes and you read a bit more. saltwater is just about as easy as keeping an oscar. its just so damn FUN!

Yes, but only thing is, for oscars and other cichlids this size the filter needs to be very efficient and tank needs to be big,big!

[Lucifer]

tank needs to be big,big!

I disagree.......

I have succesfully kept SW tanks as small as 18L. Others have keep some as small as 5l!!! I had a 28l reef tank at work for over 2 years (I have left that job now and the tank has a new owner)....

Keeping a SW tank is like keeping a FW tank. Most of the equipments are different, but the basics are the same. eg. heater/chillers, lights, water change every week, keep water parameters correct, test your water every now and then, etc....

Just like FW, a filter is a must (Protein Skimmer), but in a small nano you don’t have the space for one, so a water change (10-20%) every few days is a must. Using live rocks as a filter is another option. Either have them in your display (to put your corals on :biggrin:) as structure or hiding space, or/and in your sump. A good light is a must for corals and keeping your rocks "live".

Yes you have to top up with freshwater only. RO or DI flitted water seem to work best if you keeping corals.

You can either mix your own water or use Natural Sea Water (NSW) brought from most LFS or collected yourself.

You must have more patience, time and money if you want to keep a SW tank. If you have these, then you do fine.

Most LFS will give you the worng advice so make sure you look for a good LFS that knows what they talking about. Get advice then do your research.

Spend lots of time doing your research. Research, research, research, not big, big, big..... I have seen lots of newbie’s getting into SW and then quitting in 2 or 3 months time because they did not spend time and effect to keep it running.

[Dan]

I disagree.......

I have succesfully kept SW tanks as small as 18L. Others have keep some as small as 5l!!! I had a 28l reef tank at work for over 2 years (I have left that job now and the tank has a new owner)....

Keeping a SW tank is like keeping a FW tank. Most of the equipments are different, but the basics are the same. eg. heater/chillers, lights, water change every week, keep water parameters correct, test your water every now and then, etc....

Just like FW, a filter is a must (Protein Skimmer), but in a small nano you don’t have the space for one, so a water change (10-20%) every few days is a must. Using live rocks as a filter is another option. Either have them in your display (to put your corals on :biggrin:) as structure or hiding space, or/and in your sump. A good light is a must for corals and keeping your rocks "live".

Yes you have to top up with freshwater only. RO or DI flitted water seem to work best if you keeping corals.

You can either mix your own water or use Natural Sea Water (NSW) brought from most LFS or collected yourself.

You must have more patience, time and money if you want to keep a SW tank. If you have these, then you do fine.

Most LFS will give you the worng advice so make sure you look for a good LFS that knows what they talking about. Get advice then do your research.

Spend lots of time doing your research. Research, research, research, not big, big, big..... I have seen lots of newbie’s getting into SW and then quitting in 2 or 3 months time because they did not spend time and effect to keep it running.


i did not say sw tank big, big, big! i said oscar tank big.

[Dan]

You can either mix your own water or use Natural Sea Water (NSW) brought from most LFS or collected yourself.

You must have more patience, time and money if you want to keep a SW tank. If you have these, then you do fine.




I disagree, collected seawater may have toxins and chemicals that can be difficult to detect.

And also, patience, time and money are not all the keys to keeping marines, and also freshwater as well. You have to do lots of research too! If not then you will be throwing your money into the sea.

[Lucifer]

I disagree, collected seawater may have toxins and chemicals that can be difficult to detect.

Mate I disagree with you here..... It all depends on where you collect the water... for example: you not going to go and collect water in the Sydney harbour areas where there are boats and ferries running around. For sure you get pollution in your water. You need to collect your water at the right time (an hour before high tide) and place (where there are little or no traffic (this includes common swimming areas). Use your common sense.
I have been using collected water for the pass 16 years and have no problems. I also use commercial salt mixed with RO water at times where I don't have collected water.
Do your research. There is a million reason why you should be using natural sea water (NSW) over commercial salt.


And also, patience, time and money are not all the keys to keeping marines, and also freshwater as well. You have to do lots of research too! If not then you will be throwing your money into the sea

Time = time to research what you need and want, time to waiting for tank to cycle, time to wait for sand bed to become alive, time to research the corals and fish you can keep in your size tank and equipment you got, time to maintain your tank, time for your corals to grow into the size you want, etc......


Unless you only plan to keep one or two marine fish, the minimum recommended size marine tank would be 3ft or more. As a rule of thumb, marines need about 4 times more space then freshwater fish. A good rule is 1cm of marine fish per 120cm square but some fish would require more
depending on behavioral characteristics or if they are 'fat' or 'tall' fish. Always do plenty of research about a particular fish before buying.

To me this sounds like "big, big, big"......
There are marine fish, corals, shrimps, etc suitable for nano tanks.

With time and patience you can do this:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c225/upski30/New%20Reef%20Tank/FTS051008.jpg