Help wanted for starting a marine aquarium

[Bobby105]

Hi everyone,

I am wanting to start a marine aquarium. I want to start a coral reef marine aquarium with a few small fish. I have done some research on it and have read that I would be better with a bigger tank as they can be easy to keep the water salt levels etc stable from what I have found.

The biggest tank I think I could go with would be about 140litres/30gallon ish and I know a sump is better but I want to put the tank In my bedroom so it would be better for me if I could use a canister filter. I know using a canister filter can be risky as they can become nitrate factory’s but I am happy to clean it out weekly. I don’t want to use live rock though but if I have to, to use a canister filter then I think I would be fine using live rock. The fish I would like to get at the moment are clown fish, yellow watchman goby and a tiger pistol shrimp. As for the coral I am not really bothered but I have heard that Zoas are poisonous when fraged etc I don’t know if this is for all coral but if it’s just zoas I would prefer to not have them. I also have a question relating to the coral( when it grows too big and needs to be fragged do you give the frags to your local fish shop or what do you do with them?)

I might be wrong with some of the things above so please correct me if I am. If any one has any suggestions please let me know.

I am going to wait a while before making the full decision to buy a tank so at the moment I’m just trying to get more knowledge on it and different setups I could do.

I am still not 100% sure on it so I have also considered getting a smaller tank to start me off and if I decide it’s not for me I can then just sell it to someone else with the coral and filter etc all together.

Thanks

 

[Retro Reefer]

Welcome to R2R!! Smaller tanks are fine, I would consider an all in one type Aquarium and personally I would NEVER use a canister filter on a reef tank.

 

[Reefermadness89]

The aio setups are pretty nice.
I’m doing my first reef tank, 20long essentially but with the overflow box on the side. The biggest issue I’ve noticed is I need to top my tank off every day, but that can be solved with an ato and they aren’t too pricey.
If you’re in the states Petco has the 40B tanks half off

 

[Bobby105]

Yeah I have just had a look at some of them AIO tanks now and they look good. Just wondering though is it possible to run them without the protein skimmer as I have read that they can cause some bad smells. But I did see on YouTube someone put a carbon filter on a protien skimmer to get rid of the smell would that work without causing any problems?

Also what size would you recommend for just a small coral reef AIO setup and a coral reef with the fish I mentioned above?Do you think 10g for just coral reef and 20-30 g for the reef with fish or smaller?

I’m in the uk so i can get the discounted tanks.

 

[EMeyer]

You'll get different opinions here which is good.

My opinion:
1. The bigger the tank, the longer it will last before you decide you need a bigger one. Find the biggest one that will fit, and you can afford, then try to adjust space and budgets to get one a little bigger than that
2. I don't consider sumps optional for a saltwater tank. Those AIO back chambers make me laugh, I'd like a sump to be 1/3-1/2 the display volume, some of these AIO chambers look like they hold half a cup or so.
3. Get the best live rock you can find, it will do more for your tank's health than almost any other decision you can make when setting up a tank.

Good luck!

 

[Reefermadness89]

So I’m new so take this with a grain of reef salt...
I’m using the Nuvo Fusion Peninsula 20, but I’ve seen a lot of the more square Nuvo series on here, mine was just cheap af and got me in the door.

I will be putting a skimmer on here (the newer innovative marine model for my tank) but I don’t think it’s necessary for the smaller tanks unless you ha e too many fish/over feeding.
From my research, these smaller tanks can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.
I’m sure I could run a reef just aio tank and some lights, but I want a tank that needs less direct input.

A 40b would be cool, but I’ll be honest, the next tank I’m going to do will be a 50g frag tank, because I like the look of a shallow reef, but I’m very happy with this Nuvo20 pen.
Do your reading, get the stuff all at once or overtime and HAVE FUN! this is a super cool hobby, my only regret was not starting sooner.

 

[Reefermadness89]

You'll get different opinions here which is good.

My opinion:
1. The bigger the tank, the longer it will last before you decide you need a bigger one. Find the biggest one that will fit, and you can afford, then try to adjust space and budgets to get one a little bigger than that
2. I don't consider sumps optional for a saltwater tank. Those AIO back chambers make me laugh, I'd like a sump to be 1/3-1/2 the display volume, some of these AIO chambers look like they hold half a cup or so.
3. Get the best live rock you can find, it will do more for your tank's health than almost any other decision you can make when setting up a tank.

Good luck!

So for us aio users,is there a way to have a sump but not drill my tank?

 

[splitting_lanes]

I had a biocube running for 15 years. The only filtration I ran was live rock, sand, and macro algae. It’s very possible to do this, but you should keep your fish to a minimum and be careful how much you feed them.

Mine was a biocube 29.

 

[AdamB]

Hello from across he pond. Welcome to R2R
Patience is the best attribute for a great reefer. I agree with above . I would recommend a canister filter as well. I think if you had a cabinet stand to conceal sump you would be much better off in long run as far as costs and a more stable system .. you can hide all of your equipment as well instead of looking at wires,hoses, hob skimmer

Good luck with every thing!

 

[hotdrop]

Forget the nano skimmer. It’s too loud for bedroom use. Skimmers are fine in a sump because it’s enclosed and that helps dampen the sound but external skimmers are annoying and loud, also small skimmers aren’t very effective. If you really need nutrient removal I would try chemical or turf scrubbers. The turf scrubbers should be able to just replace a canister though positioning might be a bit more tricky. If you are on a budget consider a 40g breeder tank and aqua clear 110. You would need to pay 5-10x as much to get anything better and easier to maintain.

Also the back compartment in an AIO is impossible to clean, that’s probably the biggest downside to all the waterbox brand tanks.

 

[EMeyer]

So for us aio users,is there a way to have a sump but not drill my tank?

Well, one option would certainly be to ignore my opinions altogether since lots of people run AIO tanks and like them

If you don't want to drill (which is easier than many fear, but its not possible if your glass is tempered), you could do an over the top overflow, DIYed from PVC pipe. A lot of people worry about them losing siphon and causing a flood, but I ran one in my living room for a few years without that happening.

Its just so much more comfortable having a nice big sump. A few months into every tank build I start wishing my sump was bigger. To me its worth the plumbing hassle.

 

[Bobby105]

thanks for all the welcomes. i think the max tank size i could go with would be 30gallons. the thing that puts me of a sump is that they can be loud and need alot of tweaking to be made quiet from what i have read. but the main thing that puts me of them is the skimmer and the smell. do you think a carbon filter on top of the skimmer could stop the smell without any bad effects on the tank.

and the thing im worried about with live rock is that if it has previously had zoas/palys on it does that mean i wont be able to wash the rocks without releasing the palytoxins from the zoas etc into the air.

if i went with a sump do you think i can just use dry rock?

 

[Lance in Madison]

Hi everyone,

I am wanting to start a marine aquarium. I want to start a coral reef marine aquarium with a few small fish. I have done some research on it and have read that I would be better with a bigger tank as they can be easy to keep the water salt levels etc stable from what I have found.

The biggest tank I think I could go with would be about 140litres/30gallon ish and I know a sump is better but I want to put the tank In my bedroom so it would be better for me if I could use a canister filter. I know using a canister filter can be risky as they can become nitrate factory’s but I am happy to clean it out weekly. I don’t want to use live rock though but if I have to, to use a canister filter then I think I would be fine using live rock. The fish I would like to get at the moment are clown fish, yellow watchman goby and a tiger pistol shrimp. As for the coral I am not really bothered but I have heard that Zoas are poisonous when fraged etc I don’t know if this is for all coral but if it’s just zoas I would prefer to not have them. I also have a question relating to the coral( when it grows too big and needs to be fragged do you give the frags to your local fish shop or what do you do with them?)

I might be wrong with some of the things above so please correct me if I am. If any one has any suggestions please let me know.

I am going to wait a while before making the full decision to buy a tank so at the moment I’m just trying to get more knowledge on it and different setups I could do.

I am still not 100% sure on it so I have also considered getting a smaller tank to start me off and if I decide it’s not for me I can then just sell it to someone else with the coral and filter etc all together.

Thanks

Bobby,
I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with fish and softies. I run a hang on back filter and a hang on back filter that I modified to be a refugium. here is a link to a 10 second vid of my tank:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP9kF128uI7Z6dQrNmVWFIDfbdER-bgMwYKEzQOQwCeH7dLjILhWSNLzXR-FvqdaQ/photo/AF1QipOEUR4Z__ZzDF-uI33CWjcGvEJrS1-LoZQOzbx4?key=RlI3M28yTElPX1RaMTVtbl9hcVhFaHBYMFhBVk9n

It isn't difficult with smaller tank but you must be patient in the set up. It does get even trickier for smaller tanks without a top off to keep salinity and all the other things in balance. water changes are KEY!!!!! I've had this tank up for about a year and a half now and I'm changing 5 gallons about every 2 weeks. The home made refugium on the back has been great for keeping nitrates in check. So no big canister filter required. Hope it all works out for ya bud.

Lance

 

[EMeyer]

thanks for all the welcomes. i think the max tank size i could go with would be 30gallons. the thing that puts me of a sump is that they can be loud and need alot of tweaking to be made quiet from what i have read. but the main thing that puts me of them is the skimmer and the smell. do you think a carbon filter on top of the skimmer could stop the smell without any bad effects on the tank.

and the thing im worried about with live rock is that if it has previously had zoas/palys on it does that mean i wont be able to wash the rocks without releasing the palytoxins from the zoas etc into the air.

if i went with a sump do you think i can just use dry rock?

My opinions below - others will differ

I advise a skimmer for all saltwater tanks except dedicated high nutrient soft coral tanks. So the question of skimmer or not is unrelated to sump for me. I have never found skimmers to be smelly except while cleaning them. I mean if you put your nose in the cup sure, but not something you can otherwise smell.

To avoid palytoxin problems from previous palys on the rocks, only clean rock *underwater*. If its live rock, you arent gonna want to clean it too much anyway. Every time I hear about palytoxin problems they involve someone handling something the wrong way, like cooking it on a stove or scrubbing it with a toothbrush in an enclosed space.

My opinion on dry vs live has nothing to do with sump or tank size; live rock is simply better. You can achieve a microbial community thats comparable to a mature reef tank, relatively quickly. You can avoid the uglies altogether. The more I compare live rock and dry rock the more I'm convinced dry rock is responsible for a lot of tank problems.

Hope that helps

 

[Bobby105]

Ok I’m probably going to go for an AIO tank or sump and tank about 30gal so it can last me a while. I’m not going to use any coral with palytoxins for the beginning just so I can focus more on the tanks without having to worry about any pallytoxins. I think I’m going to use live rock and do either a skimmer or Refugium if needed. How long do you think the tank would have to be cycled for? I have seen on YouTube 6 weeks. I am going to buy a used tank and try to get all the things I need at once of someone getting out of the hobby so it’s will be cheaper for me in the beginning. When I get a used tank can I just wash it with tap water or do I need to use the pure type of tank water? Also if I end up with a seperate sump is there any sort of auto shut of valves that if the return pump stops the water coming from the tank is shut-off so I don’t flood my room? And how often would the sump need cleaning out roughly and filters replacing etc?