New to this HELP!!!

[Renez23]

Ok so I have wanted to start up a marine aquarium for a while now and need some info. I have previously had goldfish and tropical fish but have never taken the plunge to start a marine tank but I do like a challenge :angel:.

I am looking at a tank to buy off ebay this is a list of things it comes with:

Its a Weipro barrier reef 400 50ltr marine tank
comes with built in lights, built in led, night lights, filter, heater, protein skimmer, exhust fan, crushed coral for subtrate, 4kg of live rock

Can you please help and tell me what else I will need to buy before picking it up and settling it up

Thanks

 

[FishLipz]

Assuming you only want to keep fish and not coral, everything you need seems to be included. Now if you plan on making your tank a full reef tank, some of this equipment may be inadequate depending on what coral you plan on keeping .

 

[Bubbabobobbrain]

+1 Im with Fishlipz. If you only.want a fish tank and not a reef tank it looks pretty complete. But if you want a reef tank you will most likely need to upgrade the lighting. You will also want to look into a refugium to help with nutrient export. The refugium will help you keep the nitrares and phosphates down with the use of macro algae like chaeto or calurpa.

 

[Renez23]

ok great thanks. It currently has 2 clown fish and a anenome in it and looking at just having the same in it when I get it. Will what it comes with be ok for the anenome? Also what would I need to upgrade to make it a reef tank?

 

[Renez23]

It will either be a carpet anenome or bubble tip and maybe 2 clowns dont want to over crowd the tank, startin off small and if im successful at the small stuff in the long run im going to invest in a large tank

 

[FishLipz]

If you are planning to break down, move, and set up this existing tank immediately you'll be getting a pretty much pre cycled tank and it should be ready to go. Just use new water and a clean substrate or maybe go bare bottom. You may see a diatom bloom, but it should pass quickly.

As long as the anemone that is in the tank has been there a while, I'm assuming the setup is OK for at least that kind of anemone. Do yourself a favor and don't get a carpet. Well, not yet anyway. With the exception of Maxi-mini carpets (which don't host clowns), they can be difficult to keep and get VERY large (like 2-3 feet across) when well cared for. There will be plenty of time for that later with more experience and a bigger tank. If you really want an anemone, get a bubble tip.

You'll have to decide what coral you want to keep to make a decision if the equpment is up to the task. If you like acropora and other small polyp corals, you are going to want your water as clean as possible with higher light and higher water flow. If you like large polyp corals, zooanthids, and soft corals, they can be more forgiving about water quality and need much less light as a general rule and you may not need to upgrade much, if anything.

Look through the member tank threads and find a few that inspire you. Use what works for them as a guide and before you make final decisions feel free to bounce it off of the members here. Someone is always willing to give you an opinion. Good luck.

 

[Renez23]

Great thanks for all the advice. Im not getting the clowns and anenome that are in the tank now they are getting sold else where So im just going to set up what i am getting for now and ill wait and see how the water levels go before placing any fish in.

 

[Renez23]

ok looks like ill be getting the clown fish with the tank now not sure about the anenome yet tho. So you say I can just set up the tank straight away and it will be pre cycled thats good to here. Also should I not use the crushed coral that is currently in the tank for subtrate? What subtrate can you recommend? Would prefer not to go bare bottom but if its whats best to start with I dont mind




Thanks

 

[FishLipz]

If it were me, I would mix up enough water to fill the tank before you go pick up the tank. Make sure it's heated to proper temperature. Transport the liverock and clowns to your house in tubs or buckets covered with the current tank water. Once you get the tank home, set it up using the live rock and the new water you mixed up.

There will be enough bacteria in the rock to handle a pair of clowns. You could either add your substrate later a little at a time or add it as you set up the tank. I like aragonite sand personally, but use what looks good to you. Make sure you wash it thoroughly before you put it in your tank so you don't cloud your water so bad you can't add your fish. It will cloud a little if you wash it well and add your water gently but it shouldn't make your tank look like milk. I don't like reusing sand because it's usually nasty and I don't feel like washing it until its clean enough.

As long as you mixed your new water and preheated it you can just acclimate the clowns to the new water and you should be fine. I did this same thing when I combined my 75 gallon and 120 gallon tanks into a 180 gallon.

 

[bluwinghawk]

do you know lvls of old tank salt ph temp also try to match them will make transition easier for everything?

 

[Renez23]

ok I pick up the tank tomorrow. Ive decided against taking the other persons fish as I was worried I wouldnt get the tank ready in time to get the clowns and anenome back in. The tank has been emptied and live rock is sitting in a bucket of salt pre mix not sure if the water is from the tank or a new batch, will that affect the live rock at all? also going to buy a few moe live rocks to put in. I have currently have a bucket of water with some salt mix and water conditioner dissolving with a air rock so it is ready to use when I get the tank home tomorrow. Still undecided what to do with the subtrate my lfs said it should be ok to use the current one but will decide when I see it :/. Other then that I think I am ready to start my journey


Wish me luck

 

[bluwinghawk]

why water conditioner? and good luck

 

[bct15]

Well, if you are not adding any live stock yet and some new live rock the tank will need to cycle. Since the tank is cycling you can use the current substrate if you like it, just be stirring old substrate can release several organics and other crap into the water. If you use the old substrate wait a few weeks before adding any livestock, test every other day until your parameters are stable. Use as much water from the old setup as possible, dont run the lights until you add some livestock. All you'll be growing is algae with nothing to keep I under control. Good luck

 

[Renez23]

I have to use water conditioner as im just using water from my tap with a salt mix, water conditioner gets rid of the chlorine ect. Ok will seee how much rock I get with the tank if im happy with it ill keep what im givin but if I need more I will wait for it to cycle, I would rather do it now then later down the track


thanks

 

[bluwinghawk]

ok you are locking up the chemicals in the tap water what type of filter are you using i like to put carbon in system to remove most of the stuff the conditioner grabs hold of and replace carbon after 3 days with new for another 3 days and discard make sure protien skimmer tune in from the start and like the others said get a way to remove the phosfates.
me personaly i would rinse the old subsrate with fresh salt water and put in the new tank get your reading right after about 3 days if calium is low turn off your protein skimmer for about hr or two while its off add supplement for your rock but remember if you leave lights off your reading will be lower hope this helps sorry took so long to answer forgot dr app. lol

 

[Renez23]

Ok have set it all up had a few issues with skimmer releasing a lot of micro bubbles moved things around and it eased of a bit I still have some micro bubbles coming thru the pump outlet into the tank but it's not to bad not making it cloudy or anything hoping they will ease up eventually. I'll try post a pic of the tank so far. I did get 1 more piece of live rock and kept the old substrate so cycling the tank now. Ammonia levels were quiet high Lfs gave me some bio culture so I've added that for some extra bacteria. I'm going to move my posts now to the nano section. Thank you all for your help.