Ok all i need some advice please.I have spoken to a few people within the aquarium shops that i used to regularly use when we kept tropicals and i have been advised to either use a red sea max tank or and aqua medic chromis.I am looking at going no larger than a 2 foot cube.

What would be other people recomendations as i really didnt want to have to start looking at custom built tanks with seperate sump seeing as this will be my first ever marine tank.

Ryan if your looking at only keeping a 2foot cube tank you wont have to have sump, some people have them some dont, i had a 4foot tank and didnt have a sump but i had good pumps and good filters, it all depends on what you want to be keeping to?

any tank you want can be used as a marine. Any decent shop will do a complete kit for you, for a decent price.

as for a sump, it's not essential but its much easier.

what are you looking to keep?

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1.1 leos, 1.1 fat tails, 0.2 Beardies, 1 Whites, 2.0 Cresties, 4.1 Cats, Fish: 4.4 P. Dovii, 5.5.6 Peacock Bass (5 sp), 1.1 C 'Cobra', 1.1 festae, 1.1 green terror, 1.1 nics, 1.1 C. Marmorata, 1.1 C. Johani, 1.1 C. 'Strigata', 1.1 C. 'red tapojas'; 1.1 P. Friedrichsthalli, 1.1 Mots, 1.1 managuense, 1.1 H. Bocourti, 1.1 H. Pearsi, 1.1 H. Carpinte, 1.1 H. Cynoguttatum, 1.1 V. Argentea, 1.1 V. Zonatus, 1.1 N. Salvini, 2.2 Grammodes, 3.4 Hoplarchus Pssiticus, 2.2 Trimacs, 3.4 haitiensis, 1.1 tetracanthus, 3.2 Red tiger mots, 14 Uaru (2 sp) 1.1 Umbies, 2 Arapaima, 3 Red tail catfish, 1.1 P. Leopoldii, 1.1 P. Motoro, 3 Silver Arowana, Var. polypterus, var. Channa sp, M. wyckii, 3 siamese tigers, 2 jelly catfish, 1 Golden dorado
Member number 1717

Im looking to keep reef mainly with inverts and a few fish.I think the most interesting part of marines for me is having a full eco-system in all honesty.I love a lot of the shrimps and hermits as well as a few lobsters(saw a beautiful blue one today)and to have the live rock and coral would be awesome.Then just add maybe a dozon small fish and that would do me.

I think i am swaying more towards the Red Sea Max at the moment as the lights are within the hood and the fiter system is hidden behind a smoked glass partition(back wall).

I have been reading up some reports on the plug and go systems on a couple of fish forums and they seem to me to be the easiest for a beginner like myself.

they aren't to be honest. most shops will say they are but not really. yes it's easier in the setup, but if something goes wrong you have to learn how each bit works and comes apart. whereas with a setup you assemble (put all the equipment on and setup) you can do it as you set up the gear.

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1.1 leos, 1.1 fat tails, 0.2 Beardies, 1 Whites, 2.0 Cresties, 4.1 Cats, Fish: 4.4 P. Dovii, 5.5.6 Peacock Bass (5 sp), 1.1 C 'Cobra', 1.1 festae, 1.1 green terror, 1.1 nics, 1.1 C. Marmorata, 1.1 C. Johani, 1.1 C. 'Strigata', 1.1 C. 'red tapojas'; 1.1 P. Friedrichsthalli, 1.1 Mots, 1.1 managuense, 1.1 H. Bocourti, 1.1 H. Pearsi, 1.1 H. Carpinte, 1.1 H. Cynoguttatum, 1.1 V. Argentea, 1.1 V. Zonatus, 1.1 N. Salvini, 2.2 Grammodes, 3.4 Hoplarchus Pssiticus, 2.2 Trimacs, 3.4 haitiensis, 1.1 tetracanthus, 3.2 Red tiger mots, 14 Uaru (2 sp) 1.1 Umbies, 2 Arapaima, 3 Red tail catfish, 1.1 P. Leopoldii, 1.1 P. Motoro, 3 Silver Arowana, Var. polypterus, var. Channa sp, M. wyckii, 3 siamese tigers, 2 jelly catfish, 1 Golden dorado
Member number 1717

ok before you go getting a 2ft for your first tank DONT......
THE SMALLER THE TANK THE HARDER THE WATER IS TO KEEP STABLE...
a simple set up for you..
3ft or larger with:
fluval 404 external filter
x2 (or more depening on what you plan on keeping} power heads for flow..
heater,
lighing i used the 55watt dual compacts by arcadia one actinic and one dayglow....
1 protien skimmer....
then you rock and sand ect.....

THE BEST FILTERATION IN A MARINE TANK IS YOU LIVE ROCK SO TAKE YOUR TIME DO SAVE FOR THE BEST STOCK. (FIJIAN GRADE A)
THE SAND WILL ALSO BUFFER YOUR PH SO BUY A LITTLE MORE THAN YOU NEED.... TO ADD IF YOU PH IS HIGH......

HOPE THIS HELPS CHAP....

there is a tank out i think its called (chromis) and i think that is a 2ft cube. red sea max are good but they are expensive and theoretically there not a nano. lots of people say that smaller tanks are harder to keep because if something goes wrong there is only a little amont of water and it will get bad quick. but i know many first time buyers that have bought the orca nano from my shop and have had lots of success with it.
at the end of the day is all about wjat you can afford and the space you have avaliable. all i will say you need to do lots of research and go to a reliable aquatic shop as lots of shops will sell you fish, equipment etc for the sake of it. just be carful, know what your looking for and always buy thre most expensive you can afford, cheap is ok while it lasts (normally notlong) in my expearience.
hope this helps.

I looked at the Aqua mdeic chromis and the red sea max and in all honesty i prefer the look of the RSM.The chromis was a nice little system but everyone i have spoken to that has one has said they have had problems with it which is swaying me towards the RSM

Any tank is good as long as it has enough lighting and enough water turnover - my tank was an old 2 foot tank I had for ages, and has a 4 x t5 (2 x actinic & 2 x white) luminaire from arcadia over the top, and has 3 power heads turning over a total of about 1400lph between them. The tank has been running flawlessly for nearly 2 years now. I don't use filter media or a protein skimmer, just rely on the live rock method.

Smaller tanks are harder with marines - but if you watch them regularly you get to notice any indicators and can adjust quickly enough. I find it does need a reasonable clean (I remove most of the corals and syphon off any waste that has accumulated in crevises) every 4 - 6 months to keep everything running completely smoothly. Evaporation can be a big issue as a lot of marine tanks are open top. I top up about 4 litres a week and water change 10% about once a month or so.

I've tried both tap and RO water - everything grew faster using RO, but nothing died from using just tap water.

(I would not usually recommend a second hand tank for using for marine, but I know this one had never had any copper medication used in it - copper trapped in the silicon can slowly leak out and kill inverts)

Tank after about 1.5yrs:




I'd say the secret to a nano tank is letting it mature slowly and watching it very regularly - I was away for a weekend and had a small clam-thing (less than 1.5cm across) that came on some live rock die while I was away, the tank was looking pretty sickly when I returned, but a swift 80% water change (with very similar water!), a good syphon of any rubbish I could get to and leaving the tank for a month with no fiddling (other than topping up from evaporation) meant that it bounced back in about 4 weeks with no coral die off.

Hope this helps!
Graham