sooooooo marine tanks!

[jakk]

how hard are they any good info?

just ofr future ref, plus im tryin to talk my mum into getting one in the lounge lol



cheers

[Steve 88]

depends what you want? if your not bothered about corals or anenomes, not too hard, otherwise it can be very expensive since corals and the such require halide UV lighting to feed. FO (fish-only) setups are alot cheaper and allows you to have fish which would otherwise nip on corals. its all down to what you want to keep, and you dont know that untill you look around or research your desired charges. others will explian in my more detail.

good luck

Steve

[jakk]

thanks mate yeah iv been looking at tanks and other set ups in the shop and i would want coral etc, so it will have to wait till i am rich lol

[mike515]

Originally Posted by Steve 88

depends what you want? if your not bothered about corals or anenomes, not too hard, otherwise it can be very expensive since corals and the such require halide UV lighting to feed. FO (fish-only) setups are alot cheaper and allows you to have fish which would otherwise nip on corals. its all down to what you want to keep, and you dont know that untill you look around or research your desired charges. others will explian in my more detail.

good luck

Steve

er no they don't at all.

Corals yes require bright lighting. BUT metal halides and UV light is not essential at all.

For a start UV is not needed. full stop.

then there's the fact different corals need different amounts of light. Some will thrive much better with very little light. Others do need bright lighting but there are other options than halides. T5 tubes work most of the time. LED lighting is becoming viable as an option as well now. Quite expensive initially but the running costs are incredibly low. According to most manufacturers the effects of LED lighting is just as good.

The main problem you get with lighting is heat. Most types of lights will produce a lot of heat, especially halides. So cooling the tank may be required. LED units again come out to shine here as they produce very little heat. At least no enough to cause you any issue.


The main question you need to answer is what do you want to keep?

Fish only. Essentially the same as keeping tropicals but with salt in the water and a few other bits of kit.

Fish only with liverock. Generally the best method for the simplest marine keeping. Liverock provides a source of very efficient, natural biological filtration. Costs a fair bit though (from around 7.50-15.00 quid a kilo usually, depending on the actual rock itself).

Invert only. This could be just crabs and shrimp etc. Or it could be corals and crabs etc.

Full Reef. This is the ultimate really. Where you create a fully functional, if somewhat miniature, environment. Where you have natural methods of clean up, filtration etc. Obviously you need other bits to create this, but it is as close as possible to a natural tank. It's also usually the most expensive but also the best looking in most peoples opinions

[Sankeo]

JELLY FISH!!! so you are thinking about it =P hahahahah =D

[mrchimps]

A good set-up from the begining, regular careful maintenance & keep your hands out of the tank and your laughing.

[mike515]

Originally Posted by mrchimps

A good set-up from the begining, regular careful maintenance & keep your hands out of the tank and your laughing.

My hands are in my tank everyday. As long as they are clean and free of chemicals, soaps etc. no issue.

[mrchimps]

fair enough.

I have noticed a difference on days when i have had my hands in the tank, in terms of corals and skimmate production.

I also think it stresses the inverts and fish.