Need Expert Help On Marine Aquariums Please!

[Danny200]

Hello i jsut braught a brand new 4ft aquarium its 100 us gallons anyway.. i been looking on forums and searching everywhere but nothing says what equipment i need or anything on how to set up a marine tank =(

i was wondering if there is anyone here who can help me step by step on anything i need help on my most confuseing part is the equipment theres soo many names and so much equipment its confuseing to understand

so far i have a Fluval 405 pump that can service upto 100 us gallons what should i buy next? i was thinking a skimmer as that is needed... but what after a skimmer do i need to buy? thanks in advance =)

[daz30347]

First of all it depends on what you intend to keep,fish only(FO)fish only with live rock(FOWLR) or a full blown reef set-up
I would not recommend an external filter on a Marine tank as they tend to harbour nitrates and all the stuff your trying to eliminate

Start by investing in a decent skimmer,over sized for the size tank you are using, as it will work more efficiently and do away with the need to clean as often as a smaller skimmer,Have a look at the Deltec range,second hand will do as there are loads around at the moment
Live rock,for me,is the way to go as it is your filtration,as a rule it is recommended to use 1/2kg per gallon of water in the tank,so you would need 50kg for your set-up
The other important thing is water flow/turnover,either by a number of Powerheads or a closed loop system,probably a little cofusing for your first tank though,but as long as you set up properly i think is the best way to go

Have a look on here,the best site around in my opinion
UltimateReef.com

[russm]

From my experiance of working in a aquatic specialist this is a mine field of a question as there will be lots of combinations and opinions on what you need and dont need. You could go mad and buy everything you could possibly need but you would need a virtually unlimited bank balance or you could go down the cheap route and just buy the basics. As mentioned above it really depends on what you want to keep. I would think aboutt his then hit some of the websites that offer info on your specific type of set up.
If you need a skimmer, I have one that I had on my 100gal. It just needs an apropriate sized pump. You can have it for next to nothing if you want. Oh and if you decide you want a UV sterilizer I have one of them as well. If you want them you can PM me and it will save you some cash.

[capester]

best bet is to sign up to practical fishkeeper site mate. They were good to me!

[Danny200]

thanks for the replys lol hmmm it all seems soo confuseing lol... hmmm is it possible to keep marine fish without the whole coral and everything? it might be easyer for me that way as all i realy want are the marine fish not realy care for the coral i was thinking getting fake plastic coral or something like that... so what do i need if i just want to keep marine fish no coral?

[russm]

Yeah man you can just do it with live rock and fake corals. I spend a lot of time watching vidoes on you tube that is by a guy called Jim Stime Jnr. He has an aquarium maintainence company and he videos a lot of his work. You should takea look at his website and watch his videos. They are very informative and they help you understand different types of set ups, from fish only with fake coral right up to full reef systems that have every gadget under the sun. One thing to note if you do watch them is that he often uses a chiller but that is only coz the weather in the states is hotter than the water should be.

Here is a link to his website
LA Fishguy Aquarium Maintenance Marine Fish Reef Service Installation Reality Video Los Angeles

Start at the bottom and work your way up. It will take some time but it will help you to understand what some of the things are and how they work.