setting up a reef tank ( complete noob!)

[_simon_]

Be aware that RO water from local shops can have high TDS readings and depending how far away you live from one it might not be practical. I have an RO/DI unit for sale in the aquatics section.

[reptilemaniac]

all above info is great and correct but just a few tips for you as i had a reef then changed to mixed fish and reef - ok here goes in the size tank you mention it will be fairly difficult to maintain your levels definately the bigger the better also as for lighting halides on a tank that size will evaporate the water so quickly you will be topping up a lot as the heat that they give off is tremendous and remember that evaporated water is replaced with fresh RO water not salted so keep an eye on your levels also a skimmer is vital it takes away so much of the waste and is sooooooo needed a sump will help a lot and can be hid most of the time good layer of live sand and lots of live rock also live rock is only effective if it has water flowing through it thats how it works so power jets power jets power jets the more water movement the better and last but not least patience and money - once established you will never look back but dont try to fumble your way through as you will pay big time in the end hope this helps

[fantapants]

Originally Posted by alpharoyals

Scrap the tank you have and buy yourself an all in one like a redsea max 130D or a D&D nano cube or a river reef. They will have everything you need to start off and they look so much more tidy as they don't have all the electrical equipment visible in the tank. Its a great way to start where you can learn all the basics, I done it for a year then upgraded to my 100 gallon tank and I am so glad I did it that way as I was a complete novice in the marine world and I have learnt as I have gone along.

HTH

thanks for the advice Chrios but you should know i dont do anything the easy way! i did think about buying a nano cube but then my OH pointed out that he knows i am not going to stop at 1 tank........its in my nature to start small and then go huge! I would rather do the research and know what i am doing and why than have a false sesne of security from a "plug and play" tank. BUT......it would look so cool in the corner of my bedroom if i find one cheap enough i may just do that.

Originally Posted by Corsetts

That is a little small for a reef tank, but you'll be able to keep softies and probably some LPS corals in there.
You shouldn't have a seperate filter on a reef tank, the skimmer (you need one IMO, check out the Deltec HOB skimmers) and the live rock will provide all your filtration.

Do LOTS of research, pm me for links if you want, but be warned, they're not overly easy to set up/mantain and they're not cheap to run.

Oh, and they're very addictive

EDIT: You can have too much rock IME, I'd be looking at 5-10Kg max in a tank that size.
I'd also go with T5 lighting, it's cheaper to run and you'll struggle finding a suitable halide for a tank of that depth.

I have been looking at skimmers on fleabay, also at RO units and all the other gadgets. I used to keep trops and have thought about getting into marines a few times but that was ages ago. I knew the basics then, but technology has moved on so fast that today, i have no idea about what is good and whats not! Thanks for the tip on the T5s, thats exactly the sort of thing i was looking for. There is such a choice of equipment its easy to waste alot of money on the wrong thing so any advice is great.

[Andy]

I wouldn't get a Red Sea Max or a River Reef tank they are pretty shite IMO. Also I would not just run a reef with just live rock and a skimmer as the means of filtration but thats just personal preferance. Try and incorporate some other means of filtration like deep sand bed or refugium and it will make life so much easier. Be careful what skimmer you buy too on ebay as there are alot of cheap ones on there that are crap. Like someone said look at the Deltec range of hang on skimmers they are very good.

[Corsetts]

The problem with running a filter and live rock is that you have conflicting systems.
By allowing the rock to do all of the work, the de-nitrifying bacteria can work far more efficently.
If you run with a seperate filter, you can end up having nitrate problems.

Definately tread carefully with skimmers, there's an awful lot of overated tat out there, you definately "buy cheap, buy twice" with marine kit.
This is the smallest Deltec HOB skimmer, you really can't go wrong with Deltec kit.

[fantapants]

ok, will have a look at the deltec skimmers. After somebody saying that T5s would be best for the size tank i have would this work ok with the coral and white tube as standard? T5 Aquarium Fish Tank Overhead Lighting 2 x 24w 60cm on eBay (end time 18-Apr-10 16:31:45 BST)

[Corsetts]

That looks fine.
The "Coral" light, I assume, is an actinic which gives a very Bluey/purple light and makes some corals fluoresce.
You don't actually need an actinic, corals will grow perfectly well without them so you'll get more light output by swapping it out for another tube.
Saying that though, corraline algae grows far better with actinic lighting (it looks nice although can be a pain eventually) and coupled with the 10,000K tube should give a nice, balanced light.
I run 4, 80W 10,000K white lights but still use 2, 54W Actinics to get that lovely Green glow

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Corsetts

The problem with running a filter and live rock is that you have conflicting systems.
By allowing the rock to do all of the work, the de-nitrifying bacteria can work far more efficently.
If you run with a seperate filter, you can end up having nitrate problems.

How's that? How can having a DSB or refugium etc cause you to have nitrate problems?I am new to reefkeeping but don't know many people who just use live rock and don't have some other type of filtration like DSB, refugium or caulerpa etc run in the sump.

[Corsetts]

Originally Posted by Andy

How's that? How can having a DSB or refugium etc cause you to have nitrate problems?I am new to reefkeeping but don't know many people who just use live rock and don't have some other type of filtration like DSB, refugium or caulerpa etc run in the sump.

A DSB or refugium are fine (although I'm not convinced by DSB's long term) its seperate cannister filters that are the problem.
The denitrifying bacteria live in the rock under aerobic bacteria. They can't access oxygen so they extract if from nitrate, turning it into nintrogen gas in the process.
If you run a seperate cannister filter, most of the aerobic bacteria will colonise that in preference to the live rock. Without that layer of aerobic bacteria sucking down the oxygen, the denitrifying bacteria won't thrive, hence the nitrate problem.
You can, obviously, run a seperate nitrate busting filter (like the Korralin sulphur denitrator) which works fantastically well, but they are obviously an unnescessary complication if you manage to get a well balanced Berlin system.

Cannister type filters are very good at what they do, i.e coverting ammonia to nitrate, but that nitrate end product can be a real nuisance in a reef tank.

[Love_snakes]

Reef tanks are like reptiles, there are set guidelines but everyone will do it differently.

As a basic starting list you will need, a

-Glass tank
-Stand
-lighting (will depend on what corals you want to keep)
-Heater
-Strong powerheads
-refractometer
-high quality reef salt
-dry agronite sand (dont bother with live sand, waste of money IMO, LR will turn your sand live in time)
- An RO unit (for best poss water quality)
- Tubs, extra powerheads and heaters for mixing
- Lots of test kits

As for the ammout of live rock, everyone does theirs differently. If you are going for the 2x1x1 thats about 15 US gallons. I wouldn't go over 15KG, 7 or 8 KGs would be fine IMO though. Everyone I know uses 1lb per gallon but its up to you.

You wont need a skimmer on such a small tank IMO as weekly or Bi weekly waterchanges would be fine seeing as your stocking is going to be very small.